First 3 weeks

update 1


Up till now I haven`t wrote much about my abroad study experiences. That`s why I will give you a detailed description in once and a summary of the first 3 weeks.

My arrival at the 6th of January felt a bit of an anti-climax to be honest. Northampton is not the most warm and atmospheric place on earth and it took me a while to get used to the grim appearances of the streets and buildings. The campus is located at a half an hour distance and is actually far away form the city centre.

The very good thing about Northampton is that it is placed nearby Birmingham and London. By train it will only take you one hour to get there. I`ve taken advantage of this opportunity and so far I`ve visited these cities twice.

Birmingham can`t be compared to any place I`ve seen anywhere in the world. The city is a complete scramble of old and new architecture and the clash between the old and modern world is breath-taking. Due to the height differences in the city you get a view from a different angle every moment and your perspective changes with every footstep. This makes the city a bit surrealistic and also it makes you feel like you`re walking through a labyrinth.

London however is a whole different type of ball game. The word metropolis is kind of an understatement. The first time I went, I arrived at London Euston. This train station is located in de middle of London and from that point you can easily walk to the main attractions in the city. After visiting the usual sights I took the Northern Line tube to Camden Town. This part of the city is completely taken over by the youth and there is a wide range of alternative clubs and pubs. Unfortunately I had to take the train back to Northampton at the time everybody was warming up for the nightlife. nevertheless my first trip to London was a great introduction and it made me excited to see more.

But enough stories about the trips. The main reason for my Erasmus time is off course the academic experience. The course I`m following at the moment is called Childhood an youth and is part of the school of education. In the U.K. there doesn`t exist something of what we would call a teacher academy. It is more comparable to the Dutch SPH study in my opinion. Exclusion, diversity and plurality are much more encountered in the study and most of the students in my class aren`t likely to end up as a teacher. They have chosen this study because they want to work with children who are autistic or have special needs. During their placements (up till now) they are not expected to teach full lessons but they use this time to collect evidence for their assignments and serve as a classroom assistant.

The courses I follow at the moment are:

* transitions for children, young people and families

* Diversity and plurality

* and placement: which I will start next Monday, during this time I will be working at the Isebrook college, a special need school.

Up till now I think the courses are very interesting but I haven`t found out yet at what moment my co-students are going to specialize in a subject to teach. So summarised: I`ve learned a lot about the key-role as a teacher in society and how you can prevent young people from exclusion.

In the next weeks I will be very busy with my placements and the inevitable assignments.

Cheers

Tim