Student Teaching in England-Fall 2007
Week 1:  October 20-October 28

Dr. McDonald and a group of CMU student teachers are currently in the Enfield, England area.  Dr. McDonald is sharing his diary and pictures of the students as they experience student teaching in England.

This first weblog will cover two weeks of time.  I have been here for three weeks, having arrived a week before the students to see the schools, find my way driving around London, and getting settled.  Our students are in 8 different schools from Enfield, to Hornsey, to Wood Green, to Potters Bar and Hertford.  We have 15 students this year, ten secondary and 5 elementary.  The secondary schools are grades 7 through 13 here, so our secondary student teachers will get middle school as well as high school exposure in their placements.

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October 20 - The students arrived into Gatwick this morning and we met them with a coach.  Wendy and Karen from the Enfield Education Business Partnership were on the coach so that students could be dropped off with their host families.  The students all looked enthusiastic for the experience to begin.  We had an order to drop off the students so we arranged their luggage underneath the coach so it would be easily accessible.

If you think of the greater London area as a clock, Gatwick Airport would be at six o’clock and Enfield would be at 12:00.  The students are living with families in the Enfield and Southgate areas in the borough of Enfield, the northernmost borough of London.

I am also living with a host family, Gerald and Carolyn.  It is difficult to find an apartment for just two months in this area and the host family seemed like a good alternative.  Gerald and Carolyn have been marvelous and have been gracious hosts.

October 21 - This was a day of rest for students to get settled in and to go shopping.  Several students bought cell phones so that they could easily stay in touch with one another and with their families and friends at home.  Enfield has plenty of shopping near the Palace Gardens area and there is even a touch of home with Subway, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and other familiar names.  Students can exchange money at the Post Office.  Most of us are going over to the continent of Europe for the next week because it is half term break for all of the schools.  So everyone wanted to change money.

October 22 - Today we went on an all day tour of London.

The highlights of the tour were:

Westminster Abbey 
Westminster Abbey has been the traditional coronation site for English monarchs since William the Conqueror. The Abbey is also the burial place of kings and queens, and many of the most famous people in British history, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Charles Dickens, George Frederic Handel, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Sir Isaac Newton.  For information on Westminster Abbey go to http://www.castles-abbeys.co.uk/Westminster-Abbey.html

Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard
The Changing of the Guard ceremony is the formal handing-over of responsibility from the ‘old guard’ who have been standing guard at St. James’s and Buckingham Palace, to the ‘new guard’.   http://www.changing-the-guard.co.uk/

Lunch in an English Pub

Thames River Cruise
Our river cruise took us from Westminster to the Tower of London. Many interesting bridges span the Thames and some of London's most important landmarks are located on or near to the river. We got stunning views of the Houses of Parliament, London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe theatre and the famous Tower Bridge.

Tower of London
Founded over 900 years ago and Guarded by Yeoman Warders since the 14th century, the Tower has been a Royal Palace, an armoury, a place of imprisonment and execution, and home to the priceless "Crown Jewels", including the enormous Cullinan diamonds and the extraordinary Koh-i-Noor.