O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s

Hello, my dear ones. Here’s my second blog for you to peruse at your leisure.

The Teaching Bit:
Although it’s still a struggle, I do feel much more settled at this point than I did last time I wrote. There are moments when I am still completely mind-boggled by some of the policies and procedures of the school, but I am trying my hardest to shrug it off and do the job the way I know how to do it. Hopefully, that will suffice.

The biggest stress of the job is preparing the students for their exams. If I ever thought that we were assessment-based in our teaching in the States, I really had no idea how much harder it could be. There are two main levels of assessments that are essential to every student and every teacher. They are: 1) the GCSE exams, which students take at the end of year 11 (age 16), and 2) The A-level exams at the end of year 13 (age 18). The easiest way for me to describe it is to compare them to the O.W.L.s and the N.E.W.T.s in Harry Potter, because they work basically the same way…and yes, before you say it, I know I’m a huge dork. **Note: if you have no interest in knowing how the educational system in England works, skip the rest of this section. I just thought it might be informative to my fellow educators.**

Anyway, like in the books, these two exams are not just to check on how the schools are doing (like the CSAP at home), but to determine the direction the students’ education will take from this point forward. It’s a narrowing-down process. The students’ futures really are determined by how they do on these exams. Up until the end of year 11, every student takes the same variety of classes. They are not given options, not even for “electives” such as music, theatre, and sports, because they are not elective. Every student must take these classes along with the core classes like English and Math. That’s right…you’re understanding me correctly. Theatre, Art, Music, Technology, etc. are REQUIRED classes up until they take their exams at age 16. Brilliant!! The GCSE, like the O.W.L.s, narrows down what courses the students will take at the A-level (like the N.E.W.T. classes), and should hopefully be all the classes the students need for their future at university. I’d say that’s probably the hardest part. These kids really do need to have a strong sense of what they want to do with their lives by the time they get to their exams at the end of year 11. The students must earn a passing grade on the GCSE exam to be able to take that subject at the A-level. The A-level classes cover their last two years in secondary school, and the sole purpose of the A-level classes is to get the students ready for university. The A-level classes are intensive courses that give students the knowledge-base they will need to succeed at university, and to prepare them for the kind of work-load they will be facing at university. I’m teaching an A-level Drama class, for example, and the curriculum covers theory and performance demands I didn’t experience until at least my second year of college. It’s crazy. Anyway, if they do not earn a passing grade on the A-level exam, they will not be able to continue study of that subject at university, and they may not get into the university of their choice at all. So, in that regard, the A-level exams have some correlation to our SAT’s and ACT’s.

It’s a really intense educational system, but in a lot of ways it makes more sense to me than what we have going on in the States. The system is much more focused and much more specialized. I think the main reason I like it is because it stops forcing students to take classes not applicable to their futures by the time they are 16 years old. I’ve always thought that was one of the main reasons that our drop-out rate is so high. It makes perfect sense to me to allow students to take classes that focus on their areas of strength and interest by the time they’ve reached that age.

Of course, that puts a huge amount of pressure on the students to do well on the exams, because (SHOCK!! GASP!!) the exams out here actually MEAN something to them. There is only one exam at the secondary level that seems to be CSAP-esque. It happens at year 9, it’s pointless, and the schools are trying to get it abolished.

Can the U.S. learn something from this system? I think so.

London:
My friend David, who has been stationed in Germany for past year, is leaving to go back home to Colorado in a couple of weeks. So, before he left, we decided that he should come visit me in England since he hadn’t been here yet. He made his trip out here two weekends ago. It was so nice to see him, and SO nice to have company (hint hint)! The weekend was fantastic. He came in to Wycombe on Friday afternoon and we spent the evening in the pubs in my town, but the rest of the weekend was in London. I took him to see the major sights I had been to before, including most of the places listed in the last blog, plus Buckingham Palace, Green Park, the war memorials, Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, and a trip to the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker Street. I love that place! I also got a chance to visit some places I hadn’t been before, like the Tower of London. This was super cool! We got to see where Anne Boleyn was executed and buried, the national armoury, the crown jewels, and a bunch of other cool English historical and military stuff. Our tour guide was also very funny, which added a lot to the experience.

I’ve now spent enough time in London that I can get around several areas very comfortably, without having to look at a map. Someone even asked me for directions to Chinatown a couple of weekends ago and I was able to tell them…and they were English! Can you believe it? I can give someone directions in London! Crazy!

Theatre:
Two more shows down: Avenue Q, which was positively freaking hysterical, and Riflemind directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and starring John Hannah (he played Evelyn’s stupid brother Jonathan in The Mummy movies), which was amazing but totally messed with my head and left me depressed for about three days.

Anna, U.K. 2008 version:
In order to adjust to life in England, a few things have changed. I thought I’d let you know.
1) As a result of there being no screens on any windows in this country, I’m getting much better at killing spiders, though I am still afraid of them. I would do what I normally do, which is make someone else kill them for me, but no one in England kills spiders. Apparently, Brits are all the take-spiders-outside-and-let-them-go-free types, and I can’t have that. Actually, if I had known that before I moved here, it’s likely I wouldn’t have come. If I see a spider inside, it dies. Taking it outside just means it’ll come back in later with a few of its friends. So, by necessity, I’m getting much braver. I give you permission to be proud of me. I expect praise, gifts, and maybe a cake.
2) I don’t know exactly how much, because I have yet to see a scale in this country and I wouldn’t know how to do the conversion anyway, but I have definitely lost weight. My clothes are falling off. I guess having no car and walking everywhere has its advantages. Though, I do have to say I am honestly surprised that I’ve lost weight. I really thought my increased consumption of chocolate and beer would have balanced it out.
3) Now, I know I swore that I’d never do this - that I would never bend to this trend - but I couldn’t help it. Please don’t judge me. I bought my first real pair of skinny jeans. They’re taking some getting used to, but they look great with boots.
4) I’m also considering getting bangs the next time I get my hair cut. Holy Crap! Who am I???

I thought I would end this blog, and perhaps future blogs, with a list of things that I’m finding awesome, as well as terrible, out here in England. I’m sure I’ll find plenty to add to these lists as my time here goes on. Let this serve as a warning to anyone planning to come visit.

What sucks:
- No ranch dressing
- No pancakes
- No dill pickles or pickle relish
- The smooth peanut butter (it tastes funny and it’s dry)
- Potatoes are served with everything
- The round-abouts
- The way pedestrians are uniformly ignored by drivers
- No decent Mexican food (this is killing me)
- The pop music (When the hell did S Club 7 become popular again?)
- No screens on windows (spiders! EEK!)
- Coca-cola (also tastes funny)
- Coffee (nothing but instant. Ick!)
- The fashion (some of it)

What rocks:
- London
- The weather
- The chocolate (freakin AMAZING)
- Beer
- Yorkshire pudding
- The late pub/club hours
- The late-night food vans outside the pubs
- Public transport
- The rock music and the electronica
- Tea
- The gardens
- The fashion (some of it)
- The theatre
- Ice cream at intermission of theatre shows, in the theatre, not just the lobby

I must admit to feeling a little lonelier this last week or so than I have since my arrival. I’m missing you all very much and hoping that everything is good with you. Please don’t forget to send me updates about you and yours. It helps me feel like I’m still connected to you and tied to what’s happening in your life if I get emails and messages.

Still adjusting but pretty happy,

Anna

P.S. – I found a karaoke bar, AND they’re currently doing a contest with a grand prize of a thousand pounds! Watch out High Wycombe! Anna enters the scene this Tuesday night! :) Wow, I’m lame.