~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[weedebz 0]

So much been happening here, I've missed so much. It's realy annoying not having internet so only get a few mins when I pop over to Nick's rent. I thought I'd just check in and say Hi to everyone. Would say I'm setlleing in but not really had chance. Been sorting out wedding stuff, ordered cake yesterday. Going to send out invites next week and get other stuff finalised. Only been here 2 weeks today but it really feels like longer. Going with Nick's mammy tomorrow whilst Nick at work to apply for SSN.

Take care all and I'll check in again when I get a chance.

[Jeraly 4]

Woohoo!! Yay!!!

*runs to update the spreadsheet*

Small things and all that...

[Jeraly 4]

DEBZ!!!! MISS YOU HUNNY!!!!!

Know what it is like with the wedding thing (wedding planners are AWESOME!!) and know that you can't get online much til you get the net sorted at your place

I know what you mean with the time thing too - when I was in the US in Feb it felt like I could have been there forever I guess that is one way of settling in

*HUGE HUGS*

Can't wait to see you back here properly

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

YAY!!!!! Now we just need to decide: do we use the notice date on the hard copy? Or do we use the date received for our AOS spreadsheet?!?! Personally I think it should be the Notice date on the hard copy as that is what they ask for on the VJ timelines so can people check their AOS section to make sure I have the right date?! I haven't bothered e-mailing people for updates yet - am still working on the K- sheet!!

Yeah Changed it in our timeline already

[Jeraly 4]

Ok - official then - on the spreadsheet we'll use the notice date as on the hard copy

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

Kinda like that although our system is crazy - to get a 1st class you need 70% - I don't think it means it is easier than you getting an A, just that the way the % works is different - I don't really see the point of having a top 30 percentile that doesn't alter the grade you get but there you go... They changed it all here in the UK - now you get:

A - 1st class - 70%+

B - 2:1 (2nd class, 1st division) - 60%-69%

C - 2:2 (2nd class, 2nd division) - 50%-59%

D - 3rd class - 40%-49%

Anything less than that is a fail. A 2:2 is known as a "drinker's" degree - ie you spent more time on the beer than studying - it's not horrendous but not preferable as a general rule. A 2:1 is kinda your average - it's seen as a decent final grade by an employer and I think (although am going by guesswork) that most people get this. A 1st is pretty tough to get and sometimes can be detrimental to getting employment as employers feel they might have to pay out more money... again - this is just what I have heard (I got a 2:1 ).

I would have loved a 1st and I was soo surprised and pleased when I got them for my dissertations (which are all bound up with covers and look really cool ).

For a BA which is what I have you generally have to do a dissertation. Because of my crazy degree I had to do two - one about general primary teaching/current issues and one about my subject specialism and primary teaching (art & design). These were shorter though and totalled I think (if I count the words I wrote but didn't include ) nearer 11k-12k words. I am sure for a MA or PhD they are much longer

I'd love to go back and study but I just don't think I could afford it... I would love to just learn all the time and get paid to do it but I don't think I'd enjoy it so much then I want to feel like I am progressing so the next thing would be a MA... who knows... maybe in a few years when wee find our feet

cool, sounds like the systems are very similar except for the actual percentages...sounds like you BA may or may not have been a little more intense than mine lol but i will pay my dues when im writing all those words for my masters and phd

i love learning, but i find that i always appreciate it more when im not doing it (ie: where i am currently working monotonous, brainless tasks all day long)...absence really does make the heart grow fonder...

just like i said to julez, i absolutely cannot afford to study, but i got a wonderful break working as a teaching/research assistant, so my tuition is waived and i get paid a stipend by the school!! woot woot

[Jeraly 4]

That is really cool

I think my degree was pretty intense because you have your specialist subject but you also have to learn how to teach all subjects - a lot of people think that that is easy when it is elementary but it so isn't!!!

[StillThePrettiest 4]

that's because a lot of people STILL think 'knowledge of a subject' is the same as 'ability to teach that subject'

makes me SO annoyed

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Yeah there are lots of different types of teachers...some of them are like genius and know everything possible about the stuff they are teaching but they don´t have the ability to explain it to the kids in a way that they get it. So it´s not easy at all

[StillThePrettiest 4]

when I was teaching foreign languages it used to baffle me how often someone would be automatically considered the best candidate because they were a native speaker of that language... quite apart from the fact that specially if you're teaching beginners, being a native speaker can often be a bit of a drawback - you don't know the pitfalls, or where misunderstandings are going to arise, and you probably haven't applied system and method to your learning of that language so it will be harder to help your students do that - it just seems a nonsensical assumption; we don't apply this to our own language; you don't just go and get some random English-speaker off the street and expect them to be better at teaching English than someone who has TRAINED to learn, and to teach

[Jeraly 4]

Haha - I know plenty of native English speakers who would be terrible - I'm not perfect (although I do try ) but the grammar you hear sometimes...

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

when I was teaching foreign languages it used to baffle me how often someone would be automatically considered the best candidate because they were a native speaker of that language... quite apart from the fact that specially if you're teaching beginners, being a native speaker can often be a bit of a drawback - you don't know the pitfalls, or where misunderstandings are going to arise, and you probably haven't applied system and method to your learning of that language so it will be harder to help your students do that - it just seems a nonsensical assumption; we don't apply this to our own language; you don't just go and get some random English-speaker off the street and expect them to be better at teaching English than someone who has TRAINED to learn, and to teach

true that...i think learning a second language also makes it much easier to teach english, because you can better understand the students' train of thought...a monolingual, native english speaker with no training would most likely be a terrible ESL teacher....at least in the beginning because people always tend to oversimplify their native language

[Jeraly 4]

That sounds really cool - I am so jealous!! I want to learn a language too!!! I'd love to learn Japanese but I'm not sure where I would start!

[rae_and_scott 1]

That sounds really cool - I am so jealous!! I want to learn a language too!!! I'd love to learn Japanese but I'm not sure where I would start!

You could start for free by downloading podcasts. I don't have time in my schedule right now to go to a class or have a tutor so I have been trying to learn Portuguese by listening to a few different podcasts. It's really not the best method at all (I used to have a private tutor and that was great), but it's definitely a starting point.

And I agree with what you all have said about how some people can know their stuff but that doesn't necessarily make them good teachers. I had so many bad teachers in my program in college! It was frustrating.

[StillThePrettiest 4]

mox, she sounds great

but note that I said 'often' - the exceptions to what I said, above, are the sort of people you describe, both natural teachers AND highly versed in the subject at hand... in my experience they don't come along very often