Similarities and Differences between North Melbourne Primary and American Schools

Hi everyone!

I’ve really enjoyed reading the previous posts and learning about your experiences so far! The school schedule here in Australia is the opposite of our’s at home, as students begin the school year in the middle of January and end in October/November, so it took some time for the teacher in charge of student volunteers to find an open placement for me. I am currently in a first grade (also recognized as Year 1) classroom at the North Melbourne Primary School, which is a public school years Prep (kindergarten) to 6. I serve as an assistant teacher in my classroom, and sometimes assist in other Year 1 classrooms too. Though I’ve only been to my site twice, I’ve been able to observe some significant differences and similarities.

Similar to Jess’s time at her placement in Italy, students address all teachers by their first name. I was surprised by this when the art teacher on the first day asked for my name, to which I responded “Kiera” thinking that she would introduce me to the students as “Ms. Kiera.” But I was greeted with a loud, in sync, “Good morning Kiera!!” from all the students. Though I’ve become used to hearing a student call me by my first name, it was definitely weird at first. But I do think this positively impacts the relationship between the students and teacher because it helps create a friendship between them. A title of “Mr” or “Ms” might portray the teacher as the superior in the class, or the only one in charge, or the only one with an opinion, etc. The students in my class and throughout the school still have the utmost respect for their teachers, but by calling each other by their first names, there is a level of comfort, friendliness, and trust. I’ve noticed this even at the university level. Though I can call some of my professor’s at BC by their first names, I always resort to “professor” out of respect. However, we are not to call our lecturers and tutorial leaders “professor” unless they are five or less years away from retiring. My friends and I received a few looks from some Australian students when we referred to our 25 year old lecturer as professor!

Another difference I’ve observed is in the daily scheduling, specifically the two schoolwide breaks throughout the day. All students receive a 40-50 minute recess and lunch in the morning and afternoon each day. After playing outside, they return to their classrooms to have snack in the morning and lunch in the afternoon. It is typical for American schools to have a 30 min lunch and 30 min recess in which only certains grades eat or play at the same time. It was a bit hectic at first, watching all these kids run around the school yard, but North Melbourne seems to have it all under control and the students are all very responsible and trustworthy.

A distinct similarity between my Australian school and previous American schools I’ve worked at is the importance of collaboration between the staff. Tuesdays are especially busy for my SP as she has an all admin meeting at 8:00 am, a Year 1 team planning meeting from 9-10:40, a “check in” meeting for Year 1 teachers from 1-1:40, and then a final after school meeting from 4-4:30, in addition to having me in the classroom. Though Svetlana (my SP) agrees it’s a bit much for one day, she stressed the importance of these meetings and how they do help in the long run when organizing curriculum, planning grade wide projects, supporting students’ needs, etc. It’s true though, I see Svetlana and the other Year 1 teachers coordinate and support each other throughout the day, which definitely has to be a product of these meetings. I also noticed Svetlana use movement breaks and other techniques (breathing exercises, simon says) to regain the young students’ attention during a lesson, which is something I’ve grown to love and appreciate at the elementary, and even secondary, school levels. I’m excited to share more news with you guys throughout the semester!