Away From Home

Week 5 of Teaching Practice has come & gone as fast as it began. Hard to believe that only two weeks remain. What’s also surprising is the amount of time I’ve spent away from home. Before coming to NZ the longest I’ve ever spent away from home consecutively was seven weeks – it now stands at 10 weeks and climbing. My overall record is 13 weeks back in 2006 when I studied in Ukraine & then worked at cadet camp. In between those two excursions I stayed at home for 3 days to rest, recuperate, and pack. My overall record won’t be broken until early October.

On the teaching side, routine has been the rule of law. Teach a lesson here, observe a lesson there, and plan an upcoming lesson somewhere else. Problems in the classroom are next-to-nil and I spend most of my time walking around answering questions and making sure the given tasks are completed. As a student teacher, I feel that the planning of a lesson is more difficult than teaching the lesson.

This past Thursday, I took part in a well-organized Music Evening concert where students (solo & groups) performed jazz, rock, & classical pieces in front of family & friends. This concert also served the purpose of assessing students completing the performance components of the music curriculum. As for me, I provided piano accompaniment for a Year 10 sax player and we played the jazz piece Rachel & the Boys by James Rae. The crowd liked us. During the intermission, guests were treated to finger foods like crackers & chips, and drinks such as juice for the students and wine for the adults.

For Friday’s assembly, awards were given out for participants in math competitions, rugby, & soccer. Maori students achieved a significant amount of the awards. Student politics was also on the agenda with Year 9s being tasked with electing a new representative to council. There were three candidates who gave short humourous speeches. And finally, the principal announced that the library would be undergoing renovations within a week.

As for my friends in my program, they too were happy with the way the week turned out. It appears that everyone is in the zone. What’s also talked about around the table is the recent popularity of the NZ comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and the YouTube video Beached Whale which pokes fun at the New Zealand accent.

With the week over, I can now sit back & relax. Nah, I'm going skiing.