Teachers don't just teach... they LEARN.

I've been a teacher for over 4 years now. Some things never change... but some things do - particularly if you are teaching in England! I've always considered myself a life-long learner, and in fact, after I'd finished my Masters degree, I thought I'd like to take some more classes. However, once I started "teaching" in England, I realized I didn't need to sign up for any extracurricular classes. I'm learning something new every day...

Before last week, I didn't know how to tie a tie. I've never had to do it before. Women don't wear them and Micah already knew how to tie his own when we got married (he's such a smart man!). What I didn't realize before teaching at Pointers is that EVERY teacher in England knows how to tie a tie. Why? Because their children wear them to school every day. It is part of their uniform.
So picture this - one of my quiet, shy students, Stephanie is having a problem with her tie. The back bit of it was longer than the front bit and she asked for my help. I pushed and pulled on the tie knot, but it was of no use. Then pipes up Esther - the littlest (but the brightest) girl in my class, "I can help, Mrs Pilgrim." And so she does. Right there in the classroom, with me kneeling down next to Stephanie, with the rest of the class waiting in a queue (line) to go out for playtime (recess), Esther taught me how to tie a tie. Thank you, Esther. Now I won't feel quite so silly when another student needs help with his (or her) tie tomorrow.

Lunch room duty. No one likes it, but everyone's got to do it. Monday was my turn. Imagine 60+ students, ages 7-11 having to be queued up, served their hot lunch (EVERYONE eats hot lunch here), sitting down, eating, scrapping their plates, queueing for pudding (dessert), eating, scrapping, and then going out to play. WHAT MADDNESS! I've finally discovered why the English are SO good at queueing... they do it every day all through school! (If you haven't heard about the English talent for queueing, read Watching the English - it is funny AND true!) Perhaps the most enlightnight thing about lunch duty however, wasn't the obvious act of queueing, but was the practice of table manners. Have you heard about how the English use their knife in their right hand, and fork in the left with the prongs facing downwards while they eat - while they eat EVERYTHING, from sausages to peas, and pizza to corn off the cob! Again, I've discovered the reason they can do this so well - they do it EVERY DAY at school! Today we had Shepherd's Pie (ground beef and mashed potatoe meal) and every child used their fork and knife properly. I felt obliged to try the same, but found it terribly difficult to scoop mashed potatoes onto the backside of my fork and make it all the way to my mouth before it slid off! I gave up, grabbed a spoon, and ate in the staff room so I wouldn't disgrace myself in front of the children.
Maybe, if I keep practicing, by the end of the year I'll be able to eat "properly."

Last one for today: We don't have a regular PE teacher. Instead, the teachers often teach PE to their classes. However, I'm quite lucky because my class (along with the older classes in the school) is getting bussed (well, "coached" really - we ride a big double-decker coach-type bus) to the nearby Rugby Club. The coaches at the club are teaching our kids how to play rugby!! Most teachers stand or sit on the sidelines, monitoring behavior and (mostly) talking amongst themselves. As much as I like to chat, I'd rather be running around the field - especially on a nice, sunny day. So, off I ran, wearing my trainers (tennis shoes) and track suit (warm-up pants and an old soccer t-shirt from my college days), and joined the students. We "passed" the ball, practiced calling out our teammates' names while keeping our hands in the "ready" position to catch the ball, and best of all - we played a game at the end. Thankfully it wasn't full-fledge tackle game because I think some of those 7-year olds would have beat me up. Then again, I am about 3 feet taller and have a good 60+ pounds on them... maybe my team would have actually won the game if we'd been able to tackle. All of this tagging stuff only (sort of like American tag football), but my team lost. I think I have to prepare my ego to be the "last one picked" to join a team next week when we play again. I might even have to buy a rugby ball and practice with Micah on the weekend so that I can keep up with my students and impress the coaches!

More "memoirs of an English teacher" to come... and some new photos too.