So my CRT (casual relief teaching) work has been picking up lately, and I'm usually out at schools a few times each week. I've noticed some other differences between Australian and American schools lately and had a few amusing experiences I thought I'd share for today's blog post:
1. I already mentioned a few common names for boys (Hugo, Henry, Harry, and Jack). I've noticed a couple more: Hamish and Luca. I haven't noticed a pattern with girls' names yet.
2. Pencils are called gray lines. Markers are called textas. Erasers are called rubbers. And pencils don't seem to have erasers at the ends of them. Kids are always looking for rubbers to use or borrow. I think bringing this one invention to the Australian school system would singularly save hours of wasted time each year!
3. Younger kids get confused when I write my a's how they look when you type them. They want to see the regular circle with the tail. It's a hard habit to break! Older kids don't care.
4. The other day I "taught" Italian. No, I don't know Italian! I guess they figured because I know some Spanish that I could handle it. With most classes, the kids had projects about famous Italians to work on anyway, so it didn't matter.
5. When a Year 5/6 class walked down the hall toward their room and saw me, they asked if I was their Italian teacher. When I said yes, one girl said, "Yay, you're so pretty!" and then almost gave me a hug. I wonder what her normal teacher looks like?
6. I introduced myself to this same class with the usual, "My name is Mrs. Keys, I'll be your Italian teacher today, etc." and they all burst into spontaneous applause. It's a pretty good gig when you get a roomful of people clapping for you just because you say your name and tell them you'll be with them for an hour!
7. Australian kids are obsessed with their rulers and "ruling up" their pages before starting their work. For some reason, their paper in their notebooks doesn't have the red/blue margin lines that we're used to seeing, so students have been taught to use a ruler to draw a line across the top and down the side before doing any writing. I sort of understand the line along the side (so the writing lines up all the way down the page), but geez, these kids are super anal about having to "rule up" everything perfectly! One girl almost cried today because she couldn't find her ruler, until I showed her how she could use the side of her book to do the same thing.
8. Every school I've been to seems to have two distinct breaks. One is mid-morning, and the kids definitely eat. It's not just a recess. Some schools call it "brain food," and it has to be fruit or something semi-healthy. Other schools let the kids basically eat an entire lunch! Then they have a later break, usually at around 1pm. They eat again and get a longer recess. It sure breaks up the day and makes it go quickly. Sometimes, you only have one subject/lesson after lunch before the kids go home!
9. Swimming is a regular part of many schools' PE curriculums. Or when I've done after-school care, lots of kids go off to swimming lessons for part of it. Also, kids seem to do their music lessons during the day instead of after school. Random children leave in the middle of various subjects for their keyboard or flute or some other musical lesson.
10. Kids trade footy cards (they look just like baseball cards!) with each other at recess. I don't think they call it recess though. I think it's just "break."
11. Teachers in Australia get yard duty just like in the US. But you have to wear a bright neon vest and carry a "bum bag," which is a first aid kit fanny pack thing. I've heard that fanny pack might not be an appropriate term in this country!
12. Favorite questions asked by kids so far:
-"Have you met President Obama and Mrs. Obama?"
-"How big is the Statue of Liberty?" (I describe it.) "Oh, well forget it. I don't want to see it then."
-"Are you from Ireland?" (Lots of Irish girls come to Australia to work as teachers.)
-"Does everyone in America carry a gun?" "Do you get robbed all of the time?" (They watch too many American movies I guess!)
That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll collect more tidbits and do another post like this in the future!
Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Working Woman
Well, I got bored. After nearly a year living as a "Lady of Leisure," I ran out of things to occupy my days. I found myself some days with literally nothing to do. So I got a job. I interviewed with a teaching agency, and now I'm a "CRT," which stands for Casual Relief Teacher. Basically, I'm a substitute teacher. So far I've been in a Prep classroom one day up in Richmond, with a Year 6 class for three days at a school in St Kilda, and with a Year 3 class the next day at the same school. It's been pretty good, though it's hard not knowing the kids' names by heart or developing any sort of real rapport or relationship with them. But I don't have to do any lesson planning or grading (hooray!), the extra money will be nice, and I only have to work on the days I want to work.
Here are some differences I've noticed so far between American and Australian schools:
1. Popular names are different here. I've had more than one Henry, Harry, Jack, and Hugo. Yes, Hugo!
2. Math is called maths. That's not plural. I can't get used to saying, "Get out your maths book" or "After lunch, you have maths." Very strange.
3. Students are required to wear hats when they go outside. Because the Australian sun is so strong, this is ingrained in kids from a young age. They automatically put them on when they go out to recess.
4. Apparently peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are distinctly American. Kids thought it was weird that I brought one for lunch one day.
5. Allergies are a big deal out here. I guess lots of Australian kids have them-to food, insects, etc. I even had to go to anaphylaxis training and learn how to use an Epi-pen.
6. There doesn't seem to be a class called social studies. One school calls it T.I., and I forget what that stands for. Science is definitely not a big part of the curriculum, at least in the classes I've seen.
7. Kids don't learn Spanish as a second language. Japanese and Italian are the ones I've encountered so far.
8. Kindergarten is what Americans would call preschool, and what we would call kindergarten is called Prep here.
9. Primary school includes everything up to eighth grade, and secondary school is high school. You call it Year 6 instead of 6th grade.
10. The school year has four terms, and all schools in Victoria are on the same schedule. There are two-week breaks between each term, and a long "summer" holiday in December/January. We're coming to the end of Term 1 right now.
11. My accent is definitely a novelty. Kids have no clue where Colorado is, though to be fair, I had no clue where Melbourne was until about a year ago.
12. I have to be especially careful with how I spell words, both for the students and in my notes to the teacher. Behaviour, favourite, colour, realise, centre, practise, etc.-I will never get used to some of these!
13. Student planners are called diaries. Waldo is called Wally, so they have Where's Wally books instead of Where's Waldo.
14. I read aloud a short story where the sun was compared to a penny. The kids didn't know what a penny was. Whoops!
15. Kids are the same all over the world. Some of my Year 6 students the other day were basically the Australian versions of some of my sixth graders back in Colorado-looks, personality, everything!
I'll try to be good about still updating the blog, even though I'm now a working woman. In other news, the Tough Mudder race is this weekend, so we're off to Phillip Island to torture ourselves. Here's hoping we don't die!
Here are some differences I've noticed so far between American and Australian schools:
1. Popular names are different here. I've had more than one Henry, Harry, Jack, and Hugo. Yes, Hugo!
2. Math is called maths. That's not plural. I can't get used to saying, "Get out your maths book" or "After lunch, you have maths." Very strange.
3. Students are required to wear hats when they go outside. Because the Australian sun is so strong, this is ingrained in kids from a young age. They automatically put them on when they go out to recess.
4. Apparently peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are distinctly American. Kids thought it was weird that I brought one for lunch one day.
5. Allergies are a big deal out here. I guess lots of Australian kids have them-to food, insects, etc. I even had to go to anaphylaxis training and learn how to use an Epi-pen.
6. There doesn't seem to be a class called social studies. One school calls it T.I., and I forget what that stands for. Science is definitely not a big part of the curriculum, at least in the classes I've seen.
7. Kids don't learn Spanish as a second language. Japanese and Italian are the ones I've encountered so far.
8. Kindergarten is what Americans would call preschool, and what we would call kindergarten is called Prep here.
9. Primary school includes everything up to eighth grade, and secondary school is high school. You call it Year 6 instead of 6th grade.
10. The school year has four terms, and all schools in Victoria are on the same schedule. There are two-week breaks between each term, and a long "summer" holiday in December/January. We're coming to the end of Term 1 right now.
11. My accent is definitely a novelty. Kids have no clue where Colorado is, though to be fair, I had no clue where Melbourne was until about a year ago.
12. I have to be especially careful with how I spell words, both for the students and in my notes to the teacher. Behaviour, favourite, colour, realise, centre, practise, etc.-I will never get used to some of these!
13. Student planners are called diaries. Waldo is called Wally, so they have Where's Wally books instead of Where's Waldo.
14. I read aloud a short story where the sun was compared to a penny. The kids didn't know what a penny was. Whoops!
15. Kids are the same all over the world. Some of my Year 6 students the other day were basically the Australian versions of some of my sixth graders back in Colorado-looks, personality, everything!
I'll try to be good about still updating the blog, even though I'm now a working woman. In other news, the Tough Mudder race is this weekend, so we're off to Phillip Island to torture ourselves. Here's hoping we don't die!
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