Welcome to Germany and our Blog
Hello Kimmi, Michael, Paul, Sophia and Haley,
Welcome to our blog! Each of you has had a chance to familiarize yourselves with your classrooms, cooperating teachers, administrators and your students. I'm anxious to hear all about it. For your first posting, please share about your experience thus far. Give us an overview of your classroom, a bit about your cooperating teacher and how you are settling into life on a military base. Remember the way this works--you post your comments and then respond to at least two other postings. We will do this weekly sometimes to a specific prompt and often reflecting on your week and sharing a highlight and a challenge. Looking forward to hearing from each of you.
posted by Chris @ 2:31 PM
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Life in Good Ol’ BAMberg
January 12
Well life in the lovely town of Bamberg Germany has been interesting to say the least. After a long day of traveling and rushing through the Paris airport, which is about the size of Pullman, we made it to the Bamberg base. I then learned it is not called a base but rather a post and was thrown into paperwork and pictures. We were then taken to the school to meet our class, teacher and principal, all much to my surprise for I was still in my comfy yet attractive yoga attire and smelled like a mixture of plane food and sweat. I put on my best smile and met all the wonderful people at Bamberg Elementary. After that wild adventure we went to our humble abode, or as I like to call it the twilight zone pent house. Having spent time at my school and with my class I feel so lucky for being placed with someone I mesh so well with. She is already planning to take me and Sophia on a trip to Dresden and is so generous. She is an amazing teacher and has a lot of experience. She is an artist and an excellent ballerina. I had my first ballet class this week, which surprisingly I didn’t excel in, me the girl that falls simply walking. My students are adorable but ask me to sharpen their pencils every other minute. But if that is my biggest struggle I think I will be just fine. We are still trying to get internet and our access passes. But we are able to “borrow” the wifi from our neighbor downstairs for now. We are also unaware of how much our rent is so far. I have heard between $150 and $600. I personally voted for $150 but they said they had to go by square footage. It being a 8 bedroom apartment I am not sure that will be the case. Base life is very different. I am not used to showing my picture before I can enter my home but it is just something I will get used to. Most of the soldiers are kind and helpful, which is very much appreciated (they are easy on the eyes as well). We have ventured into the actual town, which was an adventure in itself, a few times now and I know I will simply love it. There are 9 breweries in all and the most amazing cafes. The churchs and architecture is simply breathtaking. We are headed to Berlin for the weekend to meet up with our fellow world travelers so I will have much better stories to tell next week.
Until then, Tchuss
So far I have had an amazing experience here in Bamberg. There are of course the little frustrating things such as not having Internet, and not having our ID cards yet, but I’m sure it will all get figured out very soon.
Bamberg Elementary School (BES) is a wonderful school full of very great staff! Everyone has been so helpful and generous. My teacher is Mrs. Heit and I am in third grade. She is an amazing teacher and very experienced. Everyone tells me I will learn so much from her and I already have! The way she runs the classroom is quite different. It is very student-centered and she does a lot of work with what she calls developmental learning centers. The students pretty much run the classroom on their own and each day there is a leader that gets the students ready for recess and things like that. She also does a lot of cooking in her classroom, which the students love. The parents are also very involved in the classroom and what is going on which is great. The students are wonderful. They are all very independent and are just adorable.
It is quite different living on a military base and something to get used to. Our apartment is a 2-minute walk from the school, which is very convenient and nice. There is also a bus station that goes into town and it is very close and easy. Haley and I have two roommates from Truman State who are both student teachers at the High school. They are very nice girls and I think we will get along great!
I have also been able to practice my german which is great since it has gotten a little rusty :)
I am very excited for what is going to be a very busy and great semester here in Bamberg!
Aufwiedersehen!!
The first week of school has been a bit of a roller coaster, which I presume will continue with it’s ups and downs, but I have enjoyed it regardless. Second grade is a different beast than fifth grade for several reasons and I am still adjusting to the change, however, I have found some pros throughout my first week that leave some room for optimism as I continue through this semester. I love the energy of the kids and the spontaneity of their actions. They have also taken to me very quickly and it’s tough not to enjoy 23 little boys and girls begging you to come read them a story. So while they’re a handful to keep under wraps, like a young puppy, they can be sweet and playful too.
My cooperating teacher, Monica Smith, is a Saint. She is unbelievably kind and also extremely organized in her teaching. She is always on top of her work, coming in early and staying late. I couldn’t ask for a better role model. She has a mouth that spits out more words a minute than I can comprehend, however, she is constantly making sure I understand what is happening in the classroom and alerting me as to why she does things the way she does. I also believe she has been successful in introducing me to each of her 75 fellow teachers, some more than once. To give everyone a good example of her generosity, Kimmi, Paul, and I just finished eating a home cooked lasagna that she made me. She handed it to me after she picked us up from the train station today. That’s the kind of person I’m talking about.
Base life is different, however, it hasn’t been to difficult of a transition for me so far. My sleep schedule is still a little quirky but its been working well. I go to sleep early, wake up early, run to the gym, eat breakfast, and get ready for school which works for me. This weekend, having stayed up a bit later each night in Berlin, may change my sleep schedule. I usually am in bed by 8 p.m. and here I am at 9 p.m. finishing up my post.
All in all, the first week has been very enjoyable and I can tell that, while there will be days that go by slower than others, I am going to have a great semester here. Until next week...
Tchuss!
So far I have loved everything about student teaching! I wasn't sure how I would feel about teaching first grade compared to fifth. I was actually almost afraid of those little kids...however I quickly realized how fun, exciting and intelligent they are! I can't believe that just a few short weeks ago I was so unsure about meeting them.
We as student teachers as so blessed to be able to work at these schools. Its amazing to see how many things these children get the advantage of using or participating in. All of our first graders know at least english and are beginning to learning both German and Spanish. Its amazing to think that first graders back home are being short changed with their teachers only giving the opportunity to learn one language for the most part. I've decided that I will speak German, Spanish and Chinese in my classroom no matter where I am teaching some day.
In our classroom its all about being a family. To get our attention my mentor teacher, Carol, will turn the lights down and say "Friends and Family..." Its such a calm and reassuring way to address a class full of kids. Speaking of Carol, she is so fantastic! I love her as though she is my family as well! She has already taught me so much and I can't wait to continue learning. Learning from her and from the entire staff...its so great to hear what all of the teachers have to say. They bring so many perspectives to the table that its great!
Living on the base is both similar and different from what I expected. I heard its was like a "mini America" but our post is pretty much just housing, the commissary and school so its not too exciting. Without ease of transportation it was easy to feel slightly trapped here at first. Downtown is a ways away but many teachers have offered to drive us in the future so that will help!
Overall its been great so far. Our trip to Berlin this past weekend was very fun and I can't wait to experience more of what Germany and surrounding countries have to offer as we progress through the semester.
My roommates often talk about how they will be so ready to go home. I'm not sure that will come for me. I will, at the end, be excited to see friends and family however this is a once in a lifetime experience and am so grateful for it!
Can't wait to see what this Spring has in store!
Tchuss!
January 16
Heidelberg
While it feels I have been out of America for at least a month now, we are only just now finishing our first full week of teaching. The transition of traveling, getting settled, and meeting hundreds of new faces tends to have that effect. The balance of getting a feel for a new home and new school is one that demands a lot of energy.
Here at Patrick Henry Elementary, I am working with Ms. McAlpin in the 5th grade. This is her first year at PHE, teaching in Japan last year. A couple years ago she was honored as Teacher of the Year in Pacific DoDDS schools. We team teach with another teacher, Ms. McGinn. Our class focuses on Math, Science, and Health; the other on Language Arts and Social Studies. They call their joint classes the McVillage and were quite excited to hear a MacDonald was joining their ranks. I fit in nicely.
Life on a base makes it seem like you aren't really in Germany, but when the weekend hits and you realize you can visit your choice of Italy, Austria, or France on a whim, you realize you aren't in the USA anymore. This weekend we went to Berlin, a truly memorable trip for a history lover like myself.
I learn a lot daily, both as a teacher and a person. This week in the classroom I learned that I can lead a class on my own, as my teacher was sick on my 2nd day. Outside of the classroom, Kimmi taught us all it is important to pay attention in Science class as she didn't work her conversions correctly and fried her hair straightener... making the whole apartment smell like burnt hair. Classy.
That's all for now.
For more fun check in next week, same place, same time.
You have made my day! Thank you for the great postings. I have enjoyed reading each one. Since this is the first one, I won't hold you to responding to each other. We will try that next week. I appredciate the upbeat attitude each of you is displaying--there is much to do, much to learn and much to enjoy! Have a great week.
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