The International School of Amsterdam

In the past two days we finally got to see the reason we traveled all the way to Amsterdam. While touring the city was amazing- we are here to teach! 

Wednesday we met with the supervisor of ISA Dr. Green (a graduate from the 1st co-ed class of Elmira College!) and were given a tour of the school. ISA houses grades from pre-k to 12th grade and is very different from what we see in the states. First, its a private school and an expensive one at that. At 25,000 Euros a year and a waiting list at least a year long, the families and students that attend this school are very different than what we are used to. It is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school meaning- in general terms- that the curriculum and learning is based completely on student exploration and analysis and is very rigorous. Touring the school was like dying and going to academic heaven. With a group of 8 strangers walking around the school and interrupting classes, you would think the students would stop what they were doing and talk or at least try to figure out who we were. Instead, they gave us a quick glance and went back to work uninterested. Even when the teacher left the room to talk to us, they never stopped working! It was amazing. The intelligence and skill level of these children blew me away. In kindergarten the students were learning about insects and were drawing (more perfectly and realistically than I could ever hope to do) the insect they were given. They could tell us what it was and all about that insect and later in the week were going to visit an insectarium to get a first hand look at what they were studying. In 4^th grade we walked in to a class where each child was sitting with a Mac laptop researching and designing a PowerPoint presentation on coral reefs. I couldn’t believe it. In each class we visited every single teacher was up, moving around the class looking on as the students researched, analyzed, or explored to learn the facts and skills that are lectured and pushed at students in the states. No wonder when the end of the day came we could hear students complaining that they had to stop and go home!

I am assigned to the 8^th grade humanities team in the middle school section. This is a group of teachers who teach history, culture, and geography to classes of 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th graders and I, along with Emily, assigned to 7^th grade, will be rotating and observing many of these different classes.

Today the 8^th grade went on a history and geography field trip to the old fort town of Naarden. It was a beautiful, quaint town that was still in its original set up from the Middle Ages. Naarden is surrounded by canals and earthen walls and mounds that held tunnels and canon holes to defend Amsterdam. The students were split into groups of 3-4 kids and were given their assignment and map. Their assignment was to find buildings numbered on their map of the town (practicing their geography skills) and once found, to try to figure out what the buildings original and modern use is. They are studying “gentrification” which is when an old, restored building or home is kept looking like it originally was on the outside but the inside is changed into a modern, high-end (gentry) use. For example, an old farmhouse from the 1700s turned into a very fancy, expensive restaurant, yet it still looks as it did in its original state. So, the students had to find the buildings designated on their map and determine what its original use was and then what it was changed into. Cool concept to begin with, but then we started to see exactly what they meant. We wondered over to “building 6” on the town map and discovered that it was the old town arsenal where all the weapons were kept to defend the town and Amsterdam. From the outside it looks like a simple, old white building, yet as we walked in, we were blown away to discover that it was turned into a ridiculously expensive home décor store and beauty salon. The items for sale in the store started at 500 Euros and included a life-size, realistic Rhino bust for 8,000 Euros and stone statue busts for 30,000 Euros. This was the epitome of gentrification! The building use to be used to defend the town, now it catered to those who could willingly drop about $10,000 on a rhino to decorate their living room wall! Students, including myself, after seeing this, will forever remember what gentrification means! This is what teaching is all about! This is how to get students excited about learning and remembering the material!

After being blown away by how much learning can make an impact through seeing real-life examples, rather than reading it in a book, we met together to take a tour of the actual fort and barracks. To my immense surprise every single student met together at the time they were told to with their assignment completed! At home, there is no way this could ever happen, yet here were these 14 year old kids ready and excited to learn- and on time! We toured the fort and learned some very interesting things- for example they were able to essentially push a button and flood the surrounding fields just enough to stop any enemy soldiers or horses and canon carts, or there is a tunnel under the fort that is pitched black with no windows, only a few holes in the ceiling that would carry the sound of the enemy camps down so the soldiers could listen to the plans of attack and better defend themselves. It was very, very cool.

I’ve learned so much today, not only about history, but about how IB schools really work and excel at education. Its been so exciting and I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow!

The International School of Amsterdam

The Fort at Naarden

Aerial View of Naarden- 

town in the middle with the star-shaped defense around it

The First Days

Hi from Amsterdam!

Today is technically our 3rd day in Amsterdam, so I have a lot to write about!

Sunday we flew out of Newark for an overnight flight into Holland, which was rough. The plane was old and most things were broken- the seats, the air, the movie (there wasn't one), etc. but we made it safely, and all without a minute of sleep. The lack of sleep was to be expected and we landed, after 6 hours in the air, over an hour early. Although we were above the clouds for most of the flight it was amazing to watch the sun set on one side of the Atlantic and watch it rise on the other side as we landed. As we landed at Schiphol Amsterdam (Amsterdam Airport) we were greeted with sights of the brightly colored patchwork of the countryside - the tulip farms!

Monday morning we were taken from the airport to our apartments - the Htel Amstelveen which fortunately are a 5 minute walk from the school and 20 minute tram ride from down town Amsterdam. Amstelveen (pronounced Amstel- vain) is a suburb of the actual city of Amsterdam so its a lot quieter and picturesque. There is a small grocery store and shopping center a block from the apartments and a meat market a little farther. The apartments are far better than I could have ever imagined. Emily and I are roommates in the 2 person, ultra-modern, open, loft-like space, which consists of two single beds, a small fully equipped kitchen, dining room table, bathroom, and living room space with a TV and sofa. Not to mention the view of the country side and Amstelveen- with a 12th floor room and an entire wall of windows you can only imagine! That afternoon we met with the head of the International school Dr. Green and his wife who took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. We tried "Bitterballen" a popular Dutch food, that is very hard to explain. Similar to a deep fried meatball, yet its inside is a gooey mixture of spiced dough and meat, and its taste can only be explained by comparing it to that of a pork chop. Dipped in yellow mustard its delicious! Another traditional food to try are the "Stroopwafels" which are a light desert or cookie- thin wafer-like cookies sandwiched with a gooey molasses in the middle, very sweet but very good.

Tuesday was our tour day which can be summed up as Murphy's law of anything that can go wrong will, is alive and well. That morning we walked the few blocks to the tram station which is the equivalent to the Boston T rather than the NYC Subways-  Above ground with a few seats and a lot of standing room with a station in every town. We started off our ill-fated day with two girls in the group feeling very sick from the jerky stop and go of the tram so the 20 minute ride in felt very long. Yet once we reached Center Station in Amsterdam and got outside, our jaws dropped. In many ways Amsterdam is the perfect mix of a modern, busy city and an old, 17th century flash back. Buildings from the 1600s during the golden age of the city are tucked in with the modern architecture, trams, cars, and bikes. While in NYC you are wary of the cars and the amount of people, here if you can manage to not get hit by a tram, you have to worry about the cars speeding by, and if you withstand both of those dangers you must then keep an eye out for the bikes and mopeds that are always flying by. If you make the mistake of walking on the red pavement designated to the bikes- they will hit you and then you will get a ticket for being on the wrong walkway! In the city itself there has to be hundreds of thousands of bikes, I've never seen anything like it. However, before we even got to sight seeing my camera broke- Thank you Murphy! Luckily everyone else had cameras and took a lot of pictures for me. Not a very good start to the touring day though.
The only way to explore Amsterdam, it is said, is by way of the canals, which is exactly what we did. And believe me, the views of the city were amazing from the canals! After buying a day pass for the Hop-on, Hop-off canal bus we sat on the docks and sunned ourselves in the unusual, 70 degree weather. The only natural waterway in the city is the Amstel River- where the city gets its name- originally the city was named Amstel but once a dam was put in the river its name was changed to Amsteladam, later turing into Amsterdam. Get it?! A Dam on the Amstel = Amster-Dam!
Anyways, there are hundreds of canals throughout the city, most made during the 17th century when it was the biggest port in the world. They say the canals are 3 meters deep- one meter water, one meter mud, and one meter bikes. And I would believe it. For the most part we stayed on the boat- riding it all over the city, seeing attractions like the Anne Frank house, many museums, one of the last remaining windmills, the North Church- the 1st church to be build (in Amsterdam?, Europe?) specifically for protestant worship in 1622 (since before that and after the Reformation they just converted Catholic Churches), etc. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful city. We got off the boat to walk around the city and find some lunch. In our exploration we stumbled down a street made up of small shops, bars, and coffee shops. Sounds nice- however the shops were very vivid sex shops and coffee shops sell weed- not coffee. With the strong smell of pot wafting in the air, it was definitely an experience and we all got to see how far we could push our comfort levels. From there we discovered the red light district, where I got a shock. I, the sheltered American, was not expecting the girls to be in the windows, open for business, at 2 in the afternoon- I was very wrong. It was a... cultural learning experience and I can say with certainty that NOTHING in the US will be able to make me blush now. After that we took another boat tour around the canals to see the outer parts of the city and were very surprised when we got to the stop across the city from where we started and had expected to stop, and were told they were finished for the day. Apparently when they close for the night it doesn't matter where you are- thats were you get off. So we had to make our way back to Central Station with no idea where we were or how to get back. Yet it was an adventure and we got to see more of the city. By the time we got back to the station it was past 9pm and starting to get dark. (yes it only starts to get dark at 9:00pm). Murphy struck again when we were riding the tram home and it just stopped. After sitting there for a while, with people tapping on the windows and doors, but nothing opening- the conductor got out and spoke it Dutch. After looking at our dumbstruck faces he switched to English saying the tram was broken and the doors were not opening so we were all going to have to climb through his cabin and out that small door. We stood there listening to more Dutch until someone took pity on us and told us, in English, that we were going to have to go over to another station and hope for another tram on the same line we were on. Luckily one came soon after and we made it home safely, if not a little cold and exhausted.

Amsterdam is an amazing city and I cant wait to go back to visit the Museums, parks, and other attractions!

A view from the Canals 

One of the many shops selling a variety of necessary items