Day 8 - Kells

          Today, our group of four—Teddy, Jason, Hannah, and myself—began our day by meeting with Ian (Student Engagement Officer) for a check-in and brief discussion about the event we were headed to in Kells.  Ian then drove, taking us with him in his Toyota sedan, and we discussed more on the way to St Ciaran’s Secondary School.  The school was in Kells, a rural area, approximately 65 km North of Maynooth, and about a 45 min drive.  The road to Kells was uncrowded, possibly because it was a toll road, and Ian had to stop twice to pay € 1.40 each time.  (Driving to the left in a rotary/traffic circle was odd!)  Additionally, he had to pay to park at the school as well.  I inquired about the large lettered decals I saw on some vehicles and learned that those learning to drive display an “L” on both the front and back of their vehicle and must have a licensed driver aboard; those newly licensed display an “N” for two years, on the front and back of the vehicle, letting other drivers know that they are still a ‘novice.’

Arriving at St Ciaran’s, a public high school, the Principal greeted us and showed us to the teacher’s lounge where it was conveniently break time for both students and faculty.  The lounge was a spacious social hub with large workspace tables front and center (or should I type centre?) as well as a food area table near the back and approximately five computer carrels along one wall.  There I met a student teacher who had the unique challenge of not being a student but also not being one of the regular full-time faculty either.  He had attended the school as a student so a few of the 6th year students knew him but he was assisting with some of the other grades.  I was excited to meet an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher there as well.  She teaches German and ESL and was originally from Croatia.  She said that in the past, many people came from Poland and other Eastern European countries for work and better economic opportunities, but in the recent past, her students have dwindled to the current four for ESL.  I asked her if she worried about her job if she has just four students, but she said ‘no’ because she can pick up German courses to teach and she is permanent so they will just give her other work. 

Ian was at the last minute picking our brains for how his presentation could be optimally interactive as he saw about 200 students rolling out four-person mobile convertible folding benches and sitting down.  The students pitching in to roll out their seating struck the other interns as odd, but not me because my son attends a [Quaker] Friends School and each student will get a Crazy-Creek-style chair out of a bin to sit on during an assembly and then return it afterward.  What did surprise me was the style of the seating as it was a fold-out.  A quick google search shows that Sico in the U.S. makes something similar for schools.  At any rate, Hannah and I quickly tried to think; she thought of a beach ball with questions on it and the audience batting it around, but we did not have a beach ball.  She also mentioned students stepping forward if they answered certain questions, and I suggested having students stand up if they fit the description of the question being asked, a take-off of ‘step into the middle if.’  Ian did try a variation of this, but he had student begin by standing and then sit down if they answered a question a certain way.  At first it was hard to see who was sitting down, but by the end when there were just a few still standing who did not know if college would be the place for them, he recognized them for being brave and standing their ground.  Ian’s presentation ended up being interactive because he himself is very active, both in voice and action.  I thought he did a good job of connecting with students by having them raise their hands to identify with questions and so forth.  He spoke about opportunities available as one goes on to college.  He had a lot of points and sub-points, used striking images in his presentation, and wrapped back to the topic again by the end.  All in all, I think students went away with some useful information, and I think Hannah found a thing or two to incorporate in her transition work.

On the way back, we stopped at the Hill of Tara, passage tombs underground, of the High Kings of Ireland, resulting in concentric circle mounds above ground.  The nearly 360 degree panoramic view was worth seeing.  Hannah took a photo, and the enhancement feature did not change the photo as it naturally had the bluest of the blue sky and greenest of the green grass.

After returning to Maynooth University, we had a look at the Social Justice Week exhibition, on loan from Direct Provision and in the Iontas building, of an actual cramped room set-up that an asylum seeking family would live in while they are awaiting a decision on their application.  Ian also showed us in the Arts Building the campus ‘Quiet Room’ which is really a silent prayer room.  We spoke a bit about campus social space for students as Ian thinks students need more social spaces but the higher-ups at Maynooth University do not seem to think it a priority.  The sofas and tables in the Arts Building were apparently reluctantly put in and bolted down to deter theft and moving them around.  When the furniture wore out and needed to be replaced after five years, it sounds like those in charge were not too happy.  In another area, microwaves and electric teapots were behind a roll-down metal shutter as the school leaders thought them being abused and did not make them available.  I mentioned how at my institution commuter students were coming for a class and staying for a second class, often with a lot of time in-between, so the school put some small tables and chairs on each floor near the elevator for students to use.  For the most part, this furniture is used and respected.

Finally, we did a bit more research and then ended the day as we began with a check-in meeting, this time with both Ian and Shay (Chaplin). Shay was just then emailing the University President some past quotes and a reminder to get the word out about next week’s Social Justice Week.  It was interesting to me that this announcement did not originate with the President but rather Shay was telling him what to include in his email blast to the entire campus.  Additionally, Hannah and I were able to boost the Maynooth University Social Justice Week Facebook page and get some new dialogue threads going.

I felt like today I was able to provide my placement department with compare and contrast tips and ideas.  I provided Ian with feedback about his presentation and the exhibition.  I also provided him with a listening ear and some suggestions for student social space on campus.  Tomorrow, Hannah and I will create a post-event evaluation survey for the Social Justice Week events. 

Today, quite possibly, was a day in which I gained more than I gave.  Although I contributed a great deal, I really learned a lot from the visit to the secondary school in Kells, its culture, its practices, its people—both students and faculty—and continued interactions with Ian, Shay, and Maynooth University campus spaces.  Professionally, I plan to share about the mobile folding benches, the general message of opportunity, the visual of the Direct Provision exhibition, and tintup.com which is a social media feed.

Day 7 - Third Day at Work

          Today, Hannah, Jason, Teddy, and myself, began our workday in a library group-study room.  I continued researching elements to include in Social Justice and Cultural Awareness Weeks and found Externalism (Patrick & Connolly, 2013), in which participants do not take sides but rather step back to view from an external viewpoint, to be a best practice.  At half ten, the four of us met students gathering for a weekly Free Tea/Coffee, Biscuits, and Chat in An Tobar, the breakroom inside the Student Services Building.  The group consisted of about 12-15 young female students who all knew each other and one Maltese student involved with the Catholic Salesians who was also coming for the first time.  The students who all knew each other were first year students studying primary education and on break at the same time from their block schedule.  I was able to ask them about what themes or methods have stood out to them in their coursework, and they said that their entire program was following the child-centered Froebel Model.  In asking this group of students if they are uncertain about job prospects post-graduation, they said that they were mostly placed at schools that they themselves had attended as youngsters and will more than likely end up teaching at these same placement schools.  It is interesting to me that their school placements have started with the first semester of their first year.  Additionally, they mentioned that each of them is observing one student anonymously and in great depth as a case study over the course of the year.  One student even questioned aloud as to whether someone was secretly observing each of them growing up.  Once these students left, another couple of large groups socialized over tea and biscuits in the same space.

            Next, Hannah and I attended, along with Chaplain Shay, a Maynooth Green Campus committee meeting in which about 15-17 people representing various departments on campus gave input regarding some of the Social Justice Week collaborations.  One topic discussed was that of the need for more student input and involvement.  Apparently there are currently 10 university bloggers who they hope will attend Social Justice Week activities and blog about the experiences.  Just to be sure, Hannah and I are going to write some blurbs about what we attend this coming week which they can add to a blog link on their webpage.  They also wanted us to assist in selling the WOW bags, which are bags made of recycled juice boxes, during Social Justice Week.

Additionally, a great deal of time was spent discussing what can be done to get various lecturers on-board with turning off lights, equipment, and so forth when they are done and putting the appropriate waste in the appropriate bin.  They spoke about doable awareness by gently nudging key people and departments.  They also spoke about wanting to be a green flag [eco-] school, but needing to actually make the changes and not just get and display the flag.  I was surprised that I had not heard of this previously, as I studied environmental education [ecological teaching and learning] and my one son attended, and the other attends, an eco-friendly school.  In googling, I see that the U.S. has a similar process and flag for being an eco-school (http://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Awards/Green-Flag-Award-Criteria.aspx) as does Ireland (http://www.greenschoolsireland.org/).

We finished our day by doing more research and meeting with Ian to hear about the meeting Teddy and Jason had with one of the Deans.  From that meeting, Maynooth University’s lack of student advising sounded similar to my English as a Second Language program because we are also lacking in advising and striving for more in the way of incorporating soft skills and daily life and work skills including math and civics into the curriculum. 

Today, I believe I furthered the conversation with the students in An Tobar for the Tea Break by asking about larger themes, their placements, and their employment outlooks.  Additionally, I was able to provide Joe Larragy, chair of the Maynooth Green Campus committee, with what we do on my campus regarding classroom smart equipment, which is to have signs on the equipment stating to turn it off when not in use so as to conserve the projector lightbulb. 

Professionally, I have expanded my thought regarding terms and concepts such as Salesian, Froebel Method, Malta—did you know that it only takes 35 minutes to traverse the entire island?—green-flag schools, Legion of Mary, John Hume, Dorothy Day, and so forth.

Day 6 - Second Internship Day

Activities completed today included continued proofreading by Hannah and me for Ian of Social Justice Week brochures and posters which are now nearing their final stages.  We also examined two notebooks of source documents from the past five years of Social Justice Week activities.  With that process, I could more clearly see the progression and addition of programming from one year to the next.  In 2014, the President of Ireland was the Keynote Speaker!

Hannah and I also arrived early for the Opening of the Academic Year Eucharist as we had reserved seats and presented the gift of the bread during the mass as we had rehearsed yesterday.  The organ music, choir voices, and incense really enhanced the experience, transporting me through time to 1795 and the 10 years it took to build the ‘chapel.’  I tried to better understand the incense as keeping demons away; purification and sanctification.  I also tried genuflecting on the kneeler—I previously did not know there were words for these things—in reverence and humility while feeling the pain as the prayer benches were hard.

In the afternoon, Teddy and Jason continued working on their research, regarding orientation.  Alongside them, Hannah and I continued looking at Social Justice Week documents, compiling a list of events in order to compare and contrast in the upcoming days, and organizing the physical materials.  Additional research included gathering information on Social Justice Conferences and Summits as well as elements of an awareness campaign; Hannah organized the previous years’ materials into a binder.

Today, I have provided the support of assistance with the gift of bread during the mass.  I was also able to provide ‘eagle-eye’ proofreading skills on multiple brochures and posters for the Social Justice Week events.  Additionally, without a collaborative end-of-the-day group wrap-up, Ian may not have come to think of large paper Post-Its as useful in the orientation evaluations and I may not have suggested using stickers for participants to label their top three choices.  Without Hannah, the current organization of the previous Social Justice Week would not be organized into Volume 1, and without me, a spreadsheet to compare and contrast previous Social Justice Weeks would not have been made. 

To me professionally, today I was able to demonstrate teamwork, helping out as needed with an event, and openness to other faiths and practices.  I was able to represent our group and area, build on the ideas of others, and use my research and organizational skills.

 

Day 5 - First Day on the Job

         Jason, Teddy, Hannah, and I met with Ian Russell, Student Engagement Officer, to further identify department needs and formulate a concrete plan for internship work while at Maynooth University.  The outcome of the meeting was that Hannah and I will explore, this week through database research, Social Justice at North American institutions as to how it is delivered, what content other institutions are using, and how the Maynooth University curriculum can be infused with Social Justice as they move forward.  Another outcome of the meeting was that Ian outlined their student leader orientation process consisting of 60+ student leaders who undergo group interviews of four, approximately one hour, sessions in which their group interaction and leadership skills can be observed.  Jason and Teddy, it was decided, would compile qualitative data collected from student leaders and their recent student orientation, and conduct student focus groups to assess how well they are preparing their orientation leaders.  Student orientation is held over the span of a week with each student attending on two of the days.  Ian also spoke about the role of social media in facilitating first year student connections with each other and the school.

            Hannah and I shadowed Shay Claffey, Chaplain, meeting people he personally invited to tomorrow’s Opening of the Academic Year Eucharist as well as watching him recruit and remind participants of the event and poking our heads into the South Campus College Chapel.  Our shadowing included a pre-mass rehearsal in St. Patrick’s chapel, which is of the scale of a cathedral but called a chapel because it is not located in a city.  Our shadowing took us next to a meeting of a weekly Mindful Meditation group consisting of 12 students, two faculty of which one was Shay; Hannah, and myself.  As this was the first meeting day, it was a beginners and novice introduction to clearing one’s head, having good posture, breathing, and sharing about the experience.  It was interesting to me that Shay felt comfortable admitting that he did not know much about mindfulness, that the group would learn together, and that he might have a guest speaker in the future.  It was obvious that this was for the students and he encouraged it to be student-led, but he and the other faculty dominated the talking with short wait times for students to respond.

            Hannah and I also reviewed a Social Justice brochure and provided edits to Ian.  Additionally, we reviewed multiple Social Justice Week poster samples and provided input and ideas to enhance already-created designs for Ian.  Hannah and I then met in the boardroom of the Student Services building to flush out the bullet points of our action plan for our internship time.  Finally, our larger group of Jason, Teddy, Hannah, and I met with Ian to check-in about the workday and look ahead to tomorrow.

            Benefits of today included relationship building with Ian, Shay, my UNCW teammates, and those we met.  I think both Ian and Shay saw that we are serious, productive, efficient, and that in collaborating we can accomplish more than one person could alone.  With Jason and Teddy, the orientation survey feedback from student leaders would not have been explored.  Without Hannah and myself, tomorrow might not have had presenters of the gifts of bread for the mass, as a student who may be asked to rehearse may not show for the mass and a student asked tomorrow would not have had the benefit of rehearsing.  Without Jason, the idea of embedding Social Justice in the curriculum may not have been considered.  Without me, the idea of looking to the national content standards to see at what level a requirement of Social Justice competencies could be added, may not have been considered.

            Professionally, I benefitted from this experience today in knowledge of face-to-face networking in action and furthering of my small group communication and leadership skills.  I also benefitted by using program evaluation skills which I am developing as part of a course in Program Evaluation which I am taking concurrently this semester.  Additionally, there is comfort in knowing that colleagues experience similarities in gathering survey feedback, proofreading brochure and poster mock-ups, and dealing with the challenges of holding student orientation sessions.  Another benefit was that of using past qualitative coursework and professional work in the preliminary planning for Teddy and Jason to conduct focus groups and ask non-leading questions.  This puts me to think about my English as a Second Language program orientation and how we could tap into student leadership more.  It was a realization to me that Ian facilitates the orientation of 3,000+ students in a week’s time every fall without the support of an administrative assistant as he utilizes student leaders.

Day 4 - Dublin Revisited

Public transportation is at its best here.  We were able to walk to the train station, buy tickets with cash or credit card from a machine, and take a train with comfortable seats, tables, and wi-fi into Dublin and back.  The idea of using a ticket to gain entry and exit in the system is brilliant.  In this way, someone thinking to pay for two stops and travel seven cannot leave the station until he or she is at that number two stop. 

One can really see the importance Irish society places on literacy.  A variety of books are readily available in outdoor markets, touted on billboards, and for sale in various shops. 

The Art Museum had an original Monet depicting half sunny and half shadiness--very interesting!  This was in the same display room as an original Picasso which surprised me as they are two very different eras and styles.

I am excited about interning which begin tomorrow!

Day 3 - Kilmainham and Guinness

Toured the Kilmainham Jail in Dublin.  What struck me was that two prisoners had made colored picture journals with great detail and that the paints had been accessible to them as prisoners.  The tour guide said that many could not read then so they were given paints.  Another striking thing for me was the panopticon design which allowed for maximum security as guards had a panoramic view. 

Additionally, prisons, like other institutions, went through a process of change over time, morphing to not have crowded rooms holding all prisoners together, but to keep one to two prisoners in a room.  Prison food went from jailers selling it on the side and from the rich prisoners dining in style to measures to prevent corruption and everyone receiving prison food measured to the ounce.

Toured the Guiness brewery in Dublin.  There were an ordinary amount of people on the street and then the large Guiness complex of buildings with a few tour busses down a back street, but this did not prepare me for the thong of people inside in a queue akin to a theme park ride line.  The building was massive, with seven floors and a skyview lounge on the top floor in which to sip Guiness with truly a mob of people.  Other floors included a bicycling fish, replays of past ads, a pour-your-own-Guiness complete with a certificate, and self-tour recorded points.

Of interest to me was the profession of a cooper or barrelmaker/caskmaker (a barrel, I found out is really a size of a cask).  At one time the Guiness brewery there had 300 coopers!!

Day 2 - Meeting with Ian

Two of us—Hannah and I—along with two others—Jason and Teddy—met with our internship rep today, Ian.

Ian explained about the recent evolution of the selection process of the Irish university system.  There are just seven universities in Ireland, and high school students get points for courses, tougher courses, exams, and so forth.  They test in June and then select the university courses they want to take.  All of the test data and points are then gathered so that those scoring highest are accepted to institutions offering what they want to study.  Low income students get some compensation points, so are in the running with those who may have received tutoring or extra enrichment along the way.

The biggest difference right off in speaking with Ian is that Irish students are selecting the courses they want and then the institution is selected for them as opposed to selecting the institution and then the courses within it.  The dynamic therefore for recruiting and retaining students is much different than at U.S. institutions.

Day 1 - Maynooth

Touched down to a cool but sunny Dublin this morning.  Customs consisted of a simple information card with no baggage check or even presentation of baggage claim ticket.  Then, it was a long walk in the ample terminal, and then a long walk outside to the hopper bus area.  And, me with the retracting handle on my luggage stuck in the retracted mode. 

Now I know what parking disks are, as I had seen them mentioned on a website.  They are round printed parking passes that are displayed in a plastic sleeve on the windshield (or should I write windscreen?).

Prices for food and clothes seem reasonable, even somewhat lower for some items than those at home.  Books and housing seem significantly more to me than back home.  I do see why they say the U.S. lags behind other European countries, as there are entire leveled books on various subjects devoted to the Irish standardized exams, and these look quite rigorous.  Additionally, they have review booklets of formulas and kits of math tools for sale as well.

Our contact, Elaine, at Maynooth University said that they partner with over 150 institutions in Europe and possibly 60 or so in the U.S. to host students studying at Maynooth for study aboard programs coordinated through their original school.  She said they do not send many of their students abroad, however, mostly due to cost.  Additionally, Maynooth University has about 35% faculty and staff from other countries, making them quite diverse and international.  In fact, they were just ranked above their peers in diversity, Elaine said.