An unusual day...

Hello all, again! Update 5.5 (since it’s so close to the last one).

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes, I partied it up all weekend and had the best time. Friday night I discovered a new Karaoke place called “Wool Shed”. They have huge projectors, a stage and cordless mics so you can walk all over the bar and sing away! I really need to go to Japan, just for the Karaoke. And as I mentioned before I won 2 free Guinness for singing, who would have ever thought that karaoke would pay off?

I’ve got a lot of responses from people curious about my job. I’m teaching students with severe and profound special needs. They are all in wheel chairs, all have cerebral palsy and all have limited to no speech (only one student can say “hi ya” and “how are ya”). There is 1 girl aged 6 and 4 boys aged 9, 10, 11, and 13. My day consists of extreme routine, we go to assembly every morning for prayer and song and then we start out day in the classroom by using automated lifts with sacs to hoist the children from their home wheel chairs to their school wheel chairs (which have table tops to work on). We do our circle time and use pictures to show what the schedule for the day is. After circle time and an activity it’s time for drinks for each student. We have to use a special thickener and spoon feed the students (except the ones who are PEG fed, a tube directly to their stomachs) and then have a break time. After break it’s time for changes, which my SNA’s are responsible (changing their nappies, which we call diapers in Canada). While students are being changed it gives me a chance to work with a few one on one and continue with our school work. After that it’s time for lunch, which is provided by the school (it’s attached to the hospital), and consists of potatoe/meat/vegetable dishes mashed or pureed and we spoon feed the children. One of my students can feed him self, occasionally, and did so very well today! After lunch and another break our afternoon activities consist of the following – Monday is Library, Tuesday is Art, Wednesday is DVD day (we join another class to enjoy a children’s program), Thursday is Physical Education and Friday is our outing to the local shop. Then there’s the paperwork, IEP’s (Individual Education Plans), Monthly Plans and Reports, Daily communication books and Weekly Report books.

The types of activates we do are all sensory/hands-on type of activities such as Grasp and Release, working with large switches hooked up to battery operated stuffed animals, switches hooked up to the computer with specialized software, a “Talk 4” which is a specialized communication device (you have pictures on the front and when pressed the audio you’ve recorded to go with the pictures will play), a “Big Mac” which is a single switch that records audio and is used for communication and using a Picture Exchange Communication, where you trade pictures for objects. We also try to get the kids out of their chairs during P.E. and do Physio activities, play games or just chill out to some nice music. The automated lifts are there so people don’t throw their backs out, but it’s so time consuming that sometimes you have to manually handle the students. And I have no problem lifting the students myself, we did a game in the gym where I picked up some of them and ran a little circle around the others (they loved it!).

In between our regular schedule there are constant interruptions from Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Pathologists and Dietitians. I have to work closely with all these people and keep in contact for the needs of my students (that is of course where the Asthma Camp experience is paying off, I worked with medical staff there as well). We sometimes try to find time to go to the local tea house called the Beehive for tea, toast and scones and Thursday we are going on a special class trip to the Mall to see Santa.

By far the best part of the day is when you get a reaction from the children like completing a task, a simple smile, a look in their eyes that shows that they’re getting something or an out loud laugh. One of my students will squeeze my fingers when she enjoys something.

As I celebrated my birthday this weekend one of my student’s families had to deal with the loss of their child. Adam was 9 years old and had to have a nurse with him at all times, he would laugh and giggle when he liked something but was very fragile and couldn’t be moved very much because of his brittle bones. It was a miracle that he lived as long as he did (the doctors didn’t expect him to) and this was due to the determination of his mother who made sure that he had a nurse with him all the time. He had been in the hospital for the past 2 weeks and was very ill. He passed away this morning and it was absolutely one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in my teaching career. The rest of the students could sense that we were emotional and I showed Adam’s picture, explained what happened and told them that he was in Heaven now. I’m not sure they really understood exactly what I was saying, but I think they understood more the emotions we were exuding at the time we found out this morning.

I feel very lucky to have been able to work with Adam, I feel as though he taught me more than I could ever have taught him. I’m also really happy with my decision to stay on with the school because if I were leaving at Christmas it would be hard for the students to have to deal both with the loss of a classmate and having a new teacher take over.

A small glimpse into my job here and one my most unusual days.

Take care everyone,
Stephen

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Hello all! Can you believe this is update #5?

I’m still alive and kicking, and the emails are getting a bit more infrequent, for good reason, I’m back to living the working life. It’s been an interesting journey, getting here, getting settled, finding a job, etc. Once all that happens, well, it’s kind of like real life again. You go to work and you hang out with friends to enjoy good drinks, food and good times! So once I start up my traveling and sight seeing again I’m sure I’ll be back to sending a few more emails.

I did a bit of sight seeing during my week off the beginning of November. My Canadian friend Tracy and I went to a coastal town called Bray which isn’t too far out of Dublin and easily accessible by train. We took a hike along the ocean and went up to Bray’s Head which is a smaller hill with a nice view. By far the highlight (besides the great company) was the fish and chips! It was the best fish and chips I’ve had in Ireland, I think the fish had been caught that day. I’m even considering going back just for the fish and chips. I did another trip solo in Howth and took in the coastal hike there as well, it was another great day weather wise. The sun was shining and I was out walking in my T-Shirt in November!

The weather here has been pretty good! I’ve been told by the locals that it’s been pretty mild. I really did pick the right year to do this, I hear from friends and family that winter hit the prairies early this year. The temperatures back home are hitting -30 Celsius and they’re getting tons of snow. It’s been averaging between 10 and 15 degrees here in Dublin and not raining as much as it usually does, although last night and today there’s some sort of a torrential rain storm.

I’ve been keeping busy meeting up with a few more Canadians and socializing with the people I work with. We had an in-service day the other week to teach current teachers about the new drama curriculum. In a room of the 22 teachers from our school I’m the only male, even the instructor running the session was female. The staff at my school are pretty amazing, a great mix of new and experienced teachers. I’ve asked a few of them if the lack of male primary teachers here is a recent trend or if its always been that way. There have always been more female primary teachers than male but more recently less and less males are entering the profession. Back in Canada the elementary teaching profession has mostly been dominated by females, the ratio here in Ireland is less.

Hanging out with the girls from work is always entertaining and educational! I was invited over to the one of my colleagues houses yesterday to have a few drinks before we all went out to our Christmas party. I sat back, enjoyed some wine and chatted a bit but mostly was observing girls panicking over their hair, make up and what to wear. I’m making some interesting observations and getting a fascinating insight into the female psyche. We went to a place called the Dandelion Bar for our Christmas party last night. There are 2 levels there, the main floor for dining and the basement for hitting the night club scene. We had an amazing meal (the best steak I’ve had in Dublin) and after made our way downstairs for some dancing and drinks, it was a blast!

You’re probably wondering about my title, decisions. It was Friday I had to let the school know if I was going to stay on longer or be done at Christmas. The principal talked to me a month ago about staying at the school until June. I figured when the time came I would just know, unfortunately I didn’t! I talked with a lot of friends to get their opinions and tried my best to weigh the pros and cons. I’m enjoying my time at the school, teaching special needs is both challenging and rewarding. I’m finding at the end of the day I’m absolutely exhausted, it’s not like I can assign a task to the students and they can carry it out you have to be working with them at all times. I have 2 SNA’s (Special Needs Assistants) working with me, and they are amazing I would be lost without them. For me this year is about self reflection, learning and traveling. I came here wanting to experience many different schools in Dublin and also get the opportunity to teach mainstream here as well. I did get a small taste of that when I subbed for a few weeks prior to getting this job, and it was great! But it was also frustrating not knowing where you are going to be working or even if you will be working that day.

My final decision regarding staying or leaving the school was made after talking to colleagues. My thoughts were if I left the school I could easily sub teach for a while and then get another short contract. I even got a call from a school that I interviewed at before getting the job here and he said he’s looking for someone to teach until Christmas and then a few months after. He didn’t say for sure if the job would be available in the new year but did say that he would call me and see what I was doing in January. I decided I can’t really rely on working for that principal because when I went for my interview there in September he had already hired someone before I even got there and only informed me when I arrived. The girls at work told me that it’s very hard to get subbing jobs in January and February so that helped sway my decision more to one side. I told my principal that I would stay until Easter (which gives me another week off paid in Feb and 2 weeks off paid at Easter) and that if I decided I’d like to stay until June she asked me to let her know by March 1. If I stay until June I would be getting paid over the 2 month summer as well.

So we’ll see, I’m thinking a bit of security cash wise isn’t a bad thing. I’ve got plenty of time to travel during my breaks and over the long weekends. One of my good friends Patrick is planning on traveling through Europe over the summer so I’ll leave my place here in Dublin and go back to the hostel living backpacking adventure through Europe!

Take care everybody,
Stephen

P.S. Can you believe I turn 32 today?

P.P.S.S. I should also mention I won 2 free drinks for singing Karaoke Friday night at a place called Wool Shed! Good times!

The Life of a Teacher in Ireland...

Hello all, I hope you enjoy update #4!

I have to tell you life is very rough right now, I’ve been working for 4 weeks at my new school and they are making me take a full week off with pay, okay everyone is off for the week, but that just sounded cool!

Teaching and living in Dublin is going great! I am meeting loads of new people and still having the time of my life! I went to a house party last night, my friend Desiree who I met in Galway a few weeks back invited me over to her new place. What a multicultural house, there’s an Argentinean gal, a Chinese gal, a Philippino Guy, a French guy, and another I can’t remember. The really cool thing is a lot of them are Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Nurses and work in schools where children who are challenged, so ya we all clicked really fast! And one of the Philippine guys friends (who also is Philippine) is named Stephen and loves Karaoke, so ya, we’re all going out for Karaoke ASAP! Everyone made a dish that was native to their home and the food was amazing.
It’s crazy to think that a month has passed by already, time does fly when the craic is good! (for those of you concerned that I’m into drugs, craic means good times in Irish, the only drugs I do are my asthma inhalers, ha!). My job is going well, I’m learning so much. It’s very challenging working with disabled children, but also very rewarding as well. I got a note from a parent who loves the things I’m doing in the class with the students and she also mentioned that her child seems more alert at home and loves talking about her day. So I guess I’m doing something right, but I feel like I’m not doing enough, the kids are really teaching me, haha.

I have to reference Asthma Camp one more time! It’s amazing how the skills I learned there are needed in this job. I work very closely with Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Nurses, Dietitians and so on. Because of Asthma Camp and my experiences working with people in the medical field it’s making this type of working environment more comfortable for me, it’s almost like I know what I’m doing! It’s important to work as a team because the students education and safety depend on it.

They’ve offered me a contract until August of 2007, which means I get a paid summer vacation in Euros(plus Easter and Spring Break and Christmas). I haven’t accepted it yet because I was tentatively planning on only working 6 months, traveling during the spring and subbing here and there as needed. I’m finally getting paid this Thursday (after only working for 7 weeks) and once my finances are in order I’ll figure that all out. I’d really like to get as many experiences at other schools, but this opportunity may be hard to pass up. We’ll see where the wind takes me.

I went out with some of the teachers from my school one night last week for a little social gathering. It’s pretty rough working as a male primary teacher when you are the ONLY male on staff and then having to party it up with so many good looking Irish gals. But I’m definitely not complaining. It’s funny at school because of the washroom situation, there’s only 2 and the guys is also used by the ladies, it always makes for interesting conversation.

The school day is different at this school. The students arrive at 9:20 and are there until 3:00. I am forced to go on my break, tea time is a must and we alternate the breaks in the morning and at lunch so that everyone working gets their break. It’s the Irish way, and I have to say it’s not all that bad. The Irish way of things taking so much time is a bit of an adjustment, but I suppose not a bad trade off for being forced to have tea everyday.

There are many other perks to working at this school, it’s attached to a hospital so I got a free Flu Shot and I can get some other vaccinations free. Plus they have a canteen that’s subsidized, so for lunch I always have a huge dinner like beef brisket with mashed potatoes gravy and vegetables for under 3 Euro, a meal like that would cost between 10 and 20 Euro at other places in Dublin. Plus the food is really good! I had my first desert the other day and a sandwich for 2.20, not bad at all.

I made it back to Galway last week for another social put on by the “Work in Ireland Program”. I went with 2 Canadian gals I met at the last one and met up with a lot more Canadians at this one. I like Galway but I think working in Dublin has its advantages like better access to the airport (I can do some crazy traveling real soon) and being able to meet more people. Living in a big city is pretty fun, I can’t believe how much I missed living in a city.

It’s been raining a bit, but not everyday and everyone is telling me to prepare for the dreaded wet, cold, dark and gloomy winter here. I’m going to have to get a warmer and waterproof jacket, after payday this week I’ll do some shopping.

I’ve finally posted some pictures, you can access them here;
http://stephenhoryn.spaces.live.com/

Let me know what you think! I’ll update that when I have time. I was planning on doing the blog thing, but I think I’ll stick to the long emails, I like it better.

Hope all is well back home, I really miss everyone a lot and love to hear about what’s going on. A special thanks has to go out to my Grandma who sent me a Thanksgiving Card and a Halloween Card!

Take Care,
Stephen