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.

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.

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!

After touring the interior of this gigantic house, I moved outside to go see the gardens where again, the sheer size was staggering!

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.

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).

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.

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!!!

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.

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!!

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 !!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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