Scoil Mhuir and St. Marys Boys School

Today was my first day tackling the Dublin bus system. I trekked down Lord Edward/Dame St. to Trinity College. I took the free newspaper that they hand out because it comes in handy when you have to clean off the condensation on the bus windows to see the landmarks to get to where you need to go.  I waited about 10-15 minutes for Bus 15B (not to be confused with 15 or 15A). Once on board I headed to the top level of the double decker bus. It's easier to see the landmarks up there. The nice part about heading to Scoil Mhuir is not worrying about where to get off. I take it to the very end, to Whitechurch,about a 50 minute ride today. The school is located behind the church in a pretty economically disadvantaged area. It doesn't really look like it, but the teacher did mention it to me. I stopped by to see the principal, Owen MacLaughlin, and he led me to Mr. Johnsons room. I remember Mr. Johnson from last year. He is a wonderful older gentleman who has a great relationship with his students (4th class, equal to 4th grade in the states). He loves music, has a keyboard in the front of the class, and is teaching them the pipes (I think that is what they are called) and practicing for the city wide choir competition in December. I remember that from last year. I chatted with Megan for a little bit, Mr. Johnson talked to me in the hallway about attending the next faculty meeting, and then headed to see Krista. Her co-op was a young woman in her thirties who seems very nice. She was throwing Krista in today (her second day) by having her teach a lesson on Thanksgiving. I assured Krista that I would not observe today, as I wanted to give her time to adjust to the Irish classroom.

When I left Scoil Mhuir I had to pick up the 15B again and then connect to the 74A. I waited at both stops for 10 minutes or so, but since it was a sunny, fairly warm (by Ireland standards) day I didn't mind. I rode the 74A a few miles to the Yellow House, which isn't really a house. It's a pub. I turned right at the Yellow House, up the hill, and found the blue gates that lead to St. Mary's Boys National School. The secretary led me to one of the classrooms where Brittnee was located. We went to the teachers room to chat. About ten minutes later it was tea time, so all three of my student teachers were in the teachers room and we caught up over a cup of tea.  After the 10-15 minute break and the teachers dispersed, the student teachers expressed some of their experiences and concerns thus far. Our students observe very quickly that the Irish school system is different than ours, and the most glaring difference is in classroom management and discipline. It doesn't necessarily exist here. What our students have been taught, and what worked in the states, doesn't necessary work as well here. They need to be creative in discovering ways to engage the students differently. They are bright kids here in the Irish schools, but there is always a lot of chatter and not a lot of respect for the student teachers. That disarms our kids a bit. They are not used to that type of classroom and/or behavior. I gave them a pep talk and assured them that they will be better for the experience and to embrace the opportunity that they have. They all have great attitudes so I am sure they will be fine.

When I left St. Mary's I had to catch the 16 or 16A back to city centre. The bus was very crowded coming into the city at noon and took about 35 minutes. It dropped me off right across from Dunne's, the grocery store near my flat. I headed home, but first stopped for lunch at the Larder. I might have to change my rule about not eating in the same place twice. I forgot how much I liked that place last year. I had a wonderful BLT on toasted sesame bagel with couscous and salad greens as my two side dishes. By the way, bacon here is not the same as home. It is more like Canadian bacon, or ham, but it's not like ours. It's not bad, it's just different.

After lunch I headed back to the flat to do some school work. I also was anxious to log onto my laptop so I could watch the Steelers game via my slingbox and Tivo. I made sure not to log onto the Internet (Facebook, blogs or websites) where the outcome may have been mentioned. I thoroughly enjoyed the game (mostly the second half!) as the Steelers won in grand fashion. (Note the use of grand. They say grand and brilliant a great deal around here.)

Tomorrow it is on to St. Colmcilles Junior and Secondary, to check in on "the boys", my three male student teachers. Bus 15 should get me there. We shall see...