Right now, this is where I belong.

Today was our first day of classes. For the next month, we will meet every weekday for three to four hours each day and have different guests join us to lecture. Today, we had Marianne Talbot, head of the Philosophy Department at Oxford, give us a lecture on the English education system, as well as proper methods for writing a successful tutorial essay.

The discussion on the English education system was fascinating. They have much of the same problems that we experience in the States with lack of school choice, over-testing, grade inflation, etc. England is having a hard time finding a balance between inspiring students to learn and holding schools accountable for their performance. In 1988, during Margaret Thatcher's second term, she and her Education Secretary, Kenneth Baker, developed the National Curriculum. The goal of the National Curriculum was to establish a standard minimum curriculum that told teachers what subjects they should teach, when they should teach them, and how they should be taught. The standardization allowed students to seamlessly transfer from one school to another without missing any lessons, or having to repeat lessons they may have already learned. Teachers were at first outraged that the new system robbed them of their autonomy; however, in 1994 the requirements were "slimmed down" to allow for more flexibility in instruction. One way the Office of Standards in Education monitors how well schools are performing is by sending out a team of ten inspectors once every four to six years. If a school falls below national standards, the inspectors can impose special measures, which may include mandating that all head faculty and teachers reapply for their jobs. If the school does not improve within two years, the school is likely to be shut down. While this seems to be a very harsh method of monitoring a school's performance, it allows for (good) teachers to inspire their students to learn, and be more creative in their teaching methods than do the implementation of standardized tests; a problem the English educational system knows as much (or more) about as we do in the U.S. From my understanding, by the time students graduate from secondary education, they have been inundated with at least 15 standardized exams. It's shocking to see that there is a correlation between an increase in the suicide rate among school-aged children and the implementation of these standardized tests. The drawback to the standardized exams is that teachers have again lost their freedom to teach and inspire, and are often left having to teach to the test. It was mentioned during the lecture that instead of reading Shakespeare teachers are handing out worksheets about what is important in individual plays. This seems like such a waste to rob students of this deeper education just to meet national standards. I wonder if any system will ever be able to find the balance.

After our discussion on the English education system, Professor Talbot gave a brief lecture on "How to Write a Tutorial Essay." This discussion left me amazed that more schools don't teach this way, as well as terrified for what I will endure while I'm at Oxford. It also left me feeling as though this is exactly where I belong.

The concept of tutorials is new to me. Basically, each student will have two different tutorial meetings("tutorial")once per week. During each tutorial, students meet one-on-one with their professor ("Don"), and will be given a reading list, along with a question. During the course of the next week, the student will be required to sort through the reading list and write a seven to ten-page paper answering the question. At the next meeting, the Don will basically tear the paper apart, having the student defend her research, ideas and conclusions. I can't think of a better way to learn a topic. Not only will I deepen my knowledge of my two subjects, I will be able to defend my research, writing, and opinions. I think I'm going to come out of this in December a more confident woman. It's not going to be easy, but I sure am excited for this ride.

Not only is today the first day of class, it's also St. Giles Fair! I'm not exactly sure the background of this fair, but I do know the main streets are closed and covered with carnival games and fair rides, so I'm out to see what it's all about. Happy Labor Day!

A few pictures...

That's Christ Church College behind me. Much of Harry Potter was filmed there.

My roommate Erin wondering what on earth was happening on my boat!

I'll be a student at New College. Built in 1379.

The Radcliffe Camera.

A great first week

Finally, internet! So I arrived in Oxford on Wednesday, September 1st after a long, and (thankfully) uneventful flight and commute.

Upon arrival in Oxford, I was taken directly to my house. I think it will be about a 20 to 30 minute walk to the city center. I may decide to rent a bike, but I’m a bit nervous about not being able to follow the traffic patterns.

There is really only one word to describe the house I’m living in: HUGE. I was definitely expecting something smaller after my experience in France where we had four bedrooms, one bath, a foyer, and a teeny tiny kitchen. The kitchen in my current house may be the size of the whole apartment in Poitiers (I’m only exaggerating a little). Just to give a brief description: the house is three levels, has four bedrooms, three and a half baths, a huge kitchen, a huge dining room, a huge sun-room (which is windowed in), and even a washer AND dryer. This space is going to spoil me when I go back to living in 692 square feet with my love. I live with three other girls/women, all of whom are also from Mason. We range in age and in interests; but, I do think the mix is going to work very well.

There are about 30 to 40 students total in the OPUS Program from across the U.S. (OPUS is the organization that sets everything up for our arrival). Most are from Azusa Pacific, Catholic University, and GMU. I did not know anyone before I arrived. Most of the students are around the age of 21. It’s obvious the clothing trends are changing, and I sort of feel stuck in a different decade/generation. I enjoy the fashions at Ann Taylor and Banana Republic, while they’re all still shopping at Express and, quite possibly, American Eagle. I feel like the old lady in the group. I may undergo a style adjustment while I’m here. It won't be hard because the clothes in Oxford are amazing. There is such a strong sense of fashion in England that I had no idea existed. Plus, all of the stores are having huge sales making the clothes quite affordable.

Our orientation was held on Thursday. The highlight of the orientation deserves a little background: for the September Lecture Series on British History and Culture (the class we’ll all be taking before tutorials start) we were required to read six books and write papers on each of these books. Well, in true Kristin fashion, I waited until the super last minute to get started. I have one book left to read related to the Lecture Series. The book is entitled “Thatcherism: Scope and Limits” written by Dr. Martin Holmes. Well, guess who one of our guest speakers at orientation was yesterday? You nailed it! Martin Holmes. He was hilarious (as I’m discovering most English people are). He spent about 20 minutes making fun of the British Royal Family. I learned that Prince Charles spends a good portion of his day talking to his “shrubs and trees” and that Her Majesty the Queen (who can do no wrong) has hired a full time pooper scooper to follow her Corgis around her palaces. I also really liked how he refers to tabloid magazines as “scandal sheets;” I may have to bring this one home with me.

Yesterday, the whole Mason group did a walking tour of Oxford. It was an interesting, crazy, and fun day (to say the least). After we got to see all of the colleges our group will be a part of we went punting. According to Wikipedia, “a punt is a flat-bottomed boat… designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. A punter generally propels the punt by pushing the boat against a river bed with a pole.” It is much harder than it looks. In fact, it was so frustrating for one of the four riders in my boat that she thought it would be a good idea to jump in the freezing cold, murky water to maneuver our boat so it was facing the right direction. Within seconds, she took her shoes off, stood up in the middle of the wobbly boat, and dropped her pants. Those of us in the boat all screamed for her to put her pants on while other members of our group looked on with astonishment. It was a priceless moment that I’m sure will live on for the rest of the trip. In hindsight, it may have been funnier to let her jump in.

After our adventures on the river, we found a nice restaurant for dinner, and then a nice pub for dessert and drinks. After being at the pub for about an hour, a large, somewhat mangy German Sheppard sauntered into the bar. He got some love from the locals, and waltzed out a few moments later like he owned the place. What makes it especially great is the “No Dog” sign posted on the front door to the pub. After this pub, we decided to run home, change, and find another place to go out. We ultimately ended up at an ESPN Sky Bar (so we could find out what happened to Derek Jeter; thanks, Mike) that, to our dismay, had two TVs in the off position. It ended up being a really fun place though. The woman who owns the bar decided to lock up around 1:00am and go home. She left two of the local guys (Steve and Ray) to lock up. It was pretty cool. I think we’ll be going back there.

It has been a great first week in Oxford. We start classes on Monday, and I’m excited to get started. I know the tutorials are going to kick my intellectual butt like it’s never been kicked before, and I am thrilled, and a bit nervous/intimidated. When I was trying to think of names for my blog, I typed in something like “KristinInOxford.blogspot.com” and came across another Kristin who had already had an adventure here. She had a really excellent thought about studying in Oxford, to which her mother responded quite fittingly:

“I don’t know why I feel intimidated. I guess because it’s Oxford. There are just such big shoes to fill.” I will never forget my mom’s response. “Well, just remember that you have big feet,”

Here’s to hoping I have really big feet.