Week Six: Professional

For one of my classes (Teaching Children with Severe Disabilities) we were asked to attend North Mississippi Regional Centre for ten hours.  NMRC is a centre set up to serve people of all ages who have severe disabilities within the north of Mississippi.  My class attended this centre on two fridays, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to experience a place like this. 

 NMRC has over 200 clients at any one time and over 1000 staff.  They are entirely self sufficient with a number of cottages divided depending on gender, age and disability where the clients are well looked after, and in some cases are completely reliant on the staff in their cottage.  The cottages also have life skills classes where clients can learn basic skills, such as grooming and getting themselves dressed.  

More able clients can then attend Stovall an on campus school where they learn everything from numbers and letters to developing basic fine motor skills. I spent a few hours in a class of nine, where each client was doing a different activity according to their needs.  In these classes there where clients as old as forty who just weren’t ready to leave school yet.  Stovall is broken down into various classes depending to ability, and once the client reaches the transition class they are able to leave school and attend Hopkins.

Hopkins is a centre on campus where the clients go to work and earn money.  Local companies pay them to put together, take apart or sort various materials, and there is a recycling plant where they can get paid for simply shredding and recycling paper.  Although these may seem like simple tedious tasks to you and I, in reality they give the clients something to do and a way to earn money themselves.

There is also a centre for senior citizens, where they can decide to go to and relax if they feel that they are not up to working on a particular day.  On campus their is also a doctors, pharmacy, gym, hairdressers, canteen, park and basically everything that the clients could need.  They have a good amount of freedom and are able to come and go over campus as they please, and sometimes they get taken on trips to the Mall or cinema etc.

Over my two fridays there I met many amazing people.  Teachers, nurses and staff who care for the clients so well, and give them the best quality of life possible.  I also met clients with disabilities ranging from being physically disabled, to blind to severely autistic.  I think it is a wonderful thing that these people do and it is a brilliant idea to have somewhere that people of all ages can go to for a short 90 day stay to give their families a break, or to live more permanently.  I honestly never realised places like this existed or could be so effective.

This has definitely been a highlight of my week as I have been able to experience a place where so many people work so efficiently together.  Not only has this helped me develop professionally, it has also helped me develop personally, and realise exactly how many people there are in the world who need our help and support.

Week Five: Professional

As the rest of my year start their six week block of placement, I start my 30hours observation.  This may seem minor in comparison to the workload I’m used to, however after only six hours in an American Kindergarten I already find myself learning so much.

For my observation I attend a school called “Willy Price”, every Tuesday and Thursday from 8-11.  I am in the "Bear" classroom, which consists of 18 three to four year olds.  Both myself and Sarah are observing in the same classroom, which was one of the first major differences between here and home.  It’s really strange having Sarah with me, and I think it’ll be even stranger when I have to teach the children.  However I also believe that this will be very beneficial for the both of us, as we will get the opportunity to learn from each other, and observe each others teaching skills.

Another main difference is how relaxed the schools over here are.  The children call myself and Sarah, Miss Kelly and Miss Sarah, and the general teacher is also addressed the same.  I believe this is a good idea as the teachers don’t seem so scary to the children as they would do if they called them by their surnames.  The children still have respect for us, however they are more friendly and open with us.  It is also really relaxing in the sense that the children are always coming up to us and hugging us and sitting on our laps.  Initially I found this so strange, because at home you have to be so careful about touching children, or you could end up with a law suit on your hands, yet over here the children get carried about and I would find two or three children trying to sit on my lap at the same time, and nothing is said about it.  It’s completely normal.

On my first day of class, (Tuesday 14th February) the children had a valentines day party.  In America Valentine’s day is so over commercialised, and it’s a holiday for everyone, not just couples.  The children had a party in class, and all their parents came in with food, and drinks and craft activities.  Also each child brought in a “happy” or valentines day gift for each child in the class, so every child was leaving with 18 gifts.  I found it lovely that the parents are so involved over here.  They are always coming in and out of school to help out, and bringing in stuff for the children to eat or play with.

Overall I have noticed so many differences between school at home and school in America, and hopefully as I spend more time at Willy Price, I will learn a lot more.  The children are absolutely adorable, and despite the different accents, they understand us better than some adults do.  They are incredibly confident and outgoing and even though most of them can’t read or write yet they can already speak spanish.  I really think I am going to thoroughly enjoy my time here and experience so many different skills and techniques which I can then bring back home to my own teaching.

Week four: Cultural

By now I have truly settled into life at Ole Miss.  I have managed to create my own routine, get on top of all the work they give us, and have some amazing experiences with amazing friends. 

Week four started off pretty much the same as every other week, with Monday through to Thursday being hectic.  However this weekend I was invited to the home of one of my American friends, Ava.    On Friday we made the five hour journey to Alabama which was long and tiring but entirely worth it, when we reached the city of Mobile, and I realised just how big Alabama was! Nothing like it is in the movie ‘Sweet Home Alabama’!

Outside the Mardi Gras Museum

On Friday night Ava took us into the city centre where we watched our first Mardi Gras parade.  Most people aren’t aware that Mardi Gras actually originated in Mobile Alabama.  It is seen as a time of celebration before lent, starting after epiphany and ending on ‘Fat Tuesday’ the day before lent begins.  During this time people attend Balls, and Parades, they get dressed up, they dance and eat fatty foods, all before they start to fast at lent.  This was a hugh culture shock for me and a wonderful event to see.  We watched all the brilliantly crafted floats, the dancers and the marching bands at the parade, and we got millions of beads, teddies, cups and cakes.  I really enjoyed watching the parade and catching the beads, and I love that I had the opportunity to see Mardi Gras.

The next day we got a chance to look around the beautiful town of Mobile.  We drove to the bay, where I noticed a lot of poles in the water.  It turns out that these were what remained of a number of piers, which had been destroyed in various hurricanes.  I found it hard to believe that a place of such beauty could be destroyed so easily, and that so many people’s lives could be turned upside down.

With all our beads

Unfortunately on Sunday we had to make the five hour drive back to Oxford, and back to a lot of readings and papers for the next week.  I feel so grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to experience another part of the county, another tradition and a lot more southern hospitality.  Everyone we meet treats us with kindness, and together they are all helping to make this trip better than I could have imagined. 

Now I have to settle back into life in Oxford for another while, and concentrate on the tests, and start of observation which are approaching this week. 

Week Three: Cultural

During my few weeks here I have really noticed the culture difference, and just how naive some people are.  This week I was actually complimented on my english about three times, as people thought that Irish was my natural language.  Yet despite the ridiculous questions I am still absolutely loving it here, and I adore the accent! With my new favourite phrase being “Y’all Come Back Now”.

Week two of classes, and already the workload is constantly increasing, with chapters to read and handouts to complete, but I have managed to get myself into a routine, so the work doesn’t seem quite so bad.  One of my classes is on teaching children with severe disabilities, which is extremely interesting.  I feel like I am learning so much new information, and new teaching strategies which I know I will use when I get home.  I was also horrified to learn this week that corporal punishment is still used in schools in America! This completely shocked me, and I was happy to learn that the school I will be observing in is not one of them.

This week also went by in a blur of classes, and new experiences.  Everyday I see something new or meet someone new.  I have met so many nice people, and my new favourite place to eat is YaYa’s, where you can get the most delicious frozen yogurt with every topping imaginable!  The weather has also been a big shock, as it was 21 degrees during the day, which is definitely a lot nicer than being at home where it is probably close to freezing!

However my favourite part of the week was my trip to Memphis shopping centre on Saturday.  The international office had arranged to take us up to Memphis to do some shopping and go to the market.  I don’t think I have ever been so excited to actually get to some proper shops!  Oxford is beautiful but the only shops there are extremely beautiful and extremely overpriced boutiques, so I was like a child at christmas, surrounded by 100’s of shops.  The market was also very interesting as you could literally get any kind of food imaginable.  This was particularly good for some of the Asian students as they could get food from their own countries.

Me and Sarah at the Shopping Mall

This week has been amazing, just like the past two weeks, and I am so unbelievably grateful to have been given this opportunity to study in Ole Miss, and continue to grow professionally and personally.

Week Two: Professional

Outside one of the buildings on campus

This week I saw an entirely different Ole Miss as students from all over appeared for the beginning of classes.  All of a sudden the sleepy town of Oxford came alive with the buzz of university students.  Campus was crowded, and there were plenty of people about to make sure we didn’t get too lost during our first week of classes.  

This week I have only attended three out of the four classes which I will be taking, as the fourth one is yet to be confirmed, yet already I have a ridiculous amount of work to be doing!  The three tutor’s whom I have met so far are incredibly friendly, organised and helpful.  They spent the first class going over our schedule for this semester, pointing out exactly what we would be learning each week, which readings we had to do and when each of our assignments were due.  I found this really helpful, as being in a class in a foreign country can be extremely daunting, whereas I now feel like I know exactly what I should be doing and when.

The content of our classes, seems pretty similar to what we would be learning at home, and I feel pretty confident that both myself and Sarah will be able to cope with the workload. Our week of alternative placement in a Special school back home will also be an asset as we are taking a class on Special Education, and the majority of students in it have had no experience at all.  I believe that Stranmillis has us well prepared for the classes we will take this semester, and that we actually know a lot more about teaching than we give ourselves credit for!

Basketball game

One main difference between here and Stranmillis is that we have to do exactly three hours of each class a week.  In some cases these three hours are split into three one hour classes, but unfortunately for us we have a three hour class from 4-7 instead.  These long late classes shocked me, but were actually a lot more bearable than I thought, as they are very interactive, and we are given the chance to both teach and learn from the American students and other International students.  I really believe that this semester I will learn a lot about teaching and about becoming a better teacher myself.

On a more personal level, I attended my first Basketball game this week, which despite my normal dislike for sports, I actually really enjoyed!  It felt great to become part of the Ole Miss community and join in with the Hotty Toddy cheer as we almost won the game.  Everyday Ole Miss becomes more and more like home, and I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to experience all aspects of American life.

Myself, Sarah and Kathryn at the game

My First Week: Personal/ Cultural

My first week at the University of Mississippi, more commonly known as Ole Miss was an absolute whirlwind! I spent the first few days in a daze of slight homesickness, excitement and amazement!  As expected saying goodbye was never going to be easy, but after a few days Ole Miss already feels like home.  After a long and tiring trip we made it to Memphis where we spent our first night in a hotel.  On Tuesday we were collected by a shuttle bus and brought to University Trails which was to be our new home for the next four months.  It has to be said that in comparison to halls, these rooms were lovely, with double beds and slide wardrobes, and after a trip to Walmart they soon felt like home.

The next few days flew by as we attended orientation talks, completed all the different tasks we had to do, and ran around campus trying to get registered.  Thankfully we were constantly being helped by numerous American students, and staff who were willing to show us around campus or even drive us to places we needed to be.  The term “Southern Hospitality” is unbelievably true, as I have never experienced such kindness from strangers.  It makes me realise how much more we could do at home to help Erasmus and International students settle in, and I will definitely never forget how kind people were to me over here and how they helped me settle in.

As well as making many American friends, the first week has also been full of international bonding activities, and I have met people from all over the world.  I am living with two girls from Norway and a girl from Korea, and I have also became close friends with people from australia and many other countries.  It is amazing how many places and cultures are represented here, and I feel that I will learn a lot from each of my new friends as I study over here.

Lastly, despite being in the supposedly small town of Oxford, I couldn’t help but notice how big everything is!  The University is about 10 times the size of Stranmillis, with a massive building for every subject you could think of, a life size football stadium, and baseball stadium, and even a nursery on Campus.  The student’s Union also contains about 10 different fast food options, so it is guaranteed that I’ll never go hungry!  I was also absolutely amazed the first time I was in Walmart, as it too was massive, and sold just about everything you could think of, and in about five more different flavours than you could get at home.  It seem’s people were right when they said you could get anything you wanted in America, as I decided whether to buy peanut butter cheerios, caramel ones or the regular ones which I know I like!

The first week really has been an experience, and already I’m in love with the gorgeous town of Oxford, the American way of life, and I have made friends who I know I will remain friends with for a long time.  Now all thats left is to start classes next week, which should be interesting.