The Review

Before the break, my administrator observed one of my 'lessons'. It wasn't really a lesson but was, in fact, leerplien time. This means that I was with another teacher in one big, open classroom with tables and computers. The students were able to choose what to work on. I was checking their math assignments.

The administrator was looking for things that would have been found in a more traditional lesson, but I was not made aware of this, or of the significance behind the observation. On Wednesday we sat down to talk about what had happened. Overall the discussion was a very good one and lasted an hour and a half. I was caught rather off guard though.

He explained his observations and then gave his review of my teaching. I was hard-pressed to find anything positive in what was said and he basically summed up by saying that if I didn't change I wouldn't have a job there next year. I guess there are just a few of these reviews that determine whether or not we will be asked back.

I was able to explain my side of what was going on. Essentially, I was on the leerplien with a more experienced teacher, so I expected her to take the lead while I focused on checking my assignments. This did not really happen so the noise level and such became a little high. I was too busy to be bothered. I guess now it is time for me to be bothered.

It would seem that the administration has some expectations of us that were either poorly communicated or not communicated at all. I guess that is part of the point of these reviews. Now that I know a bit more about what they are looking for, I can work toward it. It is also a bit of a relief to start from the bottom, because it will be easy to show significant progress in a short time frame. It would be nice to get a little credit for things I have done well though.

For example, I was supposed to be co-teaching math with a more experienced teacher. Perfect. He could take the lead. Except he quit in the first week. I was left without expectations or much of any guidance. But I did very well with the course because it was mine and I chose to focus on it. The grades are in order and objectives being met.

My other two classes are co-taught as well. Again, by a more experienced teacher. I assumed that she would take the lead with things, and in many ways she did, but the arrangement has not been working well for some time. Over a month ago we requested a change in schedule. It won't happen until after this coming week. But we didn't know that at the time. So we coasted until we got our own classes, and not much got accomplished.

Each class is supposed to have four grades in the books by Wednesday. Math is in order, but I get no recognition for that. First year science will have two grades. For the second years...we aren't really sure. They had some assignments but less than half turned them in and the quality was terrible...so how can we give grades? Ten weeks with no grades. That is embarrassing.

Thursday night was the halloween party. It ended at 11 and we were there cleaning until midnight. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, and on Friday the first two hours were free. Maybe it is because the kids were still tired from the night before, but I had quite some success with teaching on Friday. For the first time, I taught two classes at once. They were quiet. They listened. They worked on what they were supposed to afterwards and most did it correctly. It was amazing! And it happened twice!

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day and slept well that night. Saturday, yesterday, was a big day. I finally made it through a whole Saturday without getting some form of culture shock. I also ordered a bike. I have been thinking about what kind of bike to get since shortly after arriving in this country. I wanted a sporty bike, but slowly had to admit that this wasn't terribly practical. I tried to find something in between, but in the end had to choose practicality over fun.

The bike shop is a tiny little place just down the road and around the corner. I had kind of already made my decision on what I wanted so the task was much easier. I wanted a Trek. They are big here. And expensive. But they come from where I come from and I really liked the Trek I relied on in Mali. Here it would be my main form of transportation as well. So I decided to invest. It was one of the cheapest bikes in the shop at around 500 Euros - 50 Euros cheaper than the bigger bike store.

The owner was a nice guy who didn't speak too much English, but it turns out we teach his daughter's friend and he knows some people we know. Good start. He let me try out a couple bikes and I liked the one I had already picked out best. I also decided to get some bags for the back so I wouldn't have to carry my teaching bag on my back every day to work. Those were an extra 60 Euros. Insurance for the year was 41 Euros, but I opted out of that. A decent lock was 36, but he said that he would throw that in if we buy the bike from him. At the end we also negotiated for a free pump. He let us take that home with us as a sign of good faith. I pick up and pay for the bike on Tuesday. I am excited!!

Fall Break!

We had a whole week off. It was a much-needed break. I am not sure where the time went. We were busy for pretty much the whole time…but there is so much that did not get done. I am not ready to head back to school tomorrow. At all. 

Last Saturday was like a hangover. We were both so exhausted from school. In spite of the tiredness, we still made it downtown for a nice lunch with friends and to search for a game of Chinese Checkers. The guy at the game store thought we were strange for asking…but we ended up finding one at a Chinese store near the train station. Good thing we did too, because it made the train rides much nicer.

Naomi's Grandma

Sunday we went to Naomi's grandma. She is 90 years old and lives alone. She speaks not a word of English, but clearly has a beautiful spirit. I asked her about what she remembered from the war, and it was very interesting to hear a well-known story from a totally different perspective. 

She told us all about the American soldiers she met, the dangers her family faced, and even how her favorite sister (she had a big family) died. The story that stuck with me most was how she almost lost her own life. 

The Americans were pushing back the Germans. Liberation was in the air - mixed with terror. The fighting was fierce all around. Bombs falling. Bullets flying. To find shelter, her family went to a nearby farmhouse with a basement. They packed 19 people into that basement (which was the size of a bedroom) for three days as bombs shook the ground.

It was Naomi's Grandma's job to take the bucket filled with human waste topside. As she dumped the contents, a bomb fell very nearby. The explosion blasted all of the windows out of the house and everyone left in the basement assumed she was gone. Somehow, a few minutes later, she made her way back down the stairs to join the others. Good thing she did too - or Naomi wouldn't be around today.

After saying goodbye to Oma (Grandma) we took an excruciatingly long bus ride to Naomi's mother's house. She was sick for much of the time we were there, but we still managed to get some rest and see some cool stuff. She lives in a beautiful area full of small towns, old churches, plenty of farmers, and even a few castles.

Twickel - about ten minutes from her mom's place.

Only an hour away is the German town of Munster. We spent one day there and it was a most enjoyable day. Known for its cheese and churches, it has a lot of history packed into its center. There are three beautiful cathedrals all right near the center. We were able to see all of them - even though the main one was being restored. Even though it was cold, the sun was shining and I took some very nice pictures. 

Munster, Germany

After picking up a touch of the flu (maybe from some suspicious soup we had at a touristy place to eat - they called it minestrone but it was clearly vegetable) we made our way back to Rotterdam. Yesterday we went to The Hague (a cheap and short train ride) to enjoy the city, eat Mexican food at our favorite restaurant, and swing by a birthday party. 

The Hague

Parliament on the right - the reflected light comes from the
Prime Minister's octagonal office. 

We ended up getting home too late so today is crammed full with things to do. The weather is once again beautiful (strange) so we will ride down to the library, head over to a colleague's place for dinner, and wrap up all sorts of odds and ends before having to return to school on Monday. The break was much needed, and I hope it won't be too difficult to get back into the swing of things. 

To Coast, or not to Coast

I went into this week thinking it would be an easy one. That was a mistake. Monday the students didn't show up and we had some workshops. Three of our more experienced colleagues had just returned from visiting High Tech High in San Diego for the past 9 days. They spoke about what they saw and it was obvious that they had quite the new perspective, energy, and enthusiasm for Wolfert Pro (the model of Wolfert Pro is loosely based off of High Tech High). It was nice to see and hear the inspiration.

We also spent some time talking about educating the students about alcohol. Boring for me because it was in Dutch, but an immediately relevant topic for some of our 13 year olds...

I was able to wrap up the book work for math this week. Something like 80/84 students completed the book-work assignment with all the correct answers. Other teachers have been getting around a 50% completion rate. I have to bug all the students about their work, sit down with all of them individually, sometimes 3-4 times until they get it right, others have to stay after school until they are finished. It is the brute-force method, but it works. Hopefully it will get easier when the students pick up on the routine.

I am proud of myself for getting these results. Part of the reason is because I feel the (almost) full responsibility for my math classes. I started out with a co-teacher who quit, and the new one who is supposed to share the classes with me is more focused on other things, so I took charge.

The problem lies with the science classes. I also share the four first-year classes with a more experienced teacher. And the four second year classes. I expected this more experienced teacher to be taking charge but that hasn't really happened. So we have been in school for two months and there is not a single grade yet. We did just finish up with some balloon cars (a cool idea, but poorly planned) so there will be some grades soon.

I am a bit embarrassed about all this, but we asked to stop sharing classes a few weeks ago (so I had been coasting until the division) and it turns out the split won't happen until two weeks from now. This setup is simply not working. We both feel some responsibility for eight classes and it is overwhelming. Simple questions students ask like 'where do I put my poster now that it is finished' are difficult to answer. There isn't a place. And when only half the kids hand something in, and many of them write it in Dutch, how can I grade it?

Somehow the balloon cars with the first years turned out better than expected. We had the races Friday afternoon and maybe 75% of kids had at least something. The record went 6 meters. Pretty impressive. Mine went almost 5 - but I only took an hour to make it.

My Balloon Car

Before that excitement happened, I was on the leerplien (common area with computers where 2-3 classes can be working) with the second years. They were not working (it was the Friday before break) but they were also starting to get a bit out of control, so that was taxing. There is a 'silent room' where students should not be talking, and if they do, they have to join the rest. So I told them to stop talking. Five minutes later, I asked one girl to leave. No problem. Standard procedure.

Overseeing the Races

Five minutes later, I asked another girl to leave. I got complete disrespect from her, she would not move. So I said she would stay after school. It escalated until she was there after school for a long time. She still wouldn't leave. I was so upset that I left.

For the most part, the tools we have to exercise our role as 'police' work, and it is part of the job. But sometimes they don't. I don't get what to do in those cases and it makes me want to quit. The biggest problems I have are with the popular girls. Some of them have horrible attitudes and think they can do/say whatever they want. When they find out they can't manipulate me like they do most other males, they explode. These confrontations get exhausting, and are a real distraction to the rest of the class. Some advice on how to deal with these girls would be most welcome...

Now it is finally Fall Break. We get a whole week off. It is much needed, although I think I am feeling better than most starting teachers. Overall I am very happy to have started off at Wolfert Pro. I work pretty well with the chaos and enjoy the freedom and flexibility to try out new things and make mistakes. Being part of building something so difficult is quite the challenge. Most of the kids are good kids. The first years especially are fun to work with. They still listen.

Digging In

My usual pattern of getting upset on Saturdays seems to be continuing. I don't like it. Pretty much every Saturday something has triggered it. Mostly administrative stuff that should have happened but hasn't. Things have not gone well from that standpoint. Stores close early, money hasn't been deposited, paperwork is incomplete, banking is screwed up, etc.

This week it was plane tickets. Naomi and I tried to buy a couple so that we could visit my family for Christmas. She still hadn't gotten her credit card that she had applied for five weeks ago, but I figured it wouldn't matter since I had mine from the states. We found the flight (Christmas Day) and after I put in my credit card information, the price mysteriously jumped 100 Euros per person.

There was no explanation, but I assumed it was because I tried to pay with dollars instead of Euros. If her card had come, we would not have this problem. So she called the company. They said her order had been stopped because they needed more information from her. But they never contacted her.

This set me off. Something along these lines has been happening pretty much every Saturday. It makes me feel upset, powerless, and homesick. As Naomi tries to put it nicely, 'this is not a service-oriented country'. Well, I am sick of it. Everything seems to go wrong.

On the other hand, we may have found a solution. One of our colleagues offered to help us out with financial difficulties, so I called her up yesterday and she said it would be fine to try putting the tickets on her credit card. I thought this rather generous after only knowing us for less than two months. The Dutch people I have met so far have been, for the most part, quite friendly and helpful. The institutions seem to be the problem.

The week at school seemed to go pretty well. I had to leave early on Tuesday because I felt strangely sick. Really sick. No idea why. I did what I needed to do, though. Managed to give my first test. I had to give it twice to one class because most failed it the first time and had to keep another after school to take it because they wouldn't stop talking, but I still consider it a success.

It was about perimeter and area. Strangely enough two classes had a C-average and the other two classes had just below a D- average. I don't have an explanation for that one yet. Math is quite difficult for a lot of these students.

In science they are making balloon-powered cars. It is a pretty cool project. We made rubber band cars when I was that age, and I won the competition to go the farthest because my dad helped me. I wonder how many of these students will get help from home...

Now it is Sunday. The day of rest. As it is not raining yet, I need to go out for a run while I still can. I really hope I don't get rained on with my new shoes. They are very nice. Seems that they solve my knee problems. And the route I get to take is beautiful. It is about 6k and it starts out with a skinny path next to a wide canal full of ducks and trees. Then it turns and an isthmus takes me between a river that carries boats which are above my head, and the lake full of sailboats that are below my feet.

The height difference is incredible. The reason for it is located right around the halfway point. A beautiful windmill dating from the mid-1600s. It pumped all that water out of the lake and into the river so that people could live where I live.

I continue to run over a small drawbridge and turn the corner into the wealthy area of town. BMWs and Mercedes line the streets and driveways of stately homes and mansions that overlook the water. We live on the rich side of town. Anyway, enough writing about it, I better do it before it rains again...

Something to Celebrate

Once again, my week started out a bit rough and got better as the days progressed. We had the conclusions of the first projects for the first and second years this week. This was a bit stressful. I had a lot of grading to do and students were not finishing on time. They were not following the assignment. I had no idea how to continue after this project was finished.

Naomi was in charge of the exhibition for the second years. This was quite the task and she even had to come into school on her day off Tuesday to get some work done. This added some extra stress for both of us.

Slowly I made progress with checking my assignments – which turned out really well. The students were supposed to use some online software to make a floor plan of the school. Even with lots of mistakes, the software made the floor plan look rather professional. A nice display for parents night (Friday and tomorrow) when the parents come to see what the students have been working on.

I also made progress on planning for the next weeks with the teachers I share classes with. We should be splitting the classes soon, but without knowing the date, it makes planning a bit difficult. We are also supposed to request our classrooms on the schedule, but by the time we got to it, the rooms were all taken. How are we supposed to teach without a classroom? Not sure. The schedule thing has been a huge problem from the beginning. I think they need to pay someone just to organize it. Otherwise all of the teachers each waste a lot of time negotiating with each other for who gets to use the classroom…

Somehow Naomi’s exhibition and the parent’s night went smoothly. It was as if there was an unseen director making sure the timing of everything worked out. After school Naomi and I celebrated with a nice dinner. If you remember the link about the school I posted a couple weeks ago, we have another cause to celebrate. Our school has just won a 50,000 Euro prize for being the most innovative school in the Netherlands! That is what the video was about.

Naomi and I spent about 300 Euros yesterday getting some things in town. A couple of the department stores had sales going on and it was a bit like Black Friday. There are so many people in this country. We founded what we needed though, and I even got some new running shoes. The store was nice – they did a little video test to analyze my run and recommend certain types of shoes. Of course the ones that fit the best were the most expensive…I always seem to have that problem.

Speaking of running shoes, it is a beautiful morning and just about time to try them out. Afterwards I think we just might take a bike ride over to Delft. The weather has been beautiful this week, so it needs to be enjoyed before it gets terrible again.

P.S. If you want a taste of some Dutch humor...they boys at school have been doing these little dances in class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmsvEhce_GQ