Week 11

Week 11 | 14/03/16-20/03/16

Professional

Week 11 was most definitely a very busy week for us all. It was all based around placement, which we would be starting after the Easter break. On Monday, Marie gave us a presentation on what is expected of us during our three weeks in placement. For my own placement, I chose to go to a place called Kofoeds Skole. It is a place for people who have social, economical or abuse problems in their lives. The ages range from 18-65 years old. This is a great opportunity for me as I haven’t got much experience in working with adults. For my own personal development, I would like to be able to work with both children and adults and that is why I chose to go to a place with adults instead of children. During Marie’s presentation, she gave us information about our exam at the end of the placement and what we had to prepare for it. We were encouraged to think of goals for ourselves on how we want to improve and develop as practitioners.

Kofoeds Skole Logo

I am going to be completing my placement with Ana and Cristina who are older than me and have more experience in working with adults, so I am hoping that I will be able to learn from them as well as from the placement. On Wednesday, we had our first placement visit. We arrived at 9am and we were greeted by Peter, headmaster of the school. We had a short meeting with him first and he gave us some information about the school and how it works. He informed us that it called a school but that it doesn't have the usual set up of a school and that ‘formal’ learning does not take place, but rather it's a place where adults come to find themselves again through different activities for example ceramics, knitting or art. The school also receives food from an outside place that donates food to them and the students prepare it everyday for themselves and the staff.

“No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you've come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.” 
― Madonna

I was inspired by everything I saw, the art around the building, the people and the staff. All the art and pieces of work around the building were made by the students (adults). Peter explained metaphorically that they use old materials that they find to create something new, relating to themselves in that they want to become a new, better person. We had a tour of the house and also had lunch with everyone. We introduced ourselves and met some of the students that we are going to be working with.

On Thursday, Cristina, Ana and I had to prepare a presentation for Friday’s class about placement and had to discuss our goals in more depth. Each person in my class had to do this and we presented the information to each other on Friday morning. It was interesting to see where everyone is going and I am excited to start placement after the Easter break.

Reference 

http://www.goodreads.com/tag/self-improvement

week 10

07/03/16 - 13/02/16

Week 10

Cultural | Professional

In our new week, we had exciting activities to look forward to throughout the week. On Monday and Tuesday we had classes as normal. However, on Wednesday we had an exciting day ahead. We met with our tutor Maria at 9 am at the beautiful botanical gardens to get started with our physical day ahead. Our first activity consisted of us being split into two groups to try some light yoga and team building activities. The yoga certainly woke us all up and it was a good way of getting motivated for the day. Maria talked about how we can do small activities like yoga with children if they are feeling tired or need to be motivated. Also, she explained how children can lose interest very easily if they are sitting in a classroom all day, so she explained yoga was a great way to give the children a ‘boost’ if needed. I found this exercise particularly useful and I feel I can take it home with me and practice it when working with small children.

After we finished the activities, we had the opportunity to look around the botanical gardens, for free, which was surprising as Denmark is usually quite expensive. The gardens were spectacular to see and I couldn't believe the work that is carried out to keep the place so beautiful. They have so many different trees, flowers and plants from all over the world. Within the gardens, there was also a tree house and a pond with huge lily pads and fish. It was truly amazing to look at, considering it was all inside a greenhouse. I felt like I was outside in a rain forest.  

In the afternoon, we met up in a big hall with Maria and participated in more intense yoga. Maria carried out a sequence she would use with children for example doing yoga following a story.

We had another exciting day on Thursday where we went to Aarhus Spring Centre, an activity centre for children and adults. We were lucky and got to experience both parts of the centre. We tried the equipment that the children use when they go there and also watched the children at the beginning to see how they played. The hall had trampolines, soft areas, sponge pools, climbing areas, high areas to jump off and so on. It was so interesting to watch the children playing and we noticed how they got involved in everything and most seemed to play without any fear. For example, we tried to jump of the highest ledge which the children were jumping off, Jessica and I couldn't. We were too scared!

 

In comparison to home, there are similar centres for children however the spring centre is the most interesting place I have been to. It challenges children in all different kinds of ways, physically and mentally. It encourages them to use their fine and gross motor skills. It also encourages social interaction. Toddlers who have only recently started to walk were also running around and trying to jump on the trampolines. It was a great experience to be a part of and I have gained a lot more knowledge about the importance of physical activity for children and adults.

  

Our weekend consisted of a party on Friday in Ana’s apartment with her flat mates, which was another good way of getting to know even more people. On Saturday, Anna and I had a busy day as we made dinner for 7 people in the evening. We wanted to make something from home, so of course we made Irish stew, and we also made salads and provided cheese and bread. It was difficult in the beginning as being students in a different country we didn't have a lot of resources, but we got there and it was a success. Everyone said they enjoyed it and that Anna and I will make good wives some day!

         

week 9

Week 9 | 29/02/16-06/03/16 

Cultural | Professional  

Following on from the Oscars party until early hours in the morning, we began our new week travelling from Ana's place to college. Our first class was with Aase, were we learned and discussed democracy in Denmark. We discussed with each other how democracy differs in our own countries and how it affects us in our everyday lives and also in settings such as nursery groups or schools. I felt this class was very beneficial as it gave us a better understanding of what to expect in our own placements in our upcoming placements in Aarhus. By understanding democracy and how to apply it, it will help me to become a better person personally and also I can show a good example to the children and colleagues I work with in the future.  

'Choosing our leaders is everyone's job. That's why lessons on the political process shouldn't be confined to the classroom. When political issues are discussed at home, it has a lasting impact on tomorrow's young voters.' 

On Wednesday, we had the exciting opportunity to visit a school in Aarhus. We met outside Aby Skole in the morning and we were welcomed by the head master who was very enthusiastic and gave us a brief idea of the plan for the day. We were split into two groups, one group for 7th graders and one group for 4th graders. I visited the class with the 7th graders. When we entered, my classmates and I had to introduce ourselves and do something in our language for the children to guess were we all from. It was easier for the children to guess Ireland as Anna and I speak English however the children took a bit longer to guess Slovenia and Iceland, for example. In return, some of the children did the same and we then had to guess. Lets just say, my language skills over all are not my strong point! The children were full of enthusiasm and answered any questions we had and also asked us questions. We talked a bit about democracy, which the children knew quite a lot about. It was very impressive. In Ireland, I don’t think children of their age would have as much knowledge about democracy and its importance. 

 

Another difference I noticed was the amount of freedom the children have. Children as young as four were outside in the play ground alone playing together. In comparison to schools at home, this would not happen as children always have a supervisor or a member of staff close by while they are playing.  

'Children should have enough freedom to be themselves - once they've learned the rules.' (Anna Quindlen) 

 On Thursday, we received the good news that our classes had been cancelled for the day and also for Friday. As we are students after all, we started planning our outings for our four day weekend. On Thursday evening, we went to a free jazz 'concert', which was a strange set up and something I had never experienced before. One of the acts consisted of two young men, one playing the drums and the other playing a saxophone. I'm not sure if they had rehearsed or if they were just making it up on stage, because at some points, they weren't even playing together, but rather just playing random notes.  

The Friday was also interesting, as we tried out a ping pong bar in the city. It had the usual set up of a normal bar - music, drink and a dance floor. However, towards the back of the bar, there was a ping pong table and around 12 people all running around the table each taking their turn. If you missed, you were then out and it eventually became two people. It was thrilling to watch and it also brought all different groups together, young and old, Danish and non Danish.  

'Individual cultures and ideologies have their appropriate uses but none of them erase or replace the universal experiences, like love and weeping and laughter, common to all human beings.' (Aberjhani)  

After the night was over, we then ventured around the city to find somewhere to eat, and we found a kebab shop. I was over-joyed and delighted as this was something I missed from home. I'm not really sure what it was, but the 'wrap' I was eating, was the best wrap I have ever tasted.  

References  

http://www.brainyquote.com/a/annaquindl425725.html  

http://www.goodreads.com/tag/cultural-differences / Aberjhani, Splendid Literarium: A Treasury of Stories, Aphorisms  

https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/index.php/parents/news/newsletters/626  

week 8

Week 8 | 22/02/16-28/02/16
Personal | Cultural 

I cannot believe that I am writing about week 8 already. Our first month has went by so quickly. That feeling of nervousness and worry has completely left my mind and I now feel like I belong here. My norms have been adjusted in order to fit in with my new way of living in Aarhus, Denmark. I have gotten used to the buses, food and new way of life. My NHD classmates have now become friends rather than the 'other international students' and the tutors have eventually learned all our names. On Monday, we looked at nature in more depth and discussed different views on nature for example what a perfect landscape would look like to each of us. It was an interesting topic as each student preferred something else from one another for example some students said they preferred water and mountains where as others said mountains were not something they particularly like looking at. We discussed how our own childhood may have influenced this in relation to certain activities we may have done with our families such as mountain climbing or water related activities. This challenged my thinking in that each of us had very different up bringing's and that culture influenced our way of looking at nature and its importance very much. The way we view nature, influences the way we implement it with children that we work with today and in the future.  

After our classes had finished, we decided we would organize a surprise birthday party for Lara, one of the Croatian girls in my class. We made lots of different foods and also some of the girls in my class made her a cake. It was a pancake cake, made up of loads of pancakes, fruits and  cream. I had never had anything like it before and I enjoyed it very much. Lara was delighted when she came in and had no idea of what was happening. She was grateful for the effort that everyone had put in for her special day. The relationship between our class is growing stronger and stronger each week and I feel like I have made friends for life.  

Later in the week, my brother came to visit. We went on walks to the Forest and visited the beach while he was here. We also took some time to explore the shops, something that I hadn't had a chance to do yet. In the evening, I went to my first ever handball game which was in a stadium in Aarhus. This was a major cultural difference for me as I had never even heard of handball in Ireland and had no idea what it entailed. Ian from my class plays handball back home in Belgium, so he spent most of the match explaining what was going on. The atmosphere was very exciting and as I started to understand the rules, the game became very interesting to watch. It was a great experience and the positive energy within the crowd was something spectacular to be a part of.  

 

On Sunday, our class decided we would do something that none of us had done before. We had an 'Oscars party'. As it didn't start until 1AM, we all slept earlier in the evening in order to stay up all night to watch the Oscars on TV. It was a good way of getting to know each other even more as we found out more likes and dislikes about each other for example what films/actors we liked and didn't like so much. We also prepared a huge breakfast in the morning before our class. Everyone brought a breakfast item each and we enjoyed breakfast together before college. We had pancakes, fruits, cheese, juice, tea/coffee, eggs and bacon, to name a few items. I found it very interesting to see how different cultures ate so differently, even for breakfast. It was a great idea and a good way of getting to know each other even more.