After a weekend break following the completion of assignments this week saw the beginning of our next period of study which involved a whole new timetable. The only classes continuing from the previous period are "Dutch Language and Culture" and "Places of Memory". In addition to these we will now be taking the modules "Active Learning Environments", "Classroom Management" and "Special Needs and Education". Again we don't have a very full timetable with only one class a day most days and Thursdays off however for me this will be occupied by my placement module.
In our first class of the new period, "Active Learning Environments", we will have to prepare lessons as a group to teach to a Dutch class on the BREXIT which is very relevant right now. This will be difficult in parts as we have been away while this has been taking place and I myself will not actually even be home for the vote. As well as this it is extremely likely that the pupils we will end up teaching this to will have no prior knowledge of the situation. However it will be an interesting module non-the-less. Another interesting addition to our timetable is "Special Needs and Education". Coincidentally this is very relevant to us as we were studying special needs education before Christmas while still in Belfast so it will be interesting to see how this is dealt with in the Netherlands. Also the tutor for this module has given no deadline for its assignment and has even said that we can submit it from home after we leave which is a very different approach than other tutors. She also seems very down to earth and I'm interested to hear her opinion on the topic.
To finish off our week we made another excursion with our "Places of Memory" tutors. This time we were visiting Friesland's tallest "mountain" as they kept referring to it. And by "mountain" they actually meant a 9 metre tall grass hill. All around Friesland they have these grass hills known as "terps". These are artificially made hills originally intended to provide some sort of protection for residents from storm surges and flooding. On top of these terps there would be a small community with a church at its centre. The terp we visited was at Hegebeintum and is actually the tallest terp in the Netherlands standing 8.8 metres tall. The church is still standing on top of the terp which we were able to visit and it seems to be quite a regularly visited site as there is a visitors centre and there were quite a few other people there at the same time as us.
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| Steepest incline I've had to walk since I've been here |
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| Concrete had to be laid to stabilise the terp |
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| Church lined with wooden displays to commemorate rich families from the area |
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| Symbols are carved to represent the person who has died - broken branches on the leaves means they are the last in their bloodline |
This was a relatively slow week as nothing very exciting happened however next Wednesday is Kings Day which is a nationwide holiday to celebrate the Dutch king. Markets and festivals all over the Netherlands this promises to be a good day.
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