Bamberg – Bedford – Brexit?

Wir bleiben uns dennoch treu und städtepartnerschaftlich verbunden

P-Seminar Bedford 2018 von Frau Merz

Ein bekanntes Sprichwort lautet: „Erst die Arbeit, dann das Vergnügen.“ Wir, das P-Seminar „Bedford 2018“ unter Leitung von Frau Merz, haben kurzerhand beschlossen, dieses Motto einmal umzudrehen. Daher haben wir nach einer sehr kurzen Nacht – Ankunftszeit in Bedford: 02.30 Uhr – am folgenden Samstag zunächst bei sonnigem Wetter die wunderschöne Stadt Cambridge erkundet und am Sonntag unser touristisches Sightseeing-Programm in London fortgesetzt (Berichte zu den Exkursionen: siehe DG-Homepage in der Sparte “Schulleben”: Geographie im Bereich “Exkursionen”).

Da wir somit am Wochenende ausgiebig Land und Leute erforscht hatten, waren wir vorbereitet, uns ins Arbeitsleben in Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Hotels und im Bedford Borough Council zu stürzen. Wie anfangs gesagt, haben wir uns zuerst dem Vergnügen und dann der Arbeit zugewandt. Aber auch unsere vier Tage Praktikum haben wir sehr genossen und zum Schluss festgestellt, dass auch dieses ein Vergnügen war.

Während unseres Praktikums in Bedford hat jeder von uns ein Portfolio angelegt, in das wir am Abend immer eintrugen, was wir jeden Tag an unseren Praktikumsstellen gearbeitet und welche neuen englischen Wörter bzw. Redewendungen wir gelernt haben. Im Folgenden sind einige Schüleraussagen zusammengefasst.

Primary Schools

(Priory Primary School & St John Rigby Catholic Primary School)

What I particularly enjoyed doing today:

• I was with the first years today and the children and I had to draw some weird-looking aliens.
• I had to watch over the kids in the playground during their lunchbreak to prevent potential conflicts between the pupils. Luckily, nothing serious happened during my shift.
• I could watch the pupils during their rehearsal for their school play and I could give the individual groups some useful tips on how to act on a stage.
• We played tag with a large group of children during the break and after a while we were surrounded by too many children seeking for our attention.
• I was allowed to help the P.E. teacher in her year-1-class.

This is what I found interesting today:

• In English primary schools there are often no certain subjects like maths or biology. They deal with one topic, for example selling home-made products, and apply it to different fields, e.g. maths, spelling, crafting, etc.
• Priory Primary School combines elements from various cultures because their pupils come from all over the world.
• I was impressed about how polite the English pupils are.

This is what I found strange today:

• They have got ukulele lessons, but the ukuleles are never tuned.
• A boy was wearing a dress.
• Strangely enough, my English gets worse whenever somebody tells me that my command of English is good.
• It was strange to leave ″my school″ because we are going to fly back to Germany tomorrow.

Priory Primary School: Trip to Warwick Castle

• On our second day at Priory Primary School we were allowed to accompany the pupils on a school trip to Warwick Castle. Our job was to supervise one particular group of children. It was hard work because the children all had a mind of their own and they did not always listen to what they were told. However, it was special to see the children’s excitement about all the attractions on the site of Warwick Castle.
• The staff at Warwick Castle gave a brilliant insight into the history of the Middle Ages. They put a lot of effort into acting and re-enactments, especially during a tournament. And they made everything seem authentic, e.g. the dungeon or the catapult with which they were throwing a fireball high into the air.
• I was able to comfort some children when they were scared in the dungeon and when they were afraid of heights and of several terrifying actors.
• It was a really hard task to make the children walk in lines and to make sure that they behaved well.

Secondary Schools

(Castle Newnham School & Biddenham Upper School)

What I particularly enjoyed doing today:

• I was allowed to attend a drama class and we were offered cupcakes and played games.
• I loved attending the German lessons and I found out that English pupils are very open-minded.
• I even enjoyed delivering our presentation on Bamberg in the afternoon as we had a great class.
• It was great to have nice conversation with several teachers and the headmaster ″of our school″.

This is what I found interesting today:

• The pupils sometimes made the same mistakes that we make, e.g. in an exam someone wrote “payed” instead of “paid”.
• In the German lessons I spoke more English than in the other lessons.
• I was fascinated by the pupils’ way of using their chromebooks.

This is what I found strange today:

• You can get a detention very easily.
• There are many pupils who are extremely good and many pupils who are really bad. So there is an enormous difference with regard to the pupils’ academic abilities.
• During a French lesson I was surprised about my enormous knowledge of French although it is ages ago since I spoke that language the last time.
• The English way of waste separation is very different to ours.
• The essay which pupils have to write in psychology is far easier than our “Seminararbeit”.
• I was not so keen on leaving ″my school″ today, but I had to because we are going to fly back to Germany tomorrow.

Phrases DG-pupils picked up at their schools and which are worth remembering:

• Teacher: “The more effort you put in, the better the outcome.”
• Teacher: “This is not a job to do as fast as we can, it’s a job to do the best that we can.”
• Teacher: “In order to get smarter, you have to work harder.”
• Teacher: “The best advantage is learning by making mistakes.”

Statement of one of the DG-students:

“Last but not least, our trip to Bedford, our time there as well as working at a school was always exciting and it is an experience I will always remember.”

Hotels

(The Bedford Swan Hotel & The Barns Hotel Bedford)

What I particularly enjoyed doing today:

• Actually, everything was interesting and exciting, even cleaning the tables and polishing cutlery.
• Now I can fold napkins in a very artistic way.
• Helping with the preparations for a wedding party was fantastic.

This is what I found interesting today:

• I had a lot of different tasks to master.
• Talking to so many guests and listening to the different British accents is highly interesting.
• It was great to talk with one of the waitresses about English habits.
• Serving high-ranking businessmen was really special.
• They have got so many different meals on the menu, but the most recommended meal is the Bedford Swan Burger, which consists of a bun with two big patties, a big slice of camembert and a slice of tomato. That burger is ca. 15 cm high and I really had to watch out not to drop the masterpiece.
• The prom was similar to the stereotypical American prom which you can see in films like ″American Pie″.
• The hotel’s spa area is amazing.

This is what I found strange today:

• They also have spinach juice on the menu.
• Apparently, British people love special sandwiches with cranberries in them.
• Some guests throw their cigarette butts on the terrace.
• I was not so keen on cleaning the floor after Joana had spilt some milk.
• The accents of some of the guests are not always easy to understand.
• A lot of food has to be thrown away.
• I was very sad that I had to leave the hotel today.

I have learnt the following words today:

P-Seminar Bedford 2018 in offizieller Dienstkleidung

Bedford Borough Council

Albion Kryeziu

 England, the place I have been dying to see once again. Not only did I get the perks of staying in Bedford for a week, but also did I get the chance to do my work placement at Bedford Borough Council. That was an experience I will never forget.

I worked in the Scanning Department under the guidance of Sarah and in the Mail Department. Yet the most important thing, that I got out of my work placement, was seeing how all the colleagues worked together as a team and how they interacted with each other.

It all started on Monday morning, when I first walked into Bedford Borough Council, looking at the reception desk and thinking to myself: Am I really up to starting the adventure of a working life and to entering a completely new and different world full of excitement? The helpful lady at the reception desk introduced me to Sarah, my supervisor. Sarah was very friendly and gave me a warm welcome. Later she took me to the Mail Department where I got to know Simon, who told me many stories and a lot of interesting facts about Bedford. Simon, a skinny, tall man, who was always wearing a hat and a pair of sunglasses, who is not married yet and always flirty with his co-worker Sally, showed me round Bedford, as my first task was collecting the city mail. So we went out for a walk each day, except for Thursday, and collected the mail. After we had got all the mail, we headed back to the council and started going through the mail. I was allowed to check the mail and to put it into the different pigeon-holes. After we had finished that task, I got to learn what a franking machine is, what it does and what it is used for. I spent a long period of time on franking and then it was time for my first break. During the break I mostly stayed in the park, which is behind the council. I enjoyed watching the ducks swimming on the river and the pigeons drinking water out of the river, as well as the people just hanging out and having fun. For a moment it seemed as if all my troubles were far away.

After the break, I worked in Sarah’s office. I even had my ″own″ computer and was allowed to scan some Blue Badge (= European parking card for people with disabilities) applications and to answer some emails from Sarah’s account. While I was working in that office, I met Tash, Sarah’s lovely co-worker who always offered me some tea and gave me some biscuits. We ended up becoming really good friends, since during the time we were working, we also had various conversations.

One day, while I was working I spotted a peculiar looking thing, which was called a “finger”. It was interesting to me, because I have never seen such a thing in my life. Tash explained what it is for and she ended up giving me one for free and I was able to take it home with me. (A ″finger″ is a device which you stick on your index finger and then you can go through a pile of papers more quickly.)

Having worked for four days, I realized how much I had learnt to love these people. It started to grow on me as a routine: waking up in the morning, getting ready, having an English breakfast and then going to work. The day I feared most was Thursday. I knew that that was the time for me to finally say goodbye. On Thursday – just like on the other days, I was working until 5 pm. But then suddenly everybody came along and they all gathered in front of our office door and they did not let me leave the room. I finally realized that they all wanted me to stay, just as much as I did not want to leave. But as we all know, everything good has to come to an end one day. So I made my goodbyes and handed over my presents to everyone. They all wished me all the best for the future and I left with my hands full of gifts to take them back home with me to Germany.

It would be wonderful to see them all again one day. I am still in contact with Sarah and I hope it will not be ″out of sight, out of mind″.

Da man bekanntlich nach getaner Arbeit auch immer gut essen soll, haben wir unser viertägiges Berufspraktikum bei einem vorzüglichen indischen Essen Revue passieren lassen. Hierbei haben unsere „frisch ausgebildeten Hotelfachleute“ dem Rest der Gruppe gezeigt, wie man professionell Servietten faltet, während die „zukünftigen Lehrer“ pädagogische Tipps zum Besten gaben. Nach einer wunderschönen Woche floss auch das eine oder andere Tränchen, was vielleicht nicht nur am scharfen Essen lag.

P-Seminar „Bedford 2018“ (Fr. Merz)

Zum Abschluss noch einige Impressionen von Bedford: