"The only thing constant is change..."

Sunny picked me up at 9:30 this morning, to head over to Westwood Secondary School to meet my CT (Cooperating Teacher), and the "Subject Head" (a.k.a. our Department Chair) of biology.  I was so nervous/anxious/excited/scared that I woke up at 7am, made some tea, ate a China Kong pear (delicious!) and a Nature Valley bar, and was dressed and ready 40 minutes early.

We got to the school at about 9:45, checked in with Security, (every school in Singapore has gate security - awesome!) and headed to the main office.  The school is beautiful and HUGE, and students were already on campus practicing their co-curricular activity.  Sunny explained that most of the 'uniform activities,'  i.e. band, drill team, scouts, etc. are practicing their footwork and marching technique - brought me back to the days in NPHS marching band... ;)

I didn't want to be that girl and take a bunch of pictures as we walked up, but I promise I'll get pictures of the school, and post them as soon as possible.  For now, you could check out the school website if you're interested? (I've practically memorized it...) haha.

As soon as we checked in, the desk attendant called for Ms. Goh, the SH, and Ms. Ivy, my CT.  They were there within minutes, and were so nice and welcoming! We only talked for about 10 minutes, about first day procedures, etc. and then they had to leave for a staff meeting so Sunny and I headed home - (I now have the rest of the day free which is nice, but I wish we could've talked more... now I have to wait until the first day of school net Monday!) Ms. Goh said that the first week I'd most likely be observing, but whenever I feel ready I can teach as many lessons as I'd like!!! 

They also informed me that at the end of my time here, I'm going to have to do a presentation for my NIE supervisor, my CT, SH, the principal, and maybe others on my teaching experience here... I'm definitely going to have to be writing/reflecting everyday now!! 

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I titled this post "The only thing constant is change..." because Sunny and I had a really great conversation on our way back from the school to my hostel, in which he said those words.  To start, he pointed out a view landmarks on the way home: the new building for Google that'll be in full swing very soon, the 'boys home' (like a juvenile hall) and the aircraft base for Singapore's defense system.  He then proceeded to tell me that the Singapore government's first priority is defense, because they've learned that as such a small country, they cannot afford to rely on other countries for protection.  Makes sense, I'd say that our first priority is defense as well (or social security?).  Their second priority however - receiving over 20% of the governments national budget - is education.  They hold the importance of education so high because humans are their only natural resource.  In order to be a productive country, ready to send their people out into the world/workforce, they need to be educated.  They place such a value on their education system that every school gets substantial federal funding, teachers make a "handsome" salary (the words of Sunny himself), and the curriculum is constantly changing.  By law, schools have to update their entire curriculum and keep up with the times, or change, every 6 years. Sunny said, "The only thing constant, in our education system, is change." and it really stuck with me, because that's not the case for our country, let alone our state - and it should be.  The CA State Science Standards were adopted in 1998, and now we're finally switching to Next Generation Science Standards in what, 2015?  17 years, 17 years of the same standards.  And that's just one example. 

From the NGSS/California website: 

Commitment:  California has shown a strong commitment to standards-based learning through its adoption of the Common Core State Standards, and in its position as a governing state in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium. California’s current standards have not been updated since 1998, and while still thorough, they are missing recent scientific advances, and the state is eager to update them to match current knowledge.  Additionally, a large part of the economy in California is based on science, technology, and engineering businesses and industries. Therefore, high student performance in these areas is necessary, as are new, up-to-date, rigorous standards.

I love the last couple of lines, I couldn't have said it any better myself...  

P.S. Here's a pic of me from my first day. Kisses to all! ;)