Sunday, March 30, 2008
Payment Woes
For the second month in a row my company has underpaid me . . . this month's mess up was not as bad as last months (thank goodness!). Last month, they emergency taxed me. This means I lost 22% of my wages and there is no way to get it back until after the tax year ends (next month sometime). In order to get it back though, you have to go through this whole process with the tax people over here and apparently it can take AGES to get it sorted. March's pay was again mixed up somehow, but this time I am only short about £15. Still, I want it back and I am hoping that they will sort it out soon!
It could be worse - one guy I know received a net pay of £0 . . . imagine his face when he opened his pay stub!!!!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Day in the Life
I realize it has been a long time since I last posted, so I thought it best to finally provide you with an update!
Training for my new job went very well – the other people on the training course were great and we all got along pretty well. Plus, it was just generally a lot of fun. However, since we arrived at our actual centre things took a while to get used to.
It’s hard to put my finger on it really, but somehow the job wasn’t quite what I expected and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay with it at first . . . but, things have gotten a lot better and I can honestly say that I definitely enjoy the teaching part of things. It’s really great to make a connection with the kids and get them excited or interested in a subject and also to see their faces light up when they finally understand a concept that was difficult for them. While I enjoy the job, the lifestyle is not something I am overly happy about. We work a lot of hours each day, 6 days a week and it is very hard to get some time to yourself, which I think is really important. There are several people from my training course who are currently looking for new jobs. I have to admit that I am keeping my eyes open as well, as I really do want to return to Scotland someday!
I will give you a rundown of a typical day, here at my new job:
6:45-7am
Wake up!
7:30a.m
Breakfast time. Every day they offer roughly the same items to choose from including: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, porridge, fresh fruit, cereal and yogurt.
8:30am
Morning Meeting. All staff members who work that day have a meeting where the head of the centre reads out a bunch of announcements about things pertaining to us. We also check in with our line managers.
9:15a.m.-10:45a.m.
First Session.
11:00a.m.-12:30p.m.
Second Session.
12:30p.m.
Lunch.
2:00-3:30p.m.
Third Session.
3:45-5:15pm.
Fourth Session.
5:30p.m.
Dinner. Or as they say in England “tea” – and no, I am not simply referring to the drink, but to the entire meal!
7:30-9:00pm.
Evening entertainment or Follow Up sessions. Which one you do depends on what the school has requested. Evening entertainment sessions can be fun things like a night hike or a scavenger hunt, while follow up sessions are more work oriented, e.g. putting together a report based on the educational work they completed that day.
9:30–10:30p.m.
Duty Instructor. You would only be given this on your time table at the most once or twice a week and basically all you do is walk around the kids’ chalets and make sure they are in bed when they are supposed to be.
The sessions are filled with activities that are either educational in nature or activity based. Some examples of educational based activities that I am trained in include rockpooling, minibeasts (teaching them about invertebrates), farming & biodiversity, coastal formations, and coastal management. Outdoor activities that I am currently trained in include problem solving, quad biking, and giant swing. The educational activities usually take a full day or half a day to complete and they are not divided up into “sessions”, but just half day or full day jaunts, as most educational products sessions are actually held off site (meaning at a location other than on the centre’s property).
Another role they have here is something called a Group Leader or a Groupie. Basically, when a school comes to stay at our centre they are assigned a groupie who acts as their main source of contact for any questions, queries, or problems they may have. They also ensure that the school arrives on time for meals. It’s a lot of extra work being a groupie as you spend a lot of your free time either with the kids or sorting out problems for them in between sessions.
As to the living quarters here it’s a bit what I would imagine living in a dorm would be like. I share a room with one other person and people are always coming by and knocking on your door to see what you are up to. Most of the time I don’t mind, but sometimes I am trying to prep for sessions or would just prefer some time alone. It is very hard to get your much needed personal space/time here!
So, all of that aside, I really do love the teaching and I am happy to be getting some real experience over here. I also hope that it will lead to something better (hopefully with shorter hours and a private room!) in the future!
Training for my new job went very well – the other people on the training course were great and we all got along pretty well. Plus, it was just generally a lot of fun. However, since we arrived at our actual centre things took a while to get used to.
It’s hard to put my finger on it really, but somehow the job wasn’t quite what I expected and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay with it at first . . . but, things have gotten a lot better and I can honestly say that I definitely enjoy the teaching part of things. It’s really great to make a connection with the kids and get them excited or interested in a subject and also to see their faces light up when they finally understand a concept that was difficult for them. While I enjoy the job, the lifestyle is not something I am overly happy about. We work a lot of hours each day, 6 days a week and it is very hard to get some time to yourself, which I think is really important. There are several people from my training course who are currently looking for new jobs. I have to admit that I am keeping my eyes open as well, as I really do want to return to Scotland someday!I will give you a rundown of a typical day, here at my new job:
6:45-7am
Wake up!
7:30a.m
Breakfast time. Every day they offer roughly the same items to choose from including: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, porridge, fresh fruit, cereal and yogurt.
8:30am
Morning Meeting. All staff members who work that day have a meeting where the head of the centre reads out a bunch of announcements about things pertaining to us. We also check in with our line managers.
9:15a.m.-10:45a.m.
First Session.
11:00a.m.-12:30p.m.
Second Session.
12:30p.m.
Lunch.
2:00-3:30p.m.
Third Session.
3:45-5:15pm.
Fourth Session.
5:30p.m.
Dinner. Or as they say in England “tea” – and no, I am not simply referring to the drink, but to the entire meal!
7:30-9:00pm.
Evening entertainment or Follow Up sessions. Which one you do depends on what the school has requested. Evening entertainment sessions can be fun things like a night hike or a scavenger hunt, while follow up sessions are more work oriented, e.g. putting together a report based on the educational work they completed that day.
9:30–10:30p.m.
Duty Instructor. You would only be given this on your time table at the most once or twice a week and basically all you do is walk around the kids’ chalets and make sure they are in bed when they are supposed to be.
The sessions are filled with activities that are either educational in nature or activity based. Some examples of educational based activities that I am trained in include rockpooling, minibeasts (teaching them about invertebrates), farming & biodiversity, coastal formations, and coastal management. Outdoor activities that I am currently trained in include problem solving, quad biking, and giant swing. The educational activities usually take a full day or half a day to complete and they are not divided up into “sessions”, but just half day or full day jaunts, as most educational products sessions are actually held off site (meaning at a location other than on the centre’s property).
Another role they have here is something called a Group Leader or a Groupie. Basically, when a school comes to stay at our centre they are assigned a groupie who acts as their main source of contact for any questions, queries, or problems they may have. They also ensure that the school arrives on time for meals. It’s a lot of extra work being a groupie as you spend a lot of your free time either with the kids or sorting out problems for them in between sessions.
As to the living quarters here it’s a bit what I would imagine living in a dorm would be like. I share a room with one other person and people are always coming by and knocking on your door to see what you are up to. Most of the time I don’t mind, but sometimes I am trying to prep for sessions or would just prefer some time alone. It is very hard to get your much needed personal space/time here!So, all of that aside, I really do love the teaching and I am happy to be getting some real experience over here. I also hope that it will lead to something better (hopefully with shorter hours and a private room!) in the future!
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