last english entrance

hello everybody. Time has come to sum up this semester - and to make the last english entrance in this blog. This time I feel like the course have been a bit too challanging. My own level was not good enough to pass. I am not all to happy about that choise of mine to study english when I look at the new teacher programme that is about to develop. I will be, like I said yesterday in class, an elephant with my three subjects that you can call school-like. Swedish, Math, English - and my other two subjects eurytmics and drama. I am sorry to say that my weakest link will be english. I feel that I have not got any methods to meet the children with. I have to create this all by myself.

I want to thank Pia Köhlmyr for her support. When someone encourages you to not give up you feel more up to do things. I respect her for being able to say that she have been through all ages and stages as a teacher.

Well, that´s all. Last exam on monday - I hope - but I signed up for the retake in case of any struggles.

"This is not a hopeless case"

The headline for today is a qoute from a didactic seminar yesterday. Out of context it may not seem peculiar.

But when you state something like this you will expect that there are hopeless cases, would you not? I reacted with a tag-question - Are there any hopeless cases?

The one who was responsible for the statement corrected herself. I think that it was just a sloppy comment she said - but I do not think that it is the right place to make them.

A human should never be called a hopeless case - no matter what context. I feel a special responsibility towards my pupils - they are in the beginning of their education. To chop of their wings with sloppy comments and unfair judgements would not help them to feel competent.

So here is a tip for all of you out there - don´t weep in front of your tutors.

Well, time to pracise my language again. I have been sitting concentrating on my resitexam in phonetics today. Now I beg you all to cross your fingers so that I will pass. There is a lot of things going on at the moment. I got back a summary I wrote a week ago. It was kind of embarrasing to look at all my mistakes. But the funniest mistake were the headline where I got it totaly wrong and I laught out loud when I saw it. Our tutor is very kind and she circulated to give us feedback at our texts, a good thing. Although yesterday I felt horrible with more bluemarkings and corrections than actual text. I couldn´t bare to look in her eyes, and all of a sudden I surprisingly started to weep. Very unpleasant and even more embarrasing. But I thougth my Tutor handled it well. But I felt very unprofesional and childish.

Whatever. Now it is time for a weekend off duty - I am going to get out in this marvelous spring that been popping up outside my window!

over and out

Some english thoughts about doing things

It has been a while since my last english entrance. Thera has been many things on my mind - but not many english thougths.

Well, I have a test in didactic history soon. I am not very entusiastic about this culture they have at "Humanisten" with tests upon tests. There is a certain amount of space in my brain and I think my limit is nearly peaked. You could argue that I have other things like my job and my private life on my mind and that I would have to cool down with that lifepuzzle. But I think in wider perspectives now - questions about humanity.

We are all humanbeings, sometimes you can mix up and beleive that you are a humandoing. Then you have to stop yourself and ask some unpleasant questions. Why do you recognize yourself in "doing" and not "being"? What happens if you stop "doing" yourself and just start "being" it? When you ar a being you need sleep, food, love, peace and understanding. Haha the last bit sounded a bit too Hippiesh. These are the questions that I am frighten of. I am not good at creating this balance in life. I have to remind myself that I have a worth of my own. I do not need to achieve anything to be good enough.

There is more to life than this - as Björk sang a long time ago.

blurry thoughts allowed.

I would like to share a qoute from the phonetics-session I had today.

"A pearlnecklase is not only a lots of pearls, it´s also the shape of pearls in a row"

Our tutor made a metaphor about split sentences up into sounds. You got to have the whole picture to understand something. I love it beacuse it does fit in my whole language approach to learning.

We got a litteraturesuggestion: Jazzchants by Carolyn Graham. I just write it here so I do not forget to look it up.

Well. I have been thinking of this from the whole to bits and vice versa reacently. I can easily translate this into my older dramakids. Often when I give them their first manuscript with their name on they surprisingly expept that every line is made for them only. When I explain that their character only have some of the lines they feel mugged of the sensation to "own" a whole script. It is quite challanging to explain to them that teather is not suppose to happen on some sheets of paper - but on the floor. In compulsory school I think they almost allways have to make or read from scripts. What they do "on stage" are not as relevant as the preparations. Shame. Because On the floor - right now and there - the pupils grasp out for lines. They suddenly can´t brake free from their lines and play. They do not see the communicative parts in a dialogue in the same way as in a spontanous improvised act. There is a lot to be said about this, but now I really have to stop and read some Phonetics...

Over and out

Memory from the past

A bloggercollegue mention in her blog a little walk with with one of her pupils. After I read this I suddenly remember a similar experience long time ago. I was a substitute teacher at a primary school and it was just one session left. It was ment to be a englishlesson with 5 pupils in 5th grade but 4 were not present. The boy I ended up with looked rather unhappy when he realised that I was the only company. The sun shined on a deep layer of snow outside our classroom. I suggested that we switched this dark and greyish indoorenvironment to the beatiful winterland outside. We took some clothes and shoes on and went out.

We agreed upon to try to speak english outside and we hade a pen and paper where we wrote down the words we could not find in our minds. I felt very honoured to be able to spend 40 minutes with this young boy with many thougths. We discussed many intresting topics. I specially remember the end of our chat, the boy take my hand and just looked into my eyes and there we were - shaking hands. Wordless but not without communication.

Later on I heard that this boy never had spoke a word in english before. His ordinary teacher did not beleive it when all of a sudden he spoke up and told her what we´ve done at the lesson.

That was one of these moments which I keep near my heart and which indicates that I have chosen a path that makes some difference in the world.

Why study english?

We are all supposed to have a processlog, in english, in this course. You who followed ny blog for a while knows that this blogg reprecents a piece of my processlogg. So the only step I am taking this semester with this medium is to translate my thoughts to the enlgish lanugage. Or more correctly - try to. I am not certain that I will cope to maintain the english every time I get into my writing - so please do not tune me out if you don´t fancy my english spelling or whatever.

First question you have to ask yourself when you´re taking a course is WHY?
Why should I study english for teachers? Why should I not study something more handy in primary school?

The last question I met in the end of last semester. People on the Mathematics course where worried about that I chose one more language. They said that I should go for Science or Society knowledge which contains about 3-4 subjects each. But I felt that English compelled to me more. My other subjects math, swedish, eurythmics and drama all connects to eachother and english. How? Well all of them can be used in some way to communicate. I think my primary goal for my young-learners-to-be is the skill of communication.

I think that english teaching would be integrated as soon as possible - even in pre-school. childrens ability to absorb phonetical melodies and stuff are really fantastic actually.

Novadays english is almost a second language in Sweden - you can´t function in the society without basic knowledge related to english. The learning procedure is not taking place in the same ways or places that they did at my own schooling. I do not remember any particular teaching in english before 5th grade. But at home we spoke english since 1st grade. My mother partly growed up in Britain and we once had an au pair from Britain to. My oldest brother learned english nearly before swedish - an today he is faboulus at speak as well as write. I do think that it is partly because of our au pair, english tv and computergames.

I´ve allways seen english like a tool for communication. I want my pupils to get the same message.

Rythm is king!

Today I took my djembe (a big drum from africa) and went away to Alingsås. When I got of the train some nostalgic feeling struck me. Alingsås, the little Pippi Longstocking-alike town half an hour north from Gothenbourg. Alingsås Kulturskola was one of my workplaces during spring 2007-fall 2008. I felt my own tracks along the cobblestones - how many times haven´t I walked this way? Well - after this memory lane I finally got to Kabomhuset. 3 stairs up there is a big room called Kabomsalen on my time - but novadays it is named Carin Olssonsalen to honour one of the former teachers with the same name. The roon was filled with drums in every possible sizes and I felt very exited when I saw my former collegue Kirsten enter the room. She is so charismatic and very good att making people feel at ease. Two other former collegues arrived and plenty of other random people in the ages 5-40+.

Then it started: workshop in djembedrumming. I am allways very facinated by the power you feel when drumming different rythms. I feel a lot of adrenalin pumping trhough my veins and endorfins spread into my whole body. When I play on my djembe I allways feel more connected to my body somehow. There is some kind of meditative quality with the ongoing rythm. I breathe in a more planned and grounded way. It is fantastic to experience 15 drums playing together - it feels so much bigger than a solosession at home!

I drummed so entusiasticly that my fingers started to bleed - but it does not matter at all. Some monestarystrips on and then I could continue!

Well, it is a very very good feeling that I hope everybody would have every now and then.