Reflection on my first two weeks

Reflection on weeks 1 & 2 in New Zealand

 Wonderful view at a local waterfall!

How the time has flown by so far! I can’t believe I’ve already completed two weeks in New Zealand and it’s going better than I could have imagined. That’s not to say I haven’t had lesser quality days, but overall things are going very well. Week 1 was essentially an observation week, as student teaching placements usually are, and since then it’s been as busy as ever. Allow me, first, to describe the education system at Havelock North High School as I’ve observed so far.

            New Zealand as a whole runs on a 13-year system much the same as we do in America; however the numbering system is a bit different. Americans go kindergarten through 12^th grade, New Zealanders go Year 1 through Year 13. NZ kids don’t start Year 1 until they’ve turned 5 years old, even if that’s in the middle of the school year. My friends over at Frimley Primary School tell stories of how they get new students in school at least once or twice a week, because they turn 5 and then start. From there, Years 1-5 are considered primary school, 6-8 are intermediate, and 9-13 are secondary (the same as our elementary, middle, and high schools).

            In secondary schools, Years 9-12 are required and Year 13 is optional; however most students choose to stay through Year 13 as exams at that level allow them to earn higher credits towards university study. Years 9 and 10 run on their own curriculums and it’s up to the teachers as to what kinds of lessons are used to teach those curriculums. Years 11-13 are what I call Exam Years, as at the end of each school year, students are examined on the courses they’ve studied throughout the year. Year 11 students study from a curriculum called Level 1, Year 12s from Level 2, and Year 13s from Level 3. Each subject area has its own standards at each level, and each level, of course, gets steadily more difficult. At each level and similar to our grading system, students can earn Achievement, Achievement with Merit, or Achievement with Excellence. An example of a university requirement: a music school may require any prospective student to earn Achievement with Excellence at Level 3 in the “solo performance” standard, and maybe an Achievement with Merit at Level 2 in the “aural skills/ear training” standard, among others.

            One of the biggest surprises to me so far has been that the music students at HNHS are studying things that I didn’t study until I was in college. At the moment, the Year 11 students, under my instruction, are studying Programmatic Music and Composition, and we’re concentrating on music from video games (which, believe me, is more of a privilege for me to teach than anything I’ve taught to this point in my life!). The Year 12s are hard at work on an instrumentation project, for which they’ve selected one of four pre-determined pieces of music for solo piano to arrange for a difference ensemble of at least four different instruments. They’ve been given suggestions for ensembles such as a brass quintet, string quartet, or even rock band. Finally, the Year 13s are studying extended jazz theory and harmony (with my co-op Mr. Cargill, because I was never taught jazz theory!). And what’s more than this is that they’re having great success at these lessons. It’s enough for them to be doing what I consider college-level work while still in high school, but to be doing well and at the level that they’re at is simply incredible. It’s an honor for me to be able to teach such talented and knowledgeable students.

            Another interesting aspect of my school experience so far is that my area of concentration for my Pre-Professional Development Plan (Pre-PDP), classroom management, has hardly been an issue to this point. The classes I teach are attentive, they don’t cause disruptions, and their level of concentration is beyond anything I’ve experienced in any American school so far. Part of it could be that I’ve given some very helpful tips at how to establish a routine that eliminates most disruptions right off the bat. Part of it could be that Mr. Cargill has already established an expectation of respect and concentration in his classrooms. But those aside, I have a feeling that it’s simply part of the New Zealand school culture for students to have levels of utmost respect and attention while at school. Whether it’s been taught to them at home from the parents or built up through their primary and intermediate years, it’s clear that these students know how to behave in a classroom, regardless of who is teaching them.

            As far as me actually teaching lessons goes, I started off easily enough on Friday of week 1 by simply giving a few of the classes a demonstration of some of the things I can do on the flute and piccolo, to give the students a bit of a background for my musical studies. It picked up a bit during week 2 when I started a unit on Musical Theatre with the Year 9 class, and started team teaching the Year 12 Instrumentation unit with Mr. Cargill. It really looks to be picking up next week as I’ll be starting the Video Game Music and Composition unit with the Year 11 class, and I’ll also be starting something with the Year 10 class, which has yet to be determined. I can also look forward to being observed by my Educators Abroad supervisor next week, which should be a bit nerve-wracking to say the least! Despite all the work to be done, I’m still having an incredible amount of fun here in New Zealand and I’m very glad I decided to pursue this opportunity. Can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead. So until next time…

Cheers!