Wrestling for Control

This has been a hectic week - but not one without its share of successes. I have been sick with my standard fall head/chest cold. It started in the Ardennen 10 days ago and is still going strong. I started the week off on Monday with what felt like quite the failure. I had prepared a lesson for the most difficult second year (8th grade) class of the school and we ended up staying for almost half an hour after school to finish it. They would not stop talking or follow simple directions. I was pretty upset afterwards.

The next day I made some changes for the next class: added a seating chart, assigned groups instead of numbering off, and took attendance at the beginning. These things helped, but we still ended up staying for half an hour after school. It felt more under control though.

Wednesday I had the chance to try again with a new group. They had seen the other groups staying after school, so they knew I wasn't messing around. It worked. The lesson was simple. I split the class up into five groups and they each had to find the answers to some questions I gave them about DNA and present their answers to the class at the end.

By the time Thursday rolled around I had the first difficult group again. We talked about how things went on Monday and I informed them that we would be trying the whole lesson out again, or else they would be here after school. Again. Things started out a bit rough: I had to kick one especially difficult girl out because she would not sit in her assigned seat and she was fighting with the whole class because they told her she should. Kicking students out of class is a big no-no at Wolfert Pro.

After she left, things started rolling, and the kids did very well. Until the final two groups. Another big fight erupted which took us to the end of our time. So we stayed after school - but not for long. The students understood. I felt like I was bringing them around.

On Friday, I had the final of the four second year classes. I was feeling pretty sick and tired and it looks as though I won't be teaching this particular class for much longer because my schedule is about to be completely re-arranged. Needless to say, I didn't have the willpower do deal well with the behaviour issues. We finished the lesson by staying for an extra few minutes - I really didn't want to come back after school, although I probably should have. I did confiscate a few cell phones though.

One nice thing about Thursday and Friday is that the first-years came back from camp. It was good to have them back as they are much more fun to work with than the second-years - I hadn't seen them in a week and was starting to miss them! There is quite the difference between the two age groups.

I am a bit unsettled about next week as I don't really know what to teach, I don't know if I am teaching math alone or with the new teacher, and I don't know when my schedule will be re-arranged or how much time I will have with the students in classrooms. In light of all this, planning is a bit difficult.

Yesterday we had a very nice day. Naomi and I went out to lunch and played squash with Clifton, the gym teacher, and his girlfriend. They are a very nice couple to spend time with and we are already talking about spending some of summer vacation together.

After that we went to the market, Little Italy (an italian grocer), and the library. The library here is a big disappointment. It looks beautiful - right in the center of town with a very open, comfortable five stories. The problem is that it costs 36 Euros a year to be a member. I was willing to accept that, but after signing up we discovered that to borrow a single DVD costs 2 Euros. I am afraid to try to learn the process/cost for borrowing a CD.

Sometimes...I really, really miss Ann Arbor. Life seemed a whole lot simpler. Things were more accessible. Lots of tasty food choices whenever I wanted. Shops were open when I needed them to be. I had a car. I didn't feel like I had to jump through a million hoops just to get something simple like a cell phone or running shoes. On the upside though - I do have a phone now and pay, get this, 6.25 per month. I have 150 minutes and 100 text messages - but am only charged for what I send...for when I call. I guess living here is like anything else in life: a series of trade-offs, some good, some not-so-good.

The Ardennen

The Helicopter

After 14 hours of sleep on Friday night and 12 hours last night, I think I have finally recovered from three days of camp in the Ardennen - a hilly area in southern Belgium with lots of nice outdoor activities. Hiking, climbing, rivers and caves make for a nice vacation spot that is only 3 hours away from Rotterdam. It is also fun to see that everything is in French. Good thing Naomi can speak the language.

We were 6 teachers in charge of 44 eighth-graders and they really wore us out. We had a bit of an adventure upon arrival. After splitting into three groups (I was with a teacher much more accustomed to luxury hotels than hiking in the woods) we set off down the road with only a card showing which way we should go at the next intersection - no map.

The kids were horrible. They started out whining about having to walk uphill (as there aren't any hills to speak of in the NL), yelling into people's houses, and eventually getting into a shouting match that would have turned physical had we not broken it up. Not long after the fight, we missed a turn and ended up walking a couple kilometers out of the way. This time was filled with more whining, rock throwing (at each other and trees), and incredible rudeness toward any Belgian we saw. So I had a talk with them about how they were ambassadors for their country...and that calmed them down for about 5 minutes.

Ropes Course

Eventually I decided we needed to turn back and needed to institute the rule that if anyone was walking behind me they would be cleaning toilets when we got back to camp. This worked like a charm as we had more than a few stragglers. Finally we were back on the right trail and were making good progress for about half an hour. Then the trail narrowed until it disappeared up a steep hill, and we were lost again. This time some distance away from any civilization. The students began to cooperate a little bit and made the decision to press on instead of going back down the hill.

After littering the forest with garbage from the break, we stumbled upon a road. Of course the little chart we had was useless at this point because who even knew if we were supposed to be on this road - but the other teacher continued to use it anyway. Eventually we came to a crossroads and the kids were getting tired. I recommended we turn back so that we could find our way home, but the group chose to take the path that lead downhill. So we did. They were beginning to work together - this was the goal.

The path that started out wide enough to drive a small car on eventually crossed a couple streams and narrowed down to nothing. It simply ended. I had absolutely no idea where we were and it would take a couple hours to find our way back - although I hoped to follow the stream down to civilisation. The sun was going down. Everyone was tired and hungry. We were completely lost.

Rock Climbing

A few students were scouting the area when things went from bad to worse. I heard some sliding, a scream, then tears. One of the children had slid down a hill (certainly not the first time that day) and had twisted her ankle badly. I sat with her for awhile and determined it wasn't broken, but she was unable to put any pressure on it. At this point, the students began to realize our predicament and this made them cooperate. I figured we would be lucky to make it out of the woods before dark.

Some people continued to explore, and they found a path nearby. In fact, you could even call it a road. It was just 10 meters away up a steep bluff. Now the challenge was getting our injured explorer up the slope. After a lot of sobbing and help from me and some of the boys (the other teacher kept his distance) we somehow made it to the top without slipping again. Serendipitously, there happened to be a man walking toward us. The language barrier was breached just enough to gander the information that the main road was a mere 500 meters away.

So we set off as one quiet, cooperative group (this was the goal, right?!) and slowly made our way for about 250 meters until we heard more voices. I heard yelling and shouts of joy from up ahead as word trickled back that we had met another group! We had somehow regained the original trail! It was incredible.

Now the students returned to their terrible states as the end was in sight. We were unable to speak to the group as they refused to listen. I asked my parter to call for a car that could come pick up our injured young lady so that the rest of us could walk back at a normal pace. We were only a couple kilometers away - but it was already half an hour past the time we were meant to arrive.

When we eventually made it down to the parking lot, there was a bus waiting for us. All the students joyfully ran towards it with my parter pushing them along. The three teachers that remained (me, Naomi, and Ans) were furious. The walk was not finished, our students behaved miserably, and they most certainly did not deserve a free ride back to camp. But at this point there was nothing we could do as the driver was in a massive hurry.

Raft Building Activity - good thing it was sunny.

Later that night we had an extensive talk with the group and they seemed to be willing to cooperate. The next day they did. We went on quite the adventure. The bus unloaded and everyone donned climbing gear, including helmets. We made our way through 500m of pitch black tunnel. When the light grew on the other side, it blossomed into a hidden grotto that my sister would be quite envious of. An old helicopter was suspended from the cliffs and was the centerpiece of a massive ropes course. Their were trails through the steep hills that lead to caves. The most impressive sight was the 80m tall zip-line. It was a bit terrifying and many girls took about 10 minutes of tears before taking the plunge.

The rest of the camp was mostly enjoyable with some difficult disciplinary moments. We even worked in some American football which the kids took to pretty well - although at one point they were kicking it around like a soccer ball, and then pitching it like you would a rugby ball - but I was sure to fix those problems. Anyway, we made it back in (mostly) one piece, and tomorrow seems way to soon to start school again.

Speaking of school, if you would like an impression of what it looks like and who I work with, check out the video: http://www.leraar24.nl/video/2953. We are competing for a 50k prize for the most innovative school in the NL, and we are finalists.

The Break-In

It has been a heavy week. The students were rather difficult and I ended up getting rather sick. The worst moment was when I could not get a class of first-years to quiet down and I ended up taking my last resort of getting the assistant principal to come in and have a talk with them. They were much better afterwards, but I still ended up having to break up a fight between two of the boys. This was Thursday.

A nearby windmill built in 1648 that was able to pump 30,000-35,000 liters
 of water per minute from the lake into the river.

Friday I ended the day barely standing after keeping a group of students for 45 minutes after school because they did not finish their assignment. After this I had to sit through a long meeting in Dutch where I almost fell asleep. The purpose of the meeting was nice though - Naomi and I are helping to chaperone two classes to the Ardennes (where the Battle of the Bulge took place) on Wednesday. It is common practice for schools in the Netherlands to camp out for a couple days in order to get to know each other a bit better.

Close-up of that same windmill.

This weekend has been quite the recovery period. I still feel sick and exhausted. Saturday morning was quite the experience. We got up early to run some errands and kept forgetting things, so we would return to the house. Many Dutch doors do not have knobs that turn - so they lock behind you. On one of these trips into and out of the house, I shut the door behind me, only to realize I had left the keys inside the house. Hiding a key has been on my long list of things to do...

A small regatta in front of expensive houses.

So we had to figure out how to break into our own house. After a few failed attempts with a piece of bamboo through the mail slot, I surveyed our options, and became fixated on the small window over one of the doors. I was able to open it from the outside, and felt the wood frame start to give. After removing the rotting chunk of wood I precariously balanced a garden chair on the small stoop and began to push in the screen. Finally, a way in had been made...now all I needed was to find a way to stay out of the hospital...

The Aftermath.

Naomi to the rescue. I convinced her that because she is small and likes rock climbing, she makes the perfect candidate. I helped her through the tiny window, but we realized there was a problem because we keep the bottom deadbolt locked. Luckily there was a hula hoop within her reach, and she was able to use to to pull the latch open. Magically the door moved - we had forgotten to lock the deadbolt! Naomi got a bit scraped and bruised (hard to see in the picture), but with a whole lot of luck we managed to stay out of the hospital.

To pour salt in the wound, after we had finally made it to the grocery store, Naomi locked up her bike and realized she had left that key in the house. One more trip home. So much for that early start.

The tallest hedge I have ever seen.

This morning we took a nice walk around the lake that is very near to our house. The other pictures on this post come from that walk. Hopefully the rest of the day can be restful as this coming week will require quite some energy.

Time Vacuum

Eerde - A school where I had an
interview (near Susan's farm).

I have been in the Netherlands for over a month now. So much has been done - but there is so much left to do! The first two weeks Naomi and I were a bit homeless, traveling between her obsolete student room and her Mother's place. We even made it up to her friend Susan's farm. It is a beautiful place with lots of history. The land has been in her Father's family for over 800 years. The house itself was recently rebuilt (in the 40's) as it was destroyed by the war (very near to the German border). Through a series of unfortunate events, her parents are forced to give the place up. It has been, and will continue to be, a difficult process for them.


The party we had at their farming complex had an Alice in Wonderland theme. Although it was put together well, and the guest were very friendly, I experienced quite some culture shock. Parties like this make me feel a bit awkward anyway, but the fact that everyone was speaking Dutch (except to me) along with the addition of children's games and the strange Dutch custom of sitting in a large circle really threw me off. Even though there were plenty of enjoyable moments, I did feel a bit traumatized after we left.

Not too long after the party, we finally were able to move into the new house. When we arrived, a couple men were working on the garden. In needs a whole heap of work. The little bungalow is a bit depressing though - in the sense that we will only be able to stay there for a year. It is perfect. Surrounded by trees and water, plenty of space, and a 12 minute bike ride to school, 3 to a shopping district, and 20 to the center of Rotterdam. They are even fixing up a park right across the street.

The front yard - enough space for 5 families in the NL.

A couple days after arriving, school began. Although the students did not arrive for a few days after that, we had a chance to meet our new colleagues and learn about the school. It is a new, innovative place that is competing for the honor of being recognized as the most innovative in the country. What people from outside the system may not realize is that 'innovative' is often synonymous with 'chaos'.

A fun Dutch game - Sjoelen - that we played at her Mother's.

Wolfert Pro has a little less than 300 students and is a part of the larger Wolfert van Borselen school group. Wolfert Pro is for vocational students who are not destined for higher education (schools are heavily tracked in the Netherlands). The students are mostly good kids - but it only takes a few to ruin a lesson. Some have pretty low mental capacities; others are just lazy.

I teach first and second year students. This is the equivalent of 7th and 8th grade in the States. The first years are great. They are still cute and they listen well. Wish I could say the same about the second years. Thus far is has been nearly impossible to give a lesson as they will not stop talking. As this is a project based school, most of their time is spent in the 'leerplien', a common area where two classes can comfortably work at tables or computers.

Scheduling time has been a bit of a disaster as there are 12 half hour blocks in the day and as teachers we move all over the building(s). We don't get our own classrooms - space is shared which helps to create more of a dynamic, cooperative environment. The problem is often times we are not sure where to go - and what sort of lesson to prepare. Who knows if we will be able to use a Smartboard or if students will have access to computers.

A day in Amsterdam - only an hour away.

Not only to I share space, but I share classes. The groups of students stay together all day. The same group will see me for math one day, and another teacher for math later in the week. This is nice for them because I don't speak Dutch. It is also nice for me because I get to cooperate with another, more experienced teacher. The problem is: He just quit. Couldn't handle the chaos. Makes sense as he recently held a job with the Dutch version of the IRS. Not sure what will happen now.

The language barrier is not a huge issue. There are a few students who don't seem to speak any English - but others who are nearly fluent. The spectrum allows for plenty of translation, and as little time is devoted to instructing a whole class (because they can't sit still), the message gets across. I spend most of my time helping groups of students and this means I can check for understanding more easily. Most of them really make an effort with their English and I think the grand experiment of hiring me as a non-Dutch speaker will pay off.

There is much more to tell, but for now I continue to lack in time (no surprise there). I will make an effort of updating this more regularly, and if you happen to read it, I am curious to know what you are up to as well!