Last Day in London--Changing of the Guards and Greenwich

Today was our free day. A small group of us decided to go and watch the changing of the guards at Horse Guards Parade. Then we headed over to Greenwich to see the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian.

Greenwich was amazing! It was so pretty and historic! On our way to see the Prime Meridian, we past a Naval College. I wanted to attend the college just so I could go to school on that beautiful campus. The buildings were outstanding and there was so much green space!

The hike up to the Prime Meridian was pretty steep, but we made it (all that practice from climbing the hill at Eau Claire). This was probably one of the top things I wanted to do in London--stand in two hemispheres at one time. And I accomplished that goal in the pouring rain! I got a certificate and everything! 

When we were in Greenwich, we went to another market place. This one was a bit more expensive than the one in Covent Gardens but it had a lot more variety to it, lots of homemade goods to be sold. 

After returning to ISH the week kinda caught up to us and we were exhausted! I went back to my room and made sure most of my things were packed and ready to leave the next day and I thought back on all of the wonderful things that I had done and seen on this trip. It was quite the experience and I talk about it as many chances as I get! 

Abbey Road, Markets, and Life After School

Today, I woke up extra early so that I could head over to Abbey Road and cross the famous crossing that the Beatles did. The traffic was very busy, but drivers were kind enough to stop and allow us to cross so that we could take pictures. There is still a working music studio there and on the painted rock gate surrounding the studio were writings and music lyrics produced by The Beatles that fans wrote there along with the date they visited; a big group was there two days before we were. 

After, the whole group went to the Museum of Transportation in Covent Gardens (they also had one of the best shopping markets!). The museum showcased transportation in London from the 1800's to the present. It is a place for schools and families to come for fun, interactive play, and learning history. One nice thing about it is that children get in for free! Also, they have a punch card system that you can go around collecting punches for each area that you visited; our group had a lot of fun with that one.

We also walked over to Regent's Park next to ISH and explored the gorgeous park area. 

Our afternoon lecture was by Chris Marshall who is he Director in Curriculum Studies. He shared with us about the options for students who are at age 16, what do they want to do with their lives: university, work, military, nothing? One incredibly interesting fact was that there is a 7-8% unemployment rate in England. Part of the reason is because of the benefits that the government provides them. For six months, unemployed people get unemployment money, housing benefit, child benefit, free health care, discount electric, heating, and water. Once the six months are up and they are still unemployed, they can apply for this all over again. What type of enforcement does that provide to go back out and get a job? What Chris and his fellow co-workers do is encourage students to continue on in schooling. 

That night we attended the delicious Chocolate Festival that was going on--very yummy stuff! And we went to Paddington Station to visit Paddington Bear!

Special Education in London

Today, the group went to visit the Museum of Childhood. The museum was a tribute to toys from the 1800's until the present. They included some interactive play areas and displays noting some of the history of the toys. It was a great place, I really felt like a little child and I loved reminiscing from my past and the toys that I played with as a young child. Another thing that I noticed and liked about the museum was the Autism exhibit that they were in the process of finishing when we visited. I would love to go back and see the final product of that exhibit.

 Cool sculpture made out of cars

We had the afternoon free and a small group of us decided to visit the Princess Di Memorial Park. Unfortunately, the weather did not want us to accomplish that goal. When we got into the park, it started down pouring; but we were  persistent in seeing this memorial. The park itself was huge and so beautiful; I wish it would have been a better day. We saw swans in pond and a group of men playing soccer in the pouring rain. We only got to the beginning of them memorial walk for Princess Di when we decided that we had seen enough and wanted to head back and change into dry clothing. On the way back to ISH we rode on a double decker bus! Check another "must do" item off of my list!

On the Double Decker!

In the early evening, we had a lecture with Claire, one of the teachers at All Souls Primary School. She talked to us about what the school system does to help children with special needs and also more in depth look at the inner working of the schools. One thing Claire noted on about the schools as a whole was that they students were only given homework on Fridays, a packet of some kind or online, to be finished by Wednesday. I thought that it was a good idea in some ways, but possibly might have the students more overwhelmed over the weekend. Also, no child will ever be held back or pushed forward in school; no matter how smart of how much the student might need to retake one year, they don't do it. I felt like this was unfair. Which should a student have to be pushed through school if they might not be retaining the information or are struggling with it? And why should a student who is gifted be subjected to the average teachings when they could be getting challenged?

As far as the special needs in schools go, I feel like it may not be doing as well as it could be. They have been phasing out special needs schools and combining them with regular schooling. Meaning that the teachers have to be prepared in how to teach children with special needs, probably something that they didn't go to school for to begin with. I understand how this could be a good thing, sometimes students with special needs need to be involved socially with others, but it puts the teachers at a disadvantage of not being well prepared and some of the students at a disadvantage because they might need more one-on-one time with the teacher.

One thing that I liked that the school system does for special needs children is to get them their won helper within the classroom since they are being integrated. The school also receives extra funding based on the child's need. There are some flaws in this such as the parents refusing that help and the length of time it takes to get a statement of special needs processed. I really hope that they can adapt and accomplish more in this area.

That night, we were given an absolutely wonderful tour by Malcolm. That man knows so much and I could listen to his history lessons all the time. He was so generous in giving up his Thursday night to give us a tour and answer all of our questions. We all appreciated it greatly!

Two guys dressed up as Spiderman and were climbing on the buildings