christmas is coming

As we roll into December, it is becoming more and more apparent how quickly this term is wrapping up.  We only have three short weeks until the semester comes to a close and Christmas break commences.  School continues to go well.  I am finishing up an algebra unit with my math students this upcoming week, and started a chemistry unit in science this past week.  As these are my two favorite subjects, life is good.  Things are made even better by the fact that we finally got a dusting of snow that has stuck around.  It surely is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Here is the small snowman I left on my
colleague's desk at school after the first snowfall. 

As today marks the first day of advent, I would also like to introduce you to the new additions in my apartment.  A small collection of international Christmas cheer is accumulating on my bookshelf.  A tree, tinsel, and candy canes from the US.  A gingerbread house and candles from Sweden.  And some mince pies and Christmas pudding from England.  Things are pretty cheery here.   A few other expansions to my collection are in the works, so check back in the coming weeks if you would like to see the new developments.  

A small collection of Christmas cheer.

party hats and safety vests

Sorry I took a little blogging hiatus last week.  I spent most of last weekend at a friend’s house, and did not have the opportunity to write an update.  Because I have not written for quite a while, I think it would be best if I gave you a quick rundown of the highlights from these past two weeks:

• For the past several weeks, the students in my science classes have been working on a project about sources of energy.  Each student was asked to research a different source of energy (e.g. hydropower, solar power, geothermal powers, etc.), and produce a small booklet about the advantages and disadvantages of that source of energy.  Since turning their projects in, I have really enjoyed reading through their work and have been impressed with what they were able to produce.   My students amaze me every day.
• In other school-related news, I must tell you about one of the more recent teacher meetings I attended.  When I entered the conference room, candles lined the center of the table with chocolate candies tastefully scattered around.  Additionally, each attendee of the meeting was given a party hat to wear to the meeting.  And why all the decorations you ask?  No reason really.  It was no person’s birthday, and we really were not celebrating anything.  I just have the best colleagues ever. 
• This past week, when I arrived home from school, I was surprised once again with a package from my parents.  The package contained a wonderful assortment of Christmas cheer and a new essential article of clothing—a florescent yellow safety vest.  Things are starting to get dark here in Borås.  Real dark.  The sun rises around 8 in the morning, and sets a little before 4 in the afternoon.  Needless to say, I am getting quite a lot of use out of my new safety vest while riding Lena.
• This list of highlights would definitely not be complete without some mention of last weekend.  As I said previously, I was at my friend’s house most of last weekend.  Much of the weekend was spent relaxing.  We played games, ate delicious food, slept with her cat, sat around the fireplace and generally just enjoyed each other’s company.  It was so, so nice.

It has been a good couple of weeks.  I am getting into the swing of things at school, and continue to enjoy life in Sweden.  Party hats and safety vests—things honestly really couldn’t get much better.  

cracked eggs and cow licks

Wow, what a week!  As I mentioned in my previous post, this past week was fall break so I did not have school.  During this week, I have really enjoyed all the opportunities to take in a bit more Swedish culture.  (Small side note: I am a little tired from all the week’s events, so I apologize if this post is lacking in some of the more juicy details.  I’ll try to compensate with pictures.)

The week started with a short trip down to southern Sweden with Julia.  Julia has family who lives in Landskrona, so we stayed at their place for several days.  While there, Julia and I sampled Swedish cuisine and enjoyed nice walks around town.  Some of the cultural highlights of our stay included making cabbage rolls, learning how to eat an egg Swedish-style, exploring the town’s castle and surrounding moat (yes, the castle has a moat), and tasting the unique saltiness of kavier.

Every morning for breakfast, we each got an egg served
on a lovely pedestal.  To eat the egg, we cracked the top
half of the shell off before using a spoon to scoop out
the egg from the lower half of the shell.

 

I joined Julia and her family on a walk along the beach.
Yes, that is the ocean!  And yes, you can see Denmark
just across the water!

During our walk along the beach, we came across a few
friendly cows.  This cow took a liking to me and licked my
hand.  Who knew cows' tongues are so rough!

To complement our Swedish experiences, Julia and I also took a train down to Denmark to explore Copenhagen for a day.  While in Copenhagen, we visited the king’s castle, saw the queen’s residence, admired the crown jewels and played at the post museum.  Although a bit wet and cold, we had a nice time exploring the city.

While at the Queen’s Residence, Julia and I got to see
the daily changing of the guards ceremony.

I think one of my favorite parts of Copenhagen
was this radio exhibit in the post museum.  Julia and
I got to make our own radio broadcast complete
with music and sound effects!  

After a splendid few days down south, I returned to Borås to round off the week.  Saturday was particularly special because it was All Saints' Day.  On this day, many Swedes go with their families to the graveyards in the evening to light candles around their loved ones’ graves.  I went with a friend to one of the larger cemeteries in Borås.  I am real happy that I went as it was a very impressive sight to see all the candles lighting up the hillsides. 

Needless to say, I have had a really lovely break.  I can’t say I am quite ready to go back to school, but this past week has provided some nice down time to recharge for the rest of the semester.   

the seasons are a changin’

I am happy to report that frost and snow have officially arrived in Borås!   This past Thursday after school, a mini snow storm graced the town.  While the flurries did not stick around, cool temperatures lingered to remind us of the fast-approaching winter.

After the delightful little snowfall, on Friday, the entire staff at school took a road trip across the country to attend a conference in Linköping.  At the conference, I had the opportunity to meet other math teachers working at other English schools around the country.  A large part of the day was spent discussing how to implement the Swedish grading scheme.  I found it reassuring to learn that I am not the only teacher struggling to understand how best to create and use the rubrics so students get valuable feedback about their progress.  While the conference was nice, I must admit that my favorite aspect of the day was being able to spend time with my colleagues.  There are some really awesome people at my school, so it was nice to have time to hang out with them.  

This upcoming week is Höstlov (fall break).  Because school is not in session, Julia invited me to come with her to visit her aunt and uncle in southern Sweden. We arrived last night, and were warmly welcomed into their cozy little home.  To be honest, I am not entirely sure what is planned for the week, but I think a visit to Copenhagen is in the mix as well as some lessons in cabbage-roll-making.  I am very much looking forward to the change of pace that this week will offer.

one down, one to go

And so my friends, it is true.  My knitting addiction is back, but not without reason.  I honestly have been doing my very best to intentionally stay out of all fabric stores and yarn shops since coming to Borås; but, this past week, when I was invited to attend the ladies sewing club at church, I caved.  Shortly after accepting the offer, I found myself wandering down the craft aisle of the local Eko department store fingering the balls of wool and sizing up the needles.  After examining the store’s selection, I picked out a plump ball of raspberry-violet wool and some size 7 needles.  It was not long after cycling home that I was casting on.  Knit two.  Pearl two.  Knit two.  Pearl two.  And that was the start of my mitten. 

Several days later, my mitten was half done and it was time to venture out to the ladies sewing club.  I was picked up at twenty past six, and after a short drive, warmly welcomed into a roomful of woman.  Each lady had brought her own project—some cross-stitching, some sewing, and some knitting.  What ensued was a delightful evening of chatter and crafting mixed with a good measure of tea and a healthy dose of Scandinavian treats.  By the end of the evening, I had met about a dozen new people, picked up a few new Swedish phrases, and my mitten was near completion.  One down, one to go.  

In other news, this past week was rather monumental in terms of my teaching career.  This week, I had the pleasure of conducting my first-ever parent-teacher conferences.  Overall, they went well, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet the parents and discuss my students’ goals.  I thought it was funny though that the most common question I got from parents was something to the effect of, “so you now know what a gaffel and kniv is, right?”  I typically responded with little smile, and held up my pen—“this is a gaffel, right?”  It’s funny the stories that kids decide to share at home. 

buttery crackers—a delicacy?

Over the past several weeks, I have started to take note of a rather odd phenomenon.  At school, we have something called “pedagogical lunches.”  Basically, all this means is that teachers can get free lunches at school if they eat with the students in the cafeteria.   It is not these lunches which I have found to be odd, but rather it is what happens near the end of lunch which I am adjusting to.  Towards the end of the meal, it has become tradition for students to get up from their seats and return to where the food is distributed.  They then proceed to take a cracker which is comparable in size to a graham cracker.  On this cracker, they smear almost an eighth of an inch of butter across the top painstakingly making sure that the cracker is covered from edge to edge.  Once they are satisfied with their buttery masterpieces, they return to the lunch tables and eat their crackers.  Honestly, I cannot say I have ever seen so many people eat butter-smeared crackers.  Additionally, I find it amusing the perfectionistic tendencies my students display when it comes to smearing butter on crackers. 

Long story short, having observed this phenomenon for several weeks now, this past Wednesday I thought it best for me to partake in this cultural experience.  Having cleared my plate, I got up from my seat, retrieved a cracker, smeared it with butter (making sure it was covered from edge to edge), returned to my seat and enjoyed.  Honestly, the butter-smeared cracker was a lot better than I thought.  I have to admit that I will likely be partaking in this end-of-lunch ritual more often in the coming months.    

autumn adventures

Well, it appears that autumn is now in full swing here in Borås.  The leaves are changing colors, temperatures are rapidly declining, and teachers are gearing up for parent-teacher conferences.  Life in this slightly-larger-than-tiny town continues to go well.  A majority of my time is spent at school—planning lessons, grading papers (or at least trying to figure out how the Swedish grading system works), calling parents, and laughing with colleagues.  However, every now and again, I do find time to venture out for little adventures. 

This past week, one adventure landed me at a small sushi restaurant in the center of town.  One of my student’s parents owns this restaurant and offered to treat me.  All in all, it was a delightful evening.  I had the opportunity to sample some delicious sushi while learning about my student and hearing how the Japanese education system compares to the Swedish system.

Another adventure brought me to a small classroom on the edge of town.  It is in this classroom that I will likely be studying Swedish for the next long while.  The school I am working at arranged for all the new international teachers to attend Swedish language lessons so we can better communicate with the students.  Lessons began this week.  So far, we have learned the alphabet and a few basic words. “Skriv” means “write” and “bil” means “car.”

This evening, Julia and I went on one final adventure to finish off the week.  She showed me around the woods nearby her apartment.  After a short but steep climb up a hill, we were rewarded with a lovely view of the town below.  I may need to return to this overlook come wintertime to see the snow-laden landscape. 

To wrap up with this post, I will leave you with a photo of my favorite sight from this week.  As I was making my way home from church this morning, a woman biked past me with the baskets on her bike overflowing with flowers.  I think I might need to outfit Lena (my bike) with similar decor.  How classy.

sightseeing in stockholm

As I alluded to in my last post, I did finally have the opportunity to do some sightseeing in Stockholm!  Last weekend, Julia (another science teacher) and I made our way by bus across the country to explore the capital city.  You can find pictures of our adventures on Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/100364241331133834764/Stockholm#.

We arrived on Friday evening, staying the night at Långholmen, a jailhouse turned hostel. Our adventures began the following day as we wandered over to Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm.  This section of town houses many narrow, winding alleyways and quaint shops.  We arrived well before many of the shops had opened, so we had the streets to ourselves. 

After getting our fill of Gamla Stan, we moved on to Skansen, a 75 acre open-air museum that contains buildings dating back to the 19^th century.  While there, we enjoyed visiting a number of places like the bakery, printshop, general store, hardware store, schoolhouse and zoo. 

The Vasa Museum was next up.  The Vasa was a ship that sailed for a total of 25 minutes before a strong wind tipped her over.  Three hundred years after its sinking, an amateur archaeologist discovered it in Stockholm’s harbor.  It was surprisingly well-preserved because the cold water and lack of worms.  The statistics varied in the museum, but the ship is made of somewhere between 95 to 98% original wood.  It really was an impressive sight, but I found the story behind the ship to be a little silly.  What an engineering disaster!

After the Vasa Museum, Julia and I headed over the Swedish Palace where the king lives.  Upon arriving at the palace, we both had a bit of a laugh because we walked right past it earlier that day.  The building looks similar to many others in Stockholm, aside from the guards standing around it.  As the palace is situated on the edge of Gamla Stan, Julia and I returned to the old town to find a nice café. 

The following day, we continued our adventures in Stockholm at the Nordic Museum.  In the museum, we enjoyed seeing a variety of displays about Swedish textile, Swedish housing, Swedish apples, Swedish weaving, and Swedish traditions.  (Perhaps the museum needs to be called the Swedish Museum, rather than the Nordic Museum?) 

Upon leaving the museum, Julia and I serendipitously came across the royal marching band.  We followed the parade back to the palace before finding our way back to central station.  All in all, it was a really lovely weekend and I appreciated having the opportunity to familiarize myself with Swedish culture a little more.  The weekend also provided a welcomed break from schoolwork. 

The sun is now shining here in Borås.  As this is becoming a rare occurrence here, I will end this post now so I can go out to soak up some rays.  Hope you all are enjoying your autumn weekends! 

lessons in language

This weekend, I am writing to you from a hostel in Stockholm.  My friend, Julia, and I decided to go on a quick trip out to the capital city to take in some Swedish culture and get a break from school.  Because of our limited time in Stockholm, I will refrain from describing our adventures in much detail now.  You will have to stay tuned for stories and pictures until next weekend.  

Gamla Stan in Stockholm.

To compensate for such a short post, here is one cute story from this past week at school…

It was Thursday and I was teaching one of my sixth grade science classes.  About five minutes into class, I saw one student stealthily pass a note to another student.  Reflecting back on the lessons I learned during my teaching program at university, I thought it best to deal with the situation promptly.  I walked to the back of the room, and took the note from the student who was now vigorously erasing some text from the backside of the paper.  As I returned to the front of the room, I glanced down at the paper to see a word written in large capital letters which, I thought, was absolutely not appropriate for school.  I told the students I would talk after class with them, and continued with the lesson. 

This was the note that I intercepted between two students.

Fifty five minutes passed until the end of class came.  The note was written in Swedish, so I was at a slight disadvantage when it came to any disciplinary measures.  I decided it best to talk with each student individually before getting the note translated by another Swedish-speaking teacher.  When I talked with the students, they nervously explained that it was a story they wrote for Swedish class.  I asked about the note they had been erasing on the back, and they shifted from one foot to the other before deciding they did not know how best to translate the sentence into English.  I told each student I would talk to another teacher to translate the page before following up with them.

Anyways, long story short, when I asked another teacher to translate, she keeled over in laughter as she explained to me that “SLUT!” means “THE END!” in Swedish.  The text on the front was indeed a story the student had written for Swedish.  And the half-erased note on the back was a question about when we would start the sex ed unit in science.  Oh, dear.

the chemistry of purple glue

Purple glue?!  Purple glue?!  Ms. Marshall, why is the glue purple?!!

Oh, don’t worry, it will dry clear. 

What, the glue will dry clear?! It changes color?

This was a conversation my students and I had this past week.  As I passed out the glue sticks, exclamations of amazement filled the room as students one by one removed the caps from their glue sticks.

Purple glue! The glue is purple!  Why is it purple?!

At first, I was having trouble understanding why these glue sticks were creating such a commotion.  After all, they were just ordinary glue sticks—lovingly sent to me by my parents.  Several minutes passed before I realized why my students were so enthralled with the glue.  Sweden does not have Elmer’s glue.  These students have never seen purple glue before.  And they certainly have never seen purple glue that dries clear.  I share this story simply because it makes me smile.  It was hilarious to watch students get so excited about something which is so normal to me.  In many ways, this story epitomizes my experiences in Sweden so far.  Slowly, Sweden and I have been adjusting to each other’s normal.  Sometimes, I find myself overreacting to Sweden’s normal, and other times, Sweden is overreacting to my normal.  It is this adjustment which has made life interesting. 

Purple glue.  Pretty remarkable stuff.

While we are on the subject of interesting, I should probably let you know that we have indeed started the chemistry unit in science!  Let’s be real.  The human body unit was fun.  But, chemistry is SO MUCH BETTER.  Yes, I am a little biased because I was a chemistry major at university.  It also helps that I taught a very similar unit during my practicum back at home.  However, one of the main reasons I am enjoying these lessons is simply because the students are so unfamiliar with the content.  To start off the unit, I had students rotate between several stations which each had a small chemistry experiment—mixing Alka Seltzer with water, dripping iodine on starch, examining the curious properties of oobleck, etc.  When I asked how many students had ever used an eye dropper before, only a few raised their hands.  We then moved into discussions about matter, atoms and elements, and I asked students how many elements they thought existed.  They guessed 4, then 6, then 10, then 1000.  Afterwards, I showed them the periodic table and asked if students had ever seen it before.  Only three of my ninety students had.  So, needless to say, this unit has been pretty special because I am having the first opportunity to introduce students to these basic chemistry ideas.  What a privilege, huh?

Here is one of the stations students did--dripping
iodine on starch and baking soda.

While I could go on and on about chemistry, I should probably give you a quick update on math.  Students had their first math test this week.  One of my favorite quotes of the week came after the test.  While students waited for their peers to finish the test, I gave them a small packet that showed them how they could make curves by only drawing straight lines with a ruler.  At the end of class, one student came up to show me her packet.  She dryly remarked, “My mind is blown.  Just blown.”  She smiled and proceeded to walk out of the classroom.  I think that’s what math should be about.  I would love to make it a goal of mine to daily blow students’ minds.  That should be what math is about—exploring the perplexing world around us using the tools math provides. 

Drawing curves with straight lines.

To finish off the week, Julia (another science teacher) and I went out to explore Borås.  As the shops closed up, we wandered around town enjoying the dying bustle of the streets.   Below are a few photos from our night out.

There is artwork all over Borås.
Julia found these Scandinavian horses.

Here is the river that cuts through Borås.

There are several foot bridges to cross the river.

The bus station.

take out your gaffel or kniv

It is Sunday morning.  The skies are blue and temperatures are hovering around 7⁰C (45⁰F) outside.   As I sit here enjoying my cup of tea reflecting back on the week, I think the word that comes to mind first is calm.  This past week was one of the calmest I have had since moving to Sweden.  Life is starting to settle down.  It is not settling down in a boring way, but settling down in a manageable way.  I can now tell you which classes I am teaching on any given day without looking at my schedule.  I am now able to post homework assignments on the school website without much hassle.  I now know which route I should take if I need to get to the bus station.  And, I can now easily find milk, bread and chocolate at most grocery stores.  Life is settling down in a good way. 

My morning cup of a tea in none other than a Moomin mug.
It doesn't get much better.  Yup, I still miss Finland

Even while things become more routine, my Swedish experiences continue to be varied and pleasant.  Tuesday evening is a great example.  On Tuesday after school, a family who I met at church invited me over for dinner.  They live about 10 minutes away in a nice residential part of town.  As I biked up to their house, the mother opened the door and called out, “Jenny, we live over here!  Come on in.”  One of their daughters gave me a tour of their home, and then the whole family sat down for dinner in the back porch.  They are a family of five: mom, dad, two girls and one boy.  We enjoyed some delicious carrot pie for dinner, with ice cream and fruit for dessert.  After dinner, they showed me a photo book of their most recent trip to Africa and we sat around chatting.  All in all, it was a really lovely evening.  So nice to be able to spend time with a family.   

Life at school is continuing to go well.  My sixth graders had their first science test this week.  The students were giddy with nerves, and showered me with questions before the test.  Ms. Marshall, is it hard?  Ms. Marshall, what if I can’t spell a word?  Ms. Marshall, my dad is a doctor so he taught me extra organs—can I write about those on the test?  Ms. Marshall, I just lost a tooth—can I go to the nurse?  It was obvious that students wanted to impress me on this test as most papers I received where covered front and back with all the bits of information that students studied.  Some students even went out of their way to color-code the organs on the test with their markers. 

This is the work of a sixth grader who speaks English as a
second or third language.  Even more impressive is the fact
that most students' papers had this level of detail.   Wow.

Shortly after giving the test, the realization that I must now grade all the papers quickly set in.  While grading in general takes a lot of time, I am finding that grading when you are not accustomed to the grading system is even more of a challenge.  After an hour-long meeting with the academic coordinator on Friday afternoon, I think I am finally grasping the Swedish grading system.  On a test, students do not earn points; instead, their work is assessed with a rubric.  On each section of the test, students can earn an A, C, E, or F.  The final grade for the test is not an average of all the grades that students got on the test, but rather there are benchmarks at A, C and E.  Basically, students must get all E’s or above to get an E, all C’s or above to get a C, or all A’s to get an A.  So, for example, if a student gets A’s on four sections of the test and an E on one section, then they get a D overall.  Or, if a student gets A’s on four sections of the test and a C on one section, then they get a B overall.  Or, if a student gets A’s on four sections of the test and an F on one section, then they get an F overall.  I still have not heard the rationale behind such a system, but would be very curious to know why the Swedes developed this grading scheme. 

Here is a diagram explaining the Swedish grading system.

Students will be taking a test next week in math, so we spent some time reviewing for the test this past week.  While reviewing, the students took it upon themselves to teach me a bit more Swedish.  While most of the words they have taught me are correct, on Friday (under the direction of another teacher) the students decided to have a bit of fun.  They taught me that a “gaffel” is a pen, a “kniv” is a pencil, and a “hjälm” is a piece of paper.  As I used these words during class, students smiled and giggled so I suspected that either my pronunciation was way off or something else was up.  Later, the teacher who put the class up to these shenanigans informed me that gaffel is a fork, kniv is a knife and hjälm is a helmet.  On Monday, I am planning to teach a lovely lesson with a fork, knife and helmet.  Stay tuned.

sprinkled with flavor

This past week was a week of pleasant surprises.  As I stepped outside at the start of the week, the air was crisp and cool.  While these temperatures do hint at the impending winter, I must admit I am quite a fan.  There is just something nice about bundling up in mittens and hat before going out to meet Lena on my way to school.

     

Upon arriving at school on Monday morning, I was again met with a pleasant surprise.  One of the other teachers had baked cupcakes to celebrate the PE teacher’s birthday.  While the cupcakes were delicious, it was what was on top of them which made them even more delightful.  As I took my first bite, I noticed that the sprinkles on top had a bit of flavor.  A little bit of strawberry.  Strawberry flavored sprinkles on chocolate cupcakes.  Yum.  Later in the day, I learned that most Swedish sprinkles have flavor.  Peppermint, caramel, chocolate, and other fruity delights.  I can’t say I have ever had flavored sprinkles before.  Brilliant.

Pleasant surprises continued throughout the week.  In science, we are wrapping up our first unit about organs, tissues and cells.  On Wednesday, one of my sixth graders raised his hand and made the observation that the word “intestines” has two of every letter.  Two i’s, two n’s, two t’s, two e’s, and two s’s.  I can’t say I have ever noticed that before.  Clever, huh?

In math, I am continuing to experiment with different ways of engaging students and assessing their learning.  This week, I introduced some fake whiteboards.  Every student got a white sheet of paper covered by a sheet protector.  Using the whiteboard markers that my parents shipped from the US, students were able to solve problems on the sheet protectors, show me their responses, and erase.  The students applauded at this idea, and in return, have started to teach me a few words in Swedish.  No, you may not use a miniräknare (calculator) for this problem.

My week finished off with a lovely dinner at a fellow math teacher’s house. She and her family live in a small, cream-colored house that is perched on a hill overlooking a lake just outside of town.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we enjoyed parmesan chicken and noodles outside on her deck.   As if on cue, the sun started to set when dessert was brought out.  Bright pinks and oranges lit up the sky as the raspberry chocolate cream cake disappeared from my plate.  The evening culminated with the arrival of the second full moon of the month.  Honestly, I can’t really imagine a better end to the week.  It surely was a week of pleasant surprises.

Julia, one of the other science teachers,
and I enjoyed the views from the deck.

I felt like I was on vacation.

I love sunsets.

new friends and extraordinary parents

And so friends, it is true.  I have made some new friends that I should probably introduce you to.  Their names are Kleenex, C-Vitamin, and Zicam.  We met last Sunday.  Ironically, I never got sick during my practicum or student teaching experience back in the States; but, three days into my teaching adventures in Sweden, wham.  It must be the Swedish germs.

My new friends...Kleenex, C-Vitamin, Zicam.
I'm not sure that Swedes believe in tissues.  That is
the largest box of Kleenex I have been able to find.

Aside from my runny nose and mild case of laryngitis, classes are continuing to go pretty well.  In science, students are exploring cells and tissues.  As students peered through the microscopes to view various samples of cells, it was fun to hear their reactions—exclamations of awe about matter so small.   And to be honest, it was kind of handy to be sick this past week because my Kleenex box became a good prop to distinguish tissues in science from tissues for everyday use. 

When I went to find slides for my science class, I was
met with the challenge of deciphering Swedish labels.  

In math, we are venturing into a world where, as one of my students so nicely observed, there can be “less than nothing.”  We are adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing positive and negative integers.  Students have especially been enjoying the use of technology in this class—some of it being more high tech and some of it being more low tech.  On the high tech end of the spectrum, I have been experimenting with using my iPad as a document camera.  Basically, I connect the iPad to the LCD projector and switch it on camera mode.  Then, anything I put under the camera is projected onto the screen.   On the low tech end of the spectrum, I have introduced “clickers.”  Rather than those fancy little electronic devices that allow students to click in their responses to questions, I have given each student a set of laminated A, B, C D cards which they use to flash up responses to questions I ask. 

Here is my homemade document camera.

Here are my low-tech homemade "clickers."

In other news, I should let you know that I have the best parents in the world.  Yes, it’s official.  And yes, I have always known it, but what they did this past week is icing on the cake.  About midweek, I arrived home to find a large package sitting outside my door.  I may have mentioned once or twice over Skype that I was having trouble getting basic supplies for my class.  So what did my parents do?  They went back-to-school shopping for me and sent me a whole box of goodies.  I now have a class set of markers, a class set of glue sticks, a class set of scissors, a dozen or so whiteboard markers in various exotic colors, and an assortment of science supplies (activated charcoal, turkey basters, green food dye, peppermint extract, eye droppers, film canisters, etc.)  Best parents in the world.  No, yours can’t even compete.

My parents packed up Target and sent it to me in a box. 

It has been a good week.  A bit rainy, but good.  Nothing a rain jacket and rain pants can’t handle.  

Ms. Marshall

Wow, what a week.  I’m not really sure where to begin, so I guess I’ll just start from the beginning.  On Monday, I got to go on quick trip to Stockholm.  All the new teachers from our school boarded a train at 6:00am and traveled across the country to hear from the folks at headquarters.  I should probably pause and explain that the school I am teaching at is part of a larger company which is setting up English schools around Sweden.  (All the schools in this company are public schools and accept students on a first-come, first-serve basis.)  The trip to Stockholm was intended to give us new teachers an introduction to the culture which the company tries to instill at its schools.  Probably the highlight of this trip was meeting up with Ryan, another teacher who was part of the same science program I went through back at the U of M.  Ryan will be teaching at a school in Uppsala.  While I spent most of the day inside a school building, the glimpses I saw of Stockholm were lovely so I will definitely need to find time to get back and explore the city a bit more. 

Having been out all day Monday, my return to school on Tuesday was met with an extensive to-do list.  The excitement in the hallways was palpable as teachers busied themselves with last minute lesson preparations.  The day went by quickly, and in the evening, all new students and their parents came to visit the school.  It was at this point that this job finally started to feel real.  The names on my class lists started to have faces and little personalities.    

And then it happened.  Wednesday came.  The first day of school. As I rode Lena (my bike) to school, I reflected back on a conversation I had several years ago with a teacher in New Zealand.  The first day is unlike any other in the school year.  You have to be harder on the students, otherwise it will be an uphill battle the rest of the year.  My success for the rest of the year depended on this one day.  Gulp.

I arrived at school plenty early, fastened my name badge neatly on my shirt, and got myself a cup of coffee.  (I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but in Sweden coffee seems to be the only liquid refreshment available.  To say that the Swedes love their coffee is a gross understatement.) 

I like how my name tag is one of those magnet kinds. No holes
in my shirts.  Sometimes, it's the simple things that count.

At five past eight, the students began lining up outside the classroom door.  At ten past eight, the students filed into the classroom as I greeted them one by one.  Good morning.  Good morning.  Good morning.  At twelve past eight, the students all stood behind their desks, waiting for me to begin the lesson.  Good morning class….Good morning Ms. Marshall…..You may be seated.  And so the day began.  (While this start-of-lesson routine is customary in the school, I still can’t say I’m fully accustomed to it.)

The rest of the week sailed past as I moved from lesson to lesson.  This year, I am responsible for teaching three sixth grade science classes, two seventh grade math classes and an elective.  Each class meets for three hours a week (with class periods being roughly one hour long).  The schedule has definitely taken a little getting used to.  Some classes last 45 minutes.  Others are an hour and ten minutes.  There are no school bells, and it seems none of the clocks in the school agree with each other.  For now, I’ve decided it is best if I just pack up all my things in the lovely red shopping basket I acquired, and head off to class about ten minutes early to make sure I am ready to greet the students when they arrive for lessons. 

Here is my best friend--my schedule.

With each new class, it has been so amazing to meet the students.  To round off this blog post, here are a few snapshots from my first days of being Ms. Marshall...

• Every day, I find that the students surprise me.  For example, on Thursday when I passed out textbooks to my math students, nearly every student said “thank you” when they received their books.  I was speechless.  What a polite bunch of kids.
• In addition to the more pleasant surprises, sometimes the surprises are more…surprising.  About halfway through my first math lesson, one student’s cell phone rang in class.  However, his ring tone was not just any ring tone.  His ring tone resembled that of a fire drill alarm.  Yes, I nearly evacuated the entire class on the first day. 
• This week, we started learning about the human body in the science classes.  I have really enjoyed hearing all the questions students have.  “Ms. Marshall, if we didn’t have skin, would everything fall out?” “Like, how big are our nerves?” “If I could touch the intestines, would they feel wet?”  I love sixth graders.  Such a great age. 
• On Friday, I asked a class if they could describe what it means to “digest food.”  One boy raised his hand and said, “It’s kind of like melting.”  I smiled and replied, “Yes, some of the food does melt.”  Later in the day, I learned that the Swedish word for digest is “smälta maten” where the word “smälta” means “to melt.”  Hopefully, I begin learning Swedish soon.

Well, that’s all for now.  I apologize that this post is so long.  In case you are wondering, I think I’ve decided that I will update the blog about once a week because I’m too tired on weeknights to write anything coherent.  

just keep swimming

Hi, how are you doing?  Do you have any questions?  Here, let me show you. Let’s go get a coffee, and then meet. These phrases seemed to be the soundtrack of this past week as I dove into my first week of school.  As I attempted to swim through a flood of information, the other staff at my school generously came alongside me to see how I was doing and offer advice.  There were meetings to attend, supplies to gather, lessons to plan, classrooms to prep, and an entire education system to become familiar with.  And, even after all that, I am happy to report that I am still afloat and ready for more.  I probably have a hundred stories I could share with you from this first week, but for the sake of time, here is a rundown of the highlights from each day:

Monday:  Monday was the first day that all staff reported back to school.  The day started with a short pep talk from the principal, and continued on with various meetings to get plans rolling for the year. It seemed that the name of the game on Monday was precisely that—to keep all the names straight.  Not only the names of the 39 other staff members, but also the growing list of terminology specific to the school and Swedish education system.  Lgr 11. STP.  IUP. AC. Yes, I am learning slow but sure. 

Tuesday: On Tuesday, we had a bit more time to sort through the information that was given to us on Monday.  Furthermore, I began to gather supplies for my class.  I should probably mention that one significant difference between Swedish and American schools is in how resources are distributed.  By law, teachers cannot require students in Sweden to bring any supplies to school—notebooks, pens, pencils, paper—nothing.  It is up to the school to provide these materials.  So, on Tuesday, my mission involved securing notebooks for my year 6 science class.  While supplies seem to be in short supply at the school, I had a major victory in scoring 90 notebooks for my year 6 science students.  Success!  It is exciting to think that in the coming weeks and months, these notebooks will be filled with the goodness of double bubble maps, flip books, Frayer Model vocabulary grids and the like.

Wednesday: Wednesday was another day of learning.  In the morning, the academic coordinator gave us a quick introduction to the new Swedish grading system.  Wrapping my head around this grading system was probably one of the biggest challenges this first week.  The Swedes can earn grades of A, B, C, D, E and F where E is considered an average (and decent) grade, and A is considered an out-of-this-world grade.  When grading an assignment or test, teachers are not allowed to mark on students’ papers the points they receive or the percent correct.  Rather, I must create rubrics that allow me to assign students grades based on the extent to which they have mastered a skill.  In some ways, this grading system resembles the standards-based grading system which is very slowly becoming popular in the US.  I like it, but am still learning how to work with it. 

 

Thursday: On Thursday, the administration organized a surprise all-day outing for the entire staff.  At 8:00 sharp, we boarded a bus, not knowing the adventures which lay before us.  After a two hour drive, the bus turned into the town of Lidköping.  With cobblestone streets and red-roof buildings, the town has quite an aesthetic appeal.  It is here that we enjoyed a lovely fika (coffee break) at a nice little café.  We then had about an hour to explore a porcelain museum, shop at some outlet stores and just wander the town.  

Notice the cobblestone streets of Lidköping.  Lovely. 

Before fika, the whole staff wandered down to city center.

After exploring Lidköping, we once again boarded the bus and made our way to Läckö Castle.  At this castle, we enjoyed a gourmet lunch which included freshly-caught smoked salmon and vegetables grown in the castle’s garden.  The word delicious doesn’t quite do the meal justice.  After lunch, we went on a guided tour of the castle, getting a quick lesson on Swedish history.  Overall, it was a spectacular day for staff bonding and provided a much needed break from school. 

Professional development at a castle?  Not bad.

From L to R: science teacher from Canada, Swedish
as a Second Language teacher from Poland, me,
science and maths teacher from England. 

Friday: We resumed school work on Friday, attending meetings and planning lessons.  Probably the most exciting bit of news that came from this day is that Science Solutions will be going global!  Science Solutions is a course I created when teaching at Breakthrough Saint Paul.  It includes a number of science labs that aim to give kids an appreciation for the relevance and fun of science.  You can view some of the original curriculum here, or get a flavor for the class by watching the video below.  Anyways, I was very excited to learn that I will get to teach this course as an elective this year.

      

Overall, this past week was a good one.  As a first year teacher, it has been so nice to experience the level of support that was offered by the other teachers.  A similar level of adventure no doubt awaits me this upcoming week.  On Monday, I will be going on a quick trip to Stockholm (for school, not vacation).  On Tuesday, we have a meet-the-parents evening.  And, on Wednesday, the students arrive.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.  Swimming, swimming.