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The Oxford Observer

The Priory School, Dorking

3/25/2014

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I was visiting my cousins this week in Dorking and was looking to visit some schools. Luckily they have a friend, Stuart, a local youth worker and former(-ish) teacher. He’s a great guy who does chaplaincy activities and functions as a guidance counselor for The Priory School, a Church of England (CofE) school with Years 7 to 13 (US Grades 6 to 12, ages 11 to 17). He was kind enough to get me into the school and observing lessons across several years.

I got my visitor’s badge and met Stewart in the office, moving to the staff room for the morning briefing. Stewart introduced me to the gathered teachers and after the meeting I met a fellow “colonial”: a music teacher from Kansas! I then got to see a Year 7-8 (G6-7) assembly in the multi-purpose room, which began with the whole room singing a pop song, used to convey a message. Most assemblies have a religious theme, due to the school’s association with the Church of England, and focus on some moral message they want to impart on the kids.
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[As a side note, I’ll refer to the UK’s “Years” as Y#, then put the US’s “Grade” in parentheses as G#. To determine the age of the students: add 4 to the year number or 5 to the grade number.]
Next was a Y7 (G6) PE lesson on rugby, the first Physical Education lesson I’d seen in a UK school. There were two teachers, one male and one female, and after the children changed into their gym uniforms (polo shirts, shorts, and cleats), the genders split up. I went with Coach Mark and the boys to do some rugby, and I got to lead the warm-up exercises while he set up the pitches. I cannot stress this enough: kids in the US and the UK ARE NO DIFFERENT. The boys behaved just as their counterparts across the ocean do at this age. After this lesson I saw a Y11 PE lesson where, similar to my high school gym classes, the students (again split by gender) got to pick from several activities (field hockey, badminton, and trampolining).
After the 15 minute break time, I went to go see a Y12 (G11) AS-level sociology class, held in a classroom with computers around the back of the roo. Just after I had gotten the hang of the whole “everyone wears a uniform” thing, this class was wearing “street” clothes. Upon further inquiry, the teacher (Mr. Harrison) explained that most 6th-formers across the country don’t actually wear uniforms. The lesson, on China’s one-child policy, had an introduction, small-group work, then a whole-class recap and the assigning of homework.
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As the students broke into their groups, I went around asking them if they preferred their normal clothes to wearing their uniforms. The results were actually very surprising! All the students I spoke to understood why they had uniforms, but the boys and girls had different reasons for liking or disliking them.
Disliked:
  • Not treated as individual (B)
  • Hassle to put on every morning (B)
  • Uncomfortable (G)
  • Cold (G)
  • Expensive (G)
Liked:
  • Easy (G)
  • Structure (G)
  • Consistent (G)
  • Equalizer (G)

Would pick normal clothes over uniforms: 1 girl, 4 boys
Would pick uniforms over normal clothes: 6 girls, 2 boys
Lunchtime lasted 55 minutes, after which I went to a Y7 (G6) math lesson. One interesting thing I noticed throughout the day was that teachers were referred to as either “sir” or “miss,” even by their co-workers. The students would stand for roll call, responding with a quick “good afternoon miss,” sitting after the whole list was read. They did an interesting lesson on scatter plots and as I said before, the kids acted the same as their American counterparts do in the same situation.

After the lesson I got to sit down with Phil Harrison, the aforementioned sociology teacher and Deputy Head, to discuss the ins and outs of the UK system of education. The notes from this discussion will come later, as the discussion was an hour long and the system is VERY confusing.
Another interesting thing The Priory School was doing involved "Golden Tickets." Each teacher has one ticket that they give to one student out of all of their classes to reward good behaviour, participation, etc. The names are all put into a hat and prizes are randomly given to the students whose names are pulled out. I thought this was a really good idea to reward and encourage the qualities which make good students!

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to visit such a friendly school! The Priory School staff was friendly, welcoming, and answered any questions I had about anything. I’d like to thank Mr. Sohatski and Mr. Harrison for letting me visit and Stewart Ryland for arranging my schedule and spearheading the initiative to get me into the school.
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Blenheim Palace Behemoth

3/20/2014

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Today I got the chance to go visit Blenheim Palace! Named after a town in Bavaria which was the site of John Churchill's famous battle. After he won and stopped Louis XIV's advance to conquer Europe, Queen Anne made him Lord Marlborough and gave him £240,000 a 2,800 acre park on which to build a house. And boy, what a house it is!
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The sheer size of the Palace is spectacular, the outside is so big and imposing it makes one feel as though you are a fly on the wall. Of course, first you have to get to the Palace, which is accessible by what feels like a several-mile-long driveway (although it turns out it's only half a mile but arrow straight). After walking into the giant courtyard I proceeded into the house, through pillars several stories tall. I was briefed on my options and headed to the 35-40 minute tour, on which I was with a husband and wife from North Carolina! This tour was really cool, they had rooms set up from different eras of the house and you were led through by a projected tour guide. Each of the rooms had animatronic and video people; often the manikin would be facing a mirror which was actually a video screen so you could see them talking. The manikins even breathed, which was creepy, but the whole thing was really cool!!! Next I circled back outside and went on a tour of another part of the house and learned some funny stories about the family (did you know the Vanderbilt and Churchill families were related?). Anyway, the inside was beautiful!
After touring the interior of this gigantic house, I moved outside to go see the gardens where again, the sheer size was staggering!
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I walked around a bit, had some lunch, then decided to go explore some of the individual garden areas. After I followed one of the paths (I'm going Coast Guard, I don't do land navigation), I happened upon the "Secret Garden" which turned out to be a really cool garden bordering the massive field shown above. It was quiet and peaceful, so I took the time to play with my camera's wireless capabilities. You can set it up and remotely take pictures from your smart phone, which is very entertaining! Next I moved to the outskirts of the field and noticed a bench that the light was catching just right. I thought to myself how neat it would be if someone were sitting there, and then realized I could attempt it with my wireless setting and got one picture before the connection died (I was at least 50 feet away from it). The wind was blistering as well and blew my camera out of position so I had to go back to it anyway. Unfortunately there were a lot of tractors out (mowing the grass) and one started heading towards me so I ran for it back to the path.
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I decided to head back to the front of the Palace where I could visit the Column of Victory and the bridge. On the way I spotted a cool-looking path and figured I’d follow it and it took me down by the side of the lake. There was a neat little cottage/boat house and it was a good walk until I realized I was heading in the complete wrong direction and ended up in the middle of the giant field! After this interesting detour, I went into the courtyard and checked out the WWI exhibit (which was rather good) and then visited the gift shop. After finding out what time things closed down, I started walking towards the Column of Victory but only made it as far as the bridge (it was getting dark and the main gate through which I had to exit was going to close at 1630. At 1615 I started to walk back and looked at my bus time table to see when the next bus home would leave: 1621. I ran the whole length of the driveway and got to the bus stop with a minute to spare, but then (of course) the bus was 5 minutes late, so the run was for nought (good exercise though).
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St. Nicholas Superstars

3/18/2014

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Today I got to visit St. Nicholas Primary School in Oxford! I was shown around by my mum’s cousin (my first cousin once removed) Harriet who I last saw when her family came and visited New York City a few years ago. It was great to see her again and I am very grateful she arranged the visit to St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas Primary School (SNPS for the purposes of this post) is a co-educational community primary school (roughly ages 5 to 11) with no religious affiliation in the Oxford village of Marston. According to the Department for Education website, SNPS has 360 students with 13 of them receiving extra resources for “Autistic Spectrum Disorder” and “Speech, language and communication” issues. It was with this group of kids that I spent my day, observing the Communications and Integrations Resource Base (the CIRB or “the Base”) where they get small group or even one-on-one support away from the mainstream classrooms. Many of the adults who help out are volunteer Teacher Assistants (like Harriet) who come in once or several times a week. The students who learn in the CIRB are mostly kids with Autism, although they widely vary on the spectrum from those who are “high-functioning” with Asperger’s syndrome to those with severe Autism. The kids are split by age group, with 5-8 year olds on one side of the staircase and 8-11 year olds on the other. Some students split their time in the CIRB and mainstream classrooms, but many stay in the CIRB all day long. Let me tell you: there was a MASSIVE difference between the two groups as I got to spend time with both. I got to do a lot of different things throughout the day, met a lot of amazing people, and learned some very valuable things.

After meeting Harriet at the bus stop, I checked into the school as a visitor and wound my way through what seemed to be a maze of hallways to the CIRB. All the kids start their academic school day at 0850, although there are some before-school clubs which meet in the mornings before school. 
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When the Base’s kids first walk in (on the 8-11 side), they do some individual work and then move into a bigger group to work on handwriting skills (this includes OT hand-strengthening exercises and other activities to focus and quiet the group). They put up the day of the week (along with other things) on a Velcro board, then moved to a dance activity (which they do every Tuesday). At least one student joined the mainstream class at this time, but most of the students combined with the other side of the CIRB and went into the assembly hall. Here they did some physical exercise, dance routines, and following of simple directions: the kids seemed to have a great time. Next was music with rhythm, memory, and singing games and songs. Some of the kids got very involved with the activities and looked like they were enjoying them! When the groups broke up again, I stayed with the younger kids and saw math and counting practice along with a size comparison activity. Then came lunch, break, and play time (students had an 30 min for lunch and 30 min for recess), at which point I moved back to the older group to observe and participate in silent independent reading, stations, board games and “choosing time” (kids get to pick their own activity). Finally, students were dismissed at 1450 (mainstream students left at 1515).

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One of the more interesting things I got to see was the station time the older kids did towards the end of the day. Essentially they were puzzles or activities meant to challenge them, like “build a copy of this out of blocks” or “draw the mirror image of this design.” There was very little if any verbal instruction from the adults and it was fascinating because I could actually see their minds working as they solved the problems given to them. The board game time was also a valuable part of the day as the adults worked on social skills like being gracious winners and not getting too “bent out of shape” after a loss. There seemed to be a focus on social skills, which is extremely valuable for kids with Autism, and they made a point to go over how to behave in certain situations.

After the students had left for the day, I asked the adults some questions about their school and the system as a whole. The biggest thing they said needed to be improved was that the government and schools needed to begin treating students as individuals. For example, it would be unreasonable to require that students must pass English and math to leave school, since for many special education kids that is an unattainable goal. The adults also said that SNPS was very good at providing creative outlets for the kids and that often the school observes a week-long theme (this week was “Science Week”). Students also have the opportunity to participate in many extra-curricular activities, as well as having a fair amount of the day put aside for physical activity. Specifically, the kids in the Base went swimming once a week and horseback riding every 3 weeks, along with practicing dance routines and break times.

There also seemed to be a great music program from what I saw, and the teachers agreed that their school was very supportive of the arts. The mainstream and the CIRB’s students put on a whole host of concerts/talent shows for the school’s governors and parents, where kids play the piano, sing songs, and dance routines. Apparently there’s also at least one music assembly a week, and the music teacher gets everyone clapping and singing along. The TAs also told me about the school’s choirs and musical groups, including an orchestra with parent volunteers as teachers and participants! While the school has a great commitment to creativity, they did say that the arts were unfortunately almost always the first things cut when money was tight (which seems to be a universal problem, at least in the UK and the US!).
Overall I met some great teachers and assistants, whose patience and caring were boundless. I really did learn a great deal and I had a blast while doing it. I want to thank Harriet for arranging the opportunity, as well as the staff and administration of St. Nicholas Primary School for welcoming me into their wonderful school!!!
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Reece's Rainbow - Jenny Scrupps Pohl

3/16/2014

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This post is from a family friend who used to work with my mum and dad at Elks Camp Moore! Born in Lincolnshire, England, Jenny worked for many years with children and young adults with disabilities in a variety of settings, including residential schools with children with cerebral palsy; group homes and summer programs with deaf/blind clients; nanny to children with cerebral palsy; a school for teenagers with challenging behavior; and a summer camp for children with a variety of special needs. She married her husband Randall, and moved to South Dakota, in 1997. For the past 13 years Jenny has been self employed, running an inclusive daycare, and raising their now 10 year old son (who is quite the soccer star!).
A few years ago I read an article in People magazine, about an organization called Reece's Rainbow who, in a nutshell, advocate and find adoptive families for orphans with Down Syndrome and other special needs. Children who would otherwise spend their lives in orphanages and mental institutes, hidden from the world. They raise adoption grants and promote awareness. Since 2006, over 1000 children have been adopted internationally through Reece's Rainbow.

The first children to catch my eye were “Heath” and “Brady”(their RR pseudonyms, real names are not listed in order to protect privacy). They were living in a mental institution in the middle of nowhere, in an Eastern European country. An adoptive mom who had been at the same institute, adopting her son with arthrogryposis , wrote about Heath and Brady in her blog, and my heart just about broke.

At the time, I just couldn't get the two boys – two little boys with Down Syndrome – out of my mind. Thankfully, Brady was adopted pretty quickly – but Heath wasn't so fortunate. I wasn't in a position to adopt, so what could I do ? I started to advocate for Heath and the other children listed for adoption on Reece's Rainbow. I shouted for them on Facebook, I donated when I could, and I cheered when families stepped up to adopt. 
At the time, the older children listed (over the age of 6) had a collective grant – when a family stepped forward for an older child, they received the whole grant, which was then reset to zero. Thankfully, this soon changed, so that each child had their own, individual grant, meaning you could donate to a particular child. Unfortunately, this also meant that over 100 children suddenly had a grant with ZERO in it. I couldn't just sit back and let that be – seeing a zero on a child's profile was like a kick in the face to me – every child is worth SO much more than that, and I wanted to show that, by donating to a child and zapping that zero, that someone, somewhere, cared about that child.

So began my blog, and my advocating for the least of the least – those children with zero in their grants, the older children who had been passed over again and again. My Zero The Zeros blog (www.zerothezeros.blogspot.com) doesn't have a huge readership, but it is a work of love, and is ongoing. We DID manage to get all of those zeros zapped back in 2011 – but, as more and more children are listed for adoption, then more and more children start with zero. It is an uphill battle, but, to me, it is so worth it. To see those grants grow, and to see those children adopted, is just priceless!!

Why advocate for these children ? Why not leave them where they belong, in their own country ? The sad fact is, that in many countries around the world, children born with disabilities are seen as broken, as unworthy. There is no education available for them, no therapies, no help for families, and little medical care. They are mostly abandoned at the hospital at birth, or given up at an older age when families realize they are not “perfect”. These children live in “baby houses” for the first few years of their life, and then are transferred, as early as four years of age – to mental institutions. Those that can walk fare slightly better – those unable to walk spend their lives laying in a crib, doing nothing. The orphanages and institutions are usually extremely short staffed, so the children receive minimal care – resulting in malnutrition, sickness, and often death at an early age. 

Children that in the USA would receive the best of medical care, and therapies, and education, are left to waste away and die. Children that in the USA can grow up to be productive members of society – living and working a normal life – are deemed unworthy, and cast away. THIS is why I advocate. THIS is why I shout.

I shout for those who cannot shout for themselves.

Remember Heath ? I wasn't the only one to see him. Many people around the country – and the world – shouted for Heath and so many other children – and within a couple of years, Heath was “fully funded” - meaning, if an adoptive family stepped forward for him, their costs would be fully paid for !! Yet still he waited. And waited. Until, finally, just about a year ago, a family saw him and said “YES” !!! They claimed him as their son, and, after working through the adoption process, they were able to bring him home around Thanksgiving 2013. His new name is Boden, and he is absolutely thriving – the love of a family has no bounds !!
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Boundless Benefits

3/14/2014

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Before I get into some of the benefits of music education, I need to provide a disclaimer about myself. I have been involved in music since 5th grade when I joined my middle school choir. In 6th grade I auditioned for and was accepted into the New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC), which I stayed in until 10th grade. While in middle school, I also participated in the band, playing the alto saxophone, something which I fully expected to continue in high school, but never got the chance due to scheduling conflicts. In high school, I was involved in many of the school’s select choirs, as well as County, Region, and All-State honor choirs from freshman until senior year. I co-founded and directed “Men in Black A Cappella,” West Morris Mendham High School’s male a cappella group, for three years and I was elected Choir President for my senior year. I now participate in The Citadel Cadet Chorale and have loads of fun performing and rehearsing with them.

I can’t even remember all of the opportunities and experiences I had with these groups, but here are a few of my favorite memories:
1.      Competing at Hershey Park
2.      Going on tour with NJYC in Italy for ten days
3.      Performing at NJ Performing Arts Center
4.      Performing in Carnegie Hall
5.      Performing at the ACDA’s Eastern Convention
6.      Singing in over twenty different languages and countless genres
7.      Running a musical group like a (profitable) business
8.      Helping to orchestrate an invitational with a headliner (Street Corner Symphony)
9.      Participating in and then running a stage crew for several different productions
10.  Singing on a street corner with my closest friends
11.  Making friends that will last a lifetime
12.  Making a difference in peoples’ lives every performance

The greatest thing about music in schools is that it encourages so many great values and principles. Rehearsal is the most abundant aspect of music, and it instills principles like hard work, dedication, the importance of practice, and the drive for perfection, while at the same time teaching kids that if something isn’t perfect, it's OKAY! I have never had a music educator who stresses perfection over expressing emotion and having fun.

Since there are so many, I’m going to break down the benefits of music education into two aspects: emotional and practical.

Emotional Aspects
I have interviewed dozens of current and past music students and educators in order to gain insight into others’ experiences with music education. I have come to one overarching conclusion: across the board, music simply has the power to bring joy into peoples’ lives. Peter Potash, a junior at West Morris Mendham High School (WMMHS), says music has helped him “discover the true beauty” of some music. “When I sing these pieces,” he says, “I feel better about my life no matter what I had been feeling before.” Paul Brodhead, a sophomore at WMMHS, says, “It has given me an outlet to relieve my stress and anger” and Brian Jeffers, a freshman, agrees, “It cools me down if I am in a bad mood.”

Dr. Jason Vodicka, Assistant Professor of Music at Susquehanna University, says he sees students developing countless abilities, including “The ability to think and feel deeply, talk about feelings, perform in front of a large group of people (makes giving a 5 minute speech seem simple!), and integrate heart, mind, and body.” Both students and educators can see the emotional benefits of music.
Practical Aspects
I turned primarily to the music educators on this one, asking them what skills they have seen students develop as a result of music education. Patty Danner, WMMHS Choir Director, pointed at teamwork and performance. “Perhaps we are training professional musicians, but we may also be training managers who will be running meetings, or public speakers. Most professions require teamwork and the understanding it is in everyone's interest to develop the entire team.” The Director of Choral Music at The Citadel, Nancy Lefter, lists “concentration, communication, and camaraderie” and retired West Morris Central HS Choir Director Dr. Vincent Rufino includes “Divergent thinking, decoding a graphic language, developing an aesthetic sense, self-confidence, fine motor skills, and a historical perspective outside the venue of wars and conquests.” Retired music teacher Karen Johnson lists “cooperative collaboration, articulation, discipline, memorization skills, and appreciation of all arts.” This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the benefits, although it is interesting that educators trained and working in different places all see similar effects on their students.

All-in-all, there are many clinically proven benefits to music education, as well as those observed first-hand by teachers and students in the field. Music education has given me so much and has provided me with skills I continue to use today.

Bottom line: music has a profound effect on students,
with both emotional and practical benefits.
Links:
VH1: Save The Music

6 Benefits of Music Lessons

11 Facts About Music Education

About.com: 5 Reasons to Play a Musical Instrument
Journals:
Musical Intelligence and the Benefits of Music Education

The Importance of Music Education

Music in the Classroom: Its Influence on Children's Brain Development, Academic Performance, and Practical Life Skills
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Trip to Oxford University OTC

3/11/2014

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So this week, VMI (Virginia Military Institute) is out on spring break and they sent some of their honors students to Europe. The only reason I know this is because I got to meet a few! The Oxford University OTC was gracious enough to host the Americans for a bit of "show-and-tell" where Royal Army units would come and give pitches about their services to the Officer Cadets. Oddly enough, this is exactly what I got to see last week in Birmingham! In fact, many of the presenters were the same and surprisingly they remembered me.
Several things were different about this week:
1. I went with my classmate David who is also studying at Oxford this semester on the same program
2. We knew no one there
3. We were wearing suits, and stuck out like sore thumbs (albeit very well-dressed sore thumbs)
4. We focused mainly on learning about the British Army instead of about OTC

We did, however, get to play with some Barrett 50-cal sniper rifles, some NVDs, and talk to some very cool Royal Marines who had nothing but good things to say about Americans!

All-in-all a cool experience, especially getting to represent The Citadel alongside our cousins from VMI, even though we all know the "El Cid" Bulldogs are better than the VMI "Keydets" any day!
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Trip to Birmingham University OTC

3/6/2014

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Yesterday, the Birmingham University Officer Training Corps (BUOTC) was nice enough to allow me to observe one of their training days! I left Oxford on Tuesday and took the train to my "brother" Dan's flat in Birmingham. Dan and I have been friends since we were born as our parents used to work together in the US at a camp for handicapable kids, Elks Camp Moore. Dan is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Sports Therapy and a career in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. This is his third and final year participating in the OTC program as he finishes in June. He also holds the rank of JUO (Junior Under Officer) in the OTC and serves as the equivalent of a senior enlisted man in one of BUOTC's platoons. Although I am not pursuing a career in the army, I found the experience very enlightening, particularly since I saw many similarities between the American and British programs.
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Dan (left) and myself (right)
When first approaching the bus stop, I did get quite a few stares and several double-takes because of my ACUs (Army Combat Uniform), since I was the only one not in the British Army's standard MTP PCS (Multi-Terrain Pattern Personal Clothing System). The bus ride was entertaining, particularly because I could feel the stares on the back of my neck from people trying to figure out who I was! Once I arrived I was greeted by a Major, answering a few questions about my school and the army before moving inside and straight to work. There were formations, accountability, and announcements, after which I was asked to introduce myself to the unit. After the formalities, the two companies (split by years in the program) broke into groups for the day's activities. I was particularly lucky because British Army Units were there to introduce these Officer Cadets to many of the options available to them, so I learned a great deal.
Dan was freed of his duties to show me around, so we started in the armory, where I got to meet the coolest man who has ever lived, Colour Sergeant Berry. This incredible guy spent time as a sniper in the Royal Marines, the Paras, 23rd SAS, and countless other special forces units. Now he instructs the instructors of snipers.... He's a several time World Sniper Champion and has several records in multiple different weapons. While he could scare the heck out of you, he's also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and loves talking to people about his art form that is shooting. After Dan introduced me to him, we moved on to the upstairs "Mess", the equivalent of an officer's wardroom. I got learned about the Royal Logistics Corps, Royal Military Police, and the Educational and Training Services in several short briefings. This last branch of the Royal Army is tasked with educating the Army's soldiers, the average of whom read and write at the level of an 11-year-old!

One thing I found interesting was that the Officer Cadets were responsible for helping to distribute and then clean up the evening meal. At The Citadel, this would be highly impractical as we feed 2400 people at a time for most meals, but for their 130-150 it seemed to work quite well. Other than that, they seemed to be fairly similar to ROTC units attached to normal colleges and universities in the United States.

After dinner (for which we changed into suits), all except those on guard duty moved upstairs to have drinks and chat with the visiting officers. Then we boarded the bus and headed back to Dan's flat, all-in-all a great day and a fantastic learning experience. The Officer Cadets were awesome! They were courteous hosts, answered all my questions, and acted as great representatives of their program and their country.

I want to thank all the people who made my visit possible, particularly Colonel Sutherland, Major Wilcox, and RSM Kelly. I also want to thank all the JUOs and my new friends who and made me feel welcome!
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Meet "Musical Madness March"!

3/1/2014

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Welcome to Musical Madness March! The theme of many of the posts and articles this month will be specifically based on music education. There have been countless proven benefits that music education can provide, from improved language ability and spatial intelligence to better performance (pardon the pun) on standardized tests, all while teaching the value of hard work and perseverance. According to The Telegraph, choir singing “boosts your mental health” even more than playing a team sport does! Larger vocabularies, better overall academic performance, and bigger paychecks are just some of the measurable long-term benefits, not counting the friendships made that last a lifetime or other qualitative benefits.

Over the next four weeks, you can look forward to posts like the ones below, all with contributions from past and present music educators and students!
- The benefits of music education and its impact on kids (with input from music educators as well as past and current students)
- The impact of extra-curricular musical activities on students, educators, and the school community
- A look inside one of New Jersey's premier children's choirs, the New Jersey Youth Chorus
- The long-term effects of music education on career path and educational attainment
- A look at the impact music education has on the community at large.
- The impacts of musical education from a mom's perspective

I have taken input from over several dozen current and past students and educators and will be featuring first-hand accounts of their experience with music education. Several guest authors will also be making contributions as well!

In order to properly observe Musical Madness March, I urge you to like "The Oxford Observer" on Facebook where I'll be posting a host of videos, articles, and current events dealing with music education! Click on the button to the right to visit the Facebook page and share it with friends!

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This whole month will culminate in the unveiling of a new portion of TheOxfordObserver.com, so stay tuned!
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