A little bit of background - the school system in the UK is quite different than in the US - children here attend primary school (elementary school) until what we know of as the 6th grade, until they are about 11 years old. Then they move on to secondary school (which we know as high school), except that secondary school here starts essentially at 7th grade, when the kids are 11/12 years old, rather than starting at 9th grade, like children do in the States (when they are closer to 14/15 years old). So, as you might imagine, it can be difficult and quite overwhelming for some kids to start high school as young as 11 years old, and be thrown into a large public high school mixed with students that are as old as 16-17. Thus, the Transition Learning Mentor position has been designed to provide clinical and mentoring support to those children transitioning from primary to secondary school - the 6th graders who are about to enter 7th grade. There is actually a Transition Learning Mentor Team throughout the borough - 6 TLMs in total, each based at a different high school, and each working with a different cluster of primary schools, led by a wonderful TLM coordinator with whom I've already met twice, and am VERY excited to be working with. I will be meeting for the first time with the entire TLM team next Friday, for a resource networking meeting. Perhaps I will bring some of my brownies along...
So, for this spring and upcoming summer terms, most of the work I will be doing will actually be at five primary feeder schools in the local area, preparing these children to move into high school in the fall (my first actual sessions/workshops at these primary schools will start the week after next). I will be working with whole classrooms and small groups of children, on issues that are most salient to them as they face an upcoming transition - anxieties about the changes between primary and secondary school, improving self-esteem, worries about bullying, making friends, developing organisation skills, etc. Then in the autumn, I will be working primarily at the high school, to help that same group of students actually go through the transition. Naturally, I will also be attending parent evenings, for parents of both the 6th and 7th grade students. The position requires A LOT of collaboration, as you can imagine, with the teachers at both the primary and high school level, the students and their families, and other staff. Thus, the role will be quite varied on a day-to-day basis, and will involve a significant amount of travel in the local area (all of the primary schools assigned to me are within walking distance, or a short bus ride away).
In reflecting back on this first week, I've felt at times a bit like Drew Barrymore in "Never Been Kissed." Though I'm obviously not posing undercover as a high school student, being in the halls, observing 7th grade classes, watching students at lunch, and just being in the high school environment is certainly nostalgic in many ways - memories of both the excitement and anxiety that come with being a teenager. My week has been varied in terms of duties thus far - trying to learn the ropes, pick up British school terminology and acronyms, meet the 7th grade students, meet the staff that I will be working closely with, and essentially find my place at the school (before I start leaving on a daily basis to visit primary schools). I've found the high school staff to be quite inviting and welcoming - there has not been an employee in my post for about a year now, so many of the staff have been eagerly awaiting my arrival (haha...you know what that means...let the work and referrals begin)! Being a public, community-funded school, the demographics of the high school are extremely diverse - about 50+ languages spoken. The high school staff are also quite diverse in background, ranging in age, though many of the teaching staff are probably mid-twenties to early-thirties, which makes for a relatively young, energetic group of colleagues. Despite the diversity, however, my American accent is quite salient :).
Aside from the "normal" tasks of settling in, meeting A LOT of people, getting my staff ID card, satisfying curiosities about my accent and debunking myths about California only having one season (Northern California is completely overshadowed by its Southern counterpart, as far as the international community is concerned), and desperately trying to remember names (although the school is very formal, so most staff call each other Ms. and Sir in front of students anyway, which makes the whole remembering-name thing slightly less daunting), this week has also been a week of many "firsts," lessons learned, and lessons taught...
- After over 20 years of my own schooling, I finally went to my first detention. My direct supervisor at the high school is a lovely woman, with a very busy schedule and quite a few student disciplinary responsibilities (her role is similar to that of a Vice Principal in the States). After a very long day early in the week, detention was the only relatively quiet place that we could meet and discuss a few particulars about the job. :)
- "Ms. Morrison" - oh wait, is that me? Aside from the doctor's office or the airline ticket counter, I'm not sure I've ever been called Ms. Morrison....or had to introduce myself this way, for that matter!
- "Brandina" is apparently an instant give-away among adults that I must be American - it seems that Americans ARE the bandwagon for unusual names :). Surprise surprise.
- Few things rival the entertainment value of holding an actual sheep's heart, fresh from the butcher shop (while assisting in an anatomy lesson), opening the crevices with my glove-covered hands (so adventurous students could properly stick or shove their fingers inside), and watching the boy vs. girl student reactions. I'm sure you can imagine! Even just writing this little snippit about the experience makes me smile.
- Who ever would have thought that a free cappuccino/coffee/espresso machine in the staff lounge could bring SO much joy? Conversation over the water cooler takes on a whole new meaning when you are sipping on a chocolate-laced espresso.
- The most important lesson I've shared with students so far - Disneyland is in California, while Disney World is in Florida. The travel time between the two is approximately five hours by plane (followed by wide eyes and gaping mouths), which I know is quite shocking, considering one could fly from London to most places in Europe in half that time. The U.S. is actually quite big you know (accompanied by a rough visual demonstration of U.S. geography). Oh, and Disneyland Paris is, in fact, in Paris.
- And, of course, this blog entry wouldn't be complete without a photo of me leaving for my first day of school (I dragged Bryan out of bed to take the photo and send me off in the rain!):
Love to all! - Brandina
P.S. You may have noticed some apparent spelling "errors" in the paragraphs above - these are actually British spellings (they like the letter "u," and rarely, if ever, use the letter "z"). Now that I will be writing progress notes and other documents at school, the time has come for these spelling changes to be habit :).
"Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children." - Sitting Bull
"During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy." - Joann C. Jones
