This week I finally got the opportunity to visit my placement school for the first time. Luckily I was placed with another Dutch student. Hopefully, this will help with language and cultural differences. In addition, I was pleased to be placed with a Dutch student as I will hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the Dutch education system and he will be able to help with any difficulties that may arise within placement. My placement school is located within the town of Doetichem. It is a typical Dutch High school with a capacity of 1200 pupils. Unfortunately, the total journey time to the school is two and a half hours and the school starts at 8:15. As a result, I’ll be expecting early morning starts over the coming weeks. It is usual for the Dutch school to start around 8am and it is also normal for students to travel a distance to their placement school. Schools in the Netherlands do not readily take on student teachers in comparison to schools in Northern Ireland. If a school decides they will take a student, they will usually only take on one student. Therefore, there is a lot of competition to get a placement school that is close and in most cases students have to travel a fair distance to school. Travelling for two and a half hours wouldn’t be acceptable in Northern Ireland.
The ethos of the school is very relaxed. It is similar to that of a local FE college in Northern Ireland . The school itself has superb facilities, with smart boards in most classrooms. The school had specifically requested for an English speaking Math and Science student and upon arrival I found out that there were a number of Math and Science classes in the school that are taught in English. I was pleased and privileged that they had asked for me and I am determined to make the most of this opportunity. I had a meeting with the head teacher tutor who arranged for our next visit when we will be able to observe classes for the first time. I am very excited to observe a Dutch class as I am intrigued to observe the difference in teaching styles and the relationship between teacher and pupil.
On Valentines night we decided to have an international flat dinner whereby everyone in the flat cooked a meal from their home country. We decorated the flat kitchen and Rachel, Daniel and I decided to make Sheppard’s Pie as our contribution to the meal. The two Spanish boys made Spanish Omelette, the Greek girls made a speciality Greek Salad and the Belgian girls made a Belgian Chocolate Mousse for dessert. The food was amazing and everyone enjoyed tasting food from all the representative countries. One of the advantages of living with a range of different cultures is getting to taste all their different foods, especially the Belgians as they always have a radiant supply of Belgian chocolates.
This week was the beginning of the Carnival festivities. Carnival is a festive season which is celebrated in the Netherlands and it occurs immediately before Lent. The main events are usually during February. Carnival is a festival traditionally held in Catholic societies and the Protestant areas usually do not have Carnival celebrations. Therefore, Carnival is mainly celebrated in the southern parts of the Netherlands as these are the mainly Catholic areas. Carnival in the Netherlands is also called "Vastenavond" or "Vastelaovend". Dutch Carnival is officially celebrated on the Sunday through to Tuesday, preceding Ash Wednesday.
Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. The bars in Nijmegen have already started the carnival parties this week and hopefully next week I will get the opportunity to visit a parade to celebrate Carnival.
Enjoying a Carnival night out with my Spanish, Greek and Belgium friends
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