School Trips

It's past the half-way point of the month of October and it is starting to get chilly here. The leaves are still in the process changing colour into the shades of yellow and brown with some spatterings of reds here and there. I still feel quite fortunate with the weather so far. There have been some days where it has almost been balmy!
Last weekend I had the pleasure to act as supervision for 20+ Year 7 & 8 camping trip on Mersea Island, about 20 minutes from Colchester (stay tuned for pictures coming soon). It was a lot of fun on so many levels. I was quite excited that I was sleeping only a stone's throw from the North Sea in tiny little cabins that resemble garden sheds. (I don't get much of a chance to go the the sea side back home in Winnipeg.) Just before going to bed, I walked along the shore, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves with low rumblings of the freighter ships passing by - out of sight but not out of ear shot.
I enjoyed the activities the students (as well as some of the teachers) got to participate in, including wall climbing, zipline, archery, high ropes course and low ropes course. There were several other similarities with this camp and the camps I know from back home. With my many years of camp experience, I felt quite at home there.
A wonderful experience I had in the morning was to take a shower. My flat has a bath tub but no shower, so I been forced to bathe every morning instead of my customary morning shower. Oh how I miss showers!
I think the best things was to interact with the students on a less formal level. In the classroom, I have to push my agenda - which is to teach the curriculum. But while at the camp, my agenda is basically to give leadership to the students and just to hang out. The students invited to the camp experience are the well-behaved ones. Unfortunately, these students are often overshadowed by the misbehaviour of the other students. So I really enjoyed connecting with these students without worrying about other students smoking, stealing something or getting into fights behind my back.

The teaching week has been a rough one across the school, particularly at the beginning of the week. At least my week ended on a positive note with some moments of understanding and trust between students and myself. I hope that I can continue on that level with the students when we return to class on the 31st of October. As far as my half-term break (one week from 25-29 of October), I am planning to stay around for a while to complete marking tests and prepare for next half-term. I might go out west for a couple of days just to get out. After all, I am not just a teacher, I am also a tourist!

Kevin