My First Day!

Today was my official first day!!

There are so many differences between the Irish education system and the American education system!!! It is so intriguing! The school I am at has a total of 9 class periods.... NINE!! However, every teacher doesn't teach all nine class periods! On average, a teacher only teaches about four class periods a day. During their off periods, they hang out in the staff work room (which is amazing!), or do planning. They usually actively teach about 22 hours a week. When I told them American teachers usually teach 35-40 hours a week, they were absolutely stunned!

I will be teaching 1Y (first years) World History and 1Y Geography. They are anywhere from 12-14 years old. For the most part the content subjects are the same; however, there aren't nearly as many assessments given throughout the duration of the courses. Personally, I think the less amount of tradition assessments (pencil/paper tests) the better! Today I observed classes, and I probably will for the next week. Then after a week or so, I will begin my teaching! I am really excited to start working with the kids...... should be an interesting experience!

I mentioned earlier the staff work room is amazing.... well they have tons of tables and comfy chairs, a TV, half a dozen computers, a ping pong table, free and continuous coffee, tea, and pastries, and the teachers are all so genuinely nice! A luxury we would never have in the US!

Also, this afternoon I went down to the City Centre with my roommate Daniella (Dany). We visited my first pub, and I had my first official Irish Guinness! We didn't really have much time to site see, but I'm definitely planning on going back frequently!

.....more to come later!