Lessons of All Sorts

From the amount of blog entries I post about our travels, I'm sure it's hard to believe that I do, in fact, work full-time! So, here's a bit of an update about my job front....

Since we returned from Italy in April, the official "summer term" (basically the third trimester) of the high school year began, running from April through July. My colleagues who are also part of the Transition Team gave me plenty of warning about summer term being the most hectic, but hectic was truly an understatement. As the British like to say, the past few months have been absolutely "mad." No day at my job is ever boring, sedentary, or the same as the day before. My record so far is visiting 4 schools in one day - walking or busing between each, eating my lunch en route.

In honor of my being "back in school," here are some of the lessons I've learned over the course of this term:

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Lesson #1) Multi-tasking is an understated art, and requires a genuine commitment to eating on the run

A small sample of my daily responsibilities over the past few months:

• Visiting 5 local primary schools, each at least once a week, to deliver whole classroom and small group workshops for the 6th graders, on issues related to the transition to high school - learning how to be organised, reading a timetable, making new friends, bullying and peer pressure, school rules and expectations, etc, complete with pre and post student evaluations (these workshops are geared to transition in general, regardless of where the students are going to attend high school)
  
• Visiting other primary schools in the borough (similar to a district in the U.S.), to meet and visit with specific 6th graders who have been identified as needing extra support through the transition to our high school (these meetings are specifically geared to students that will be coming to our high school in September)
• Meeting with teachers, special education coordinators, and social workers of 6th grade students, who will be transitioning to our high school
  
• Following-up with 7th graders at my high school, specifically those whose behaviour are being monitored by senior management staff - behaviour that has resulted in poor grades, strained relationships with teachers, and poor relationships with peers
• Co-facilitating a whole range of transition events at the high school (alongside my boss, who is the Manager of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade) - such events include personal interviews with the incoming 7th graders and their parents, induction mornings (when the new 7th graders spend a half day at the school in various lessons), and the parent information evening
  
• Planning ahead for September - outlining and designing groups and workshops for students, centered around self-esteem, social skills, conflict resolution, anger management, and healthy peer relationships. Groups with parents might be in the works as well.
  

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Lesson #2: A classroom has 4 walls, and sometimes
you just have to step outside the box

Two weeks ago, the student body and staff were off timetable for the entire week, and embarked on various field trips around and outside of the city (probably about 50+ field trips throughout the entire week in total). Given that all hands were needed, I too ventured off with the 7th graders, on their various trips throughout the week. Of all the trips, two in particular stood out for different reasons...

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Lesson #3: Teaching, protecting, and
managing pre-teens in public is not for the faint-hearted

THE LONDON CITY TRIP
On Tuesday of Interactive Learning Week, we took all 180 7th graders (in 3, separately-staffed groups of 60 pupils each) on a trip to London City, complete with a cruise on the River Thames, a tour on the London Eye, and a quick trip to Tate Modern Museum. This was definitely the most stressful trip of the week - imagine herding 60 12-year-olds on and off the tube (changing tube lines, no less), navigating through city streets, and trying to find the balance of allowing them to enjoy their day, while remaining safe in and respectful of the general public (eekk!). By the end of the day, I had my own small following of 7th grade girls completely enamoured by my American accent, and trying to practice their own (which came out sounding quite appalling - some sort of cross between relaxed surfer, deep southern drawl, and something Canadian). I quickly realised that their barrage of questions about America had nothing to do with actually learning the answers, and everything to do with just hearing me speak. Good fun indeed. Personally, having not yet been on a cruise of the Thames, or on the London Eye, this day was a learning, touristy experience for me as well. A few pics:

Views from the cruise on the River Thames:

Aerial Views from the London Eye

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Lesson #4: Like it or not, sometimes you have to get dirty to get real

THE RUSHALL FARM TRIP

On Thursday of Interactive Learning Week, we took all 180 7th graders on four big private coaches (combined as one huge group this time), and headed out to Rushall Farm, an organic farm about 90 minutes outside of London. This was, truly, one of the most amazing and eye-opening experiences I have had to date, while working with London's inner city youth. Initially, the entire farm experience was a bit overwhelming for many of the students - the smell of the farm, the animal poop on the ground, the hay flying around in the wind - not so popular at first. However, despite the rocky start, the remainder of the day was filled with meaningful conversations and revelations, ranging from quality of life on an organic farm, to my own American countryside upbringing (and for students whose sole understanding of America is Hollywood, the fact that farm animals even exist in California took some convincing on my part!). Some students saw sheep (in person) for the first time in their lives. Other students realised that products from KFC, and other similar fried chicken chains, actually come from live animals. By the end of the day, after we had hiked through the wooded area that surrounds the farm, made candles, tasted fresh honey, been pond dipping for bugs, and learned how to make charcoal, students were literally playing around inside the lamb pen. Being with the students, experiencing a day on a rural farm, was extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally - it provided me with deeper insight into the lives of the students at our school, and the very limited opportunities many have had to explore and conceptualise life outside of the city. It also made me nostalgic for rural Auburn, California, and grateful for the wide range of educational experiences I had growing up. One thing is for sure - some lessons just can't be learned in the classroom; few things replace first-hand experience and exploration.

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Lesson #5: Saying good-bye really is the hardest part

Last week was our End of Year Staff BBQ, and also staff farewell event, where we said goodbye to a handful of wonderful staff that will not be returning in September, one of whom (Kate, see pic below) has become a lovely friend of mine. Our staff lunch room tends to be a bit segregated (think Ross from Friends, and the museum lunch episode), forcing staff to sit in one of three areas - the science corner (dominated by the best couches in the room), the English corner (with a nice round table), or the general corner (where arts, PE, and social sciences have a mingle). As you can imagine, when I began my job in February, and didn't quite belong in any of the corners, lunch in the staff room was slightly anxiety-provoking, which is where Kate came in. A member of the art department for 3 years, she quickly invited me to join the general corner, and we've been fast friends ever since. I will definitely miss her at school in September, and as I have mentioned in previous blogs, such is the course of friendships in this town.

Oh, and for those of you that are a bit rusty on your Friends episodes...

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Lesson #6: Forget virtue - patience is an act of sheer heroism
when summer holidays are just around the corner

As of last Thursday, 22 July, 99% of the staff said their farewells, and took off for their summer holidays. But, for myself, my boss, and a select few of the truly dedicated, summer school started today - one last week of work until the holiday. The summer school program exists solely for the incoming 7th graders, who are partaking in various lessons, sports events, dance, and a couple of educational workshops led by yours truly; looks like I'll be able to tack teaching on to my resume :). So, 4 more days...and counting. Then Bryan and I will squeeze in a farewell dinner for our Aussie friends on Saturday (the couple that we met in San Sebastian) - followed by drinks with one of Bryan's high school friends on a stopover for the night, and then we jet off to Croatia on Sunday to recharge our batteries. Until then....

Love you all!

-B

"But Miss, if you lived out in the country when you were young, how did you buy clothes?" - One of my 7th grade students

Escape to the Seaside

Combine temperatures in the upper 80's, absolutely no air conditioning (in our flat, at work, on the buses, on the tubes), and a shoe-box sized flat, and the result is some sweltering sleepless nights, lots of sweating, and difficulty getting dressed professionally for work. Yup, we're in the thick of a HOT London summer. So, this past weekend we escaped the big, hot city (and more specifically, our boiling flat), and headed for Worthing & Brighton, on the southern coast of England.

After a quick 80-minute train ride from London, Friday evening after work, we arrived in Worthing, a quiet, small seaside town with a charming city centre, vast stretches of unpopulated pebble beaches, simple beach-side cafes, and excellent restaurants. We stayed for both nights in Worthing at a lovely B&B, about 2 blocks from the beach, and a 10-minute walk from the centre of town. After feasting on excellent Mediterranean food Friday evening, we woke up Saturday morning and took the bus into Brighton. A rather popular tourist destination, Brighton has a bit of an East Coast beach town feel - pebble beaches, salty sea breezes, wooden piers, all types of fresh seafood for sale, tarot card and palm readers, and of course, the typical beach boardwalk - shops, restaurants, candy stands, art exhibits, and lots of people! We found Brighton to be most suitable for shopping, people-watching, and absorbing the boardwalk atmosphere, a bit reminiscent of the movie "Big."

We returned to Worthing on Saturday evening, to get dressed up, go out to a nice dinner, and celebrate Bryan's new job! We had a relaxing drink at a cafe on the end of the Worthing Pier, sauntered across the street to a quaint Italian restaurant, and enjoyed a delicious 3-course Italian meal on an outdoor patio, with an unobstructed view of the beach. Over a celebratory bottle of wine, we had an opportunity to slow down and relax - time without the television (think World Cup!), without talks of jobs (Brandina's job being so busy at the moment, Bryan in the midst of the new job learning curve), and time without computers (and the never-ending online to-do list).

A few pics from our escape...

Busy & Vibrant Brighton

Quiet & Quaint Worthing

Hope you are all enjoying your summer, wherever you are! Cheers!
-B&B

"I'm going to go away on vacation, I'm going to try to get away from the phone, away from scripts. I think it's important to sit back and think about what you want." - Parker Stevenson

It's A Numbers Game

8 months

67 jobs applied to

31 different applications

33 different cover letters

9 interviews

4 power point presentations

3 volunteerships

4 weeks at Burberry customer service

1 day at Debenhams department store

10 days at Cliftons Nursery

4 days at residential gardening jobs

Lots of perseverance....

They say good things come to those who wait. Well after eight months of patiently waiting, I believe the "good" piece of that puzzle has finally come to fruition. I am proud to say that not only have I found a job, but I think it's an amazing fit!

As some of you know, before we moved to London I immersed myself in the sustainable food sector (i.e. improving access to healthy, local food), so I was hoping to land a job somewhere within that field, across the pond. My background and experience in project management and community engagement were strong, but I soon realized from interview feedback that I was going to need to strengthen my knowledge of the UK's sustainable food stakeholders. So I quickly took the initiative to start volunteering at a number of organizations.

The first stop was at Spitalfields City Farm - London has many city farms, literally within the city of London. They are genuine farms with a range of animals including horses, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits, etc as well as land for food growing. They are mainly used for educational purposes though, so none of the animals are slaughtered, however the produce, dairy, and eggs are often sold at local farmers markets and restaurants, or given to schools and the community. At Spitalfields, I had the opportunity to learn more about growing food as well as some of the key players in the sustainable food industry, while also reigniting my passion for working with youth. I'm also now part of their committee to build a community eco-building. The next volunteer stop was at the high school where Brandina works. A few blocks from the school is a community garden, where I continued to learn more about growing food. The last stop on the volunteer train was at an organization called Sustain - one of the most prominent players in the UK's sustainable food sector. Even though this was unpaid, candidates were interviewed for the position, so it was more like a volunteership. I often felt like Will Smith (playing Chris Gardner) from The Pursuit of Happiness, since it was fairly intense. This was an amazing opportunity, as I was part of a campaign called Capital Growth, with the goal to develop 2,012 food growing sites by the end of 2012. I was highly involved with the project, assisting with planning and marketing, coordinating food growing training sessions, conducting site visits, and helping coordinate events, including a recent one headlined by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Every day at Sustain I felt the energy and enthusiasm radiate from the staff and their campaigns. Not only did I continue to learn more about the players in London's sustainable food sector, but my passion and knowledge blossomed regarding the vast amount of issues within food justice, such as: problems with genetically-modified crops, organic and locally produced food, obesity and other health-related issues, food sovereignty (the principle that nations should be allowed to decide on their own agricultural policies), school lunch reform, food safety regulation, urban agriculture, community gardens, and access to healthy food. The more I learned, the more I decided that I didn't want to settle for something not food related. So while I was still endlessly applying for jobs, I was also doing some temp work a few days a week - to help sustain us here, and also so Brandina wouldn't vote me off the Island. I had stints with Burberry's customer service department, in the stock room at Debenhams department store, gardening for a high end nursery called Cliftons in posh areas such us Hampstead where celebrities such as Jude Law, Russel Crowe, and Gwyneth Paltrow live, and gardening at private gardens down the street from world leaders, including the current residence of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

While those were some great, albeit interesting experiences into some of the working worlds other sectors, I was more then happy to accept a position at Freightliners City Farm in Islington, London! I'll be coordinating a program for at-risk youth, between the ages of 16-19, from a population known as NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) - essentially youth who have fallen through the cracks for one reason or another. With support from my co-workers, I'll be providing them with alternative education opportunities including food growing, cooking (using our farm cafe!), animal care, and carpentry - with the goal to guide them into further education or employment. I'm uber excited, as it is a fantastic combination of my passion for sustainable foods and my background and experience in project management, community engagement, social work, and youth development!

First Day of Work

Day 1 Update - After arriving at 9am, we used a massive heap of keys to open all of the doors of the farm including the kitchen, cafe, bathrooms, offices, classrooms, and animal pens. I then helped teach a class of 5 - 6 year olds how to make bread. Next, I cleaned and stocked the produce that was delivered today for the cafe. After a late lunch in the park down the street, I started to go through the contract and current status of the project I'm coordinating to begin planning and strategizing. This is going to be a fun experience......

“Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.” ~Charles F. Kettering

- Bryan

P.S. I want to give a special thanks to Brandina for supporting me in more ways than one in the past eight months...thanks Sunshine...I love you.