Tag: work

Big news everyone – studies – Gefion Gymnasium and home

If you know me really well in real life, none of the news in this blog post will really be news to you.

If you follow my Twitter feed (or Facebook), some of this news will be old news to you, but there is still one big surprise – do read on to the end.

If you only follow my life through this blog… well, stand by for the most content rich post since… ever?

Studies

So, at April 7 I finally defended my thesis – and passed! So that marks the conclusion of my many years as a student at the University of Copenhagen and my work towards my Master degree in Mathematics.

To make it official, my diploma arrived on the 21th of July, much to my surprise. There have been many stories of people, who have waited over a year to receive their diploma. It would seem that I have either been lucky, or that some of the problems, that have haunted the administration at the University, have been cured recently.

Work

After a few weeks of looking I also found myself a job. So although the first two and a half week is considered vacation, according to my contract I officially start work at the Gefion Gymnasium on August first. I’m really looking forward to starting my new life, where student is no longer my primary profession, but where I am now a teacher.
Feel free to wish both me and my coming students good luck!
(And if any of my future students read this… don’t you have something more important to do? I’m sure you have some homework you haven’t finished!)

Gefion Gymnasium is a merger between Øster Borgerdyd and Metropolitanskolen. I have been told that the new facilities should be of very high quality, but have unfortunately not seen them yet.


Photo by: Thomas Angermann

When watched from from the outside, the GeoCenter building always gives me associations to Germany in the late 1930’s. However that feeling hasn’t followed me inside, when I have been there. (The building also houses parts of the University, so I have been there in that capacity a few times.)

Photo by: seier+seier

Home

Finally I have been looking for a bigger place to live with two friends for some time now, and we have finally found a big apartment in Østerbro.
So I will be moving quite a lot of my things tomorrow, if all goes as planed, and then when I return from vacation, I will move the rest of my stuff, so I will be all moved in (and out) by late August.

Of course Østerbro is further away from the city center than my current apartment, but the new apartment will give me (and the two other guys) a lot more space, and we will have some opportunities to do something really great with the shared rooms.

All in all I am really looking forward to moving to Østerbro, and making that my new home, although the last couple of days have been quite fast-paced. It took less than a week from we saw the apartment first time until we signed the lease.

Elever som burhøns

Den gang jeg gik i gymnasiet var frygten at klassekvotienterne ville overstige 24. Som jeg husker det var det, på det tidspunkt, ikke tilladt at have gymnasieklasser med flere end 24 elever. Det loft blev dog fjernet, på trods af “Stop nu!” initiativet (tror jeg det hed) og lignende gruppers kamp mod fjernelse af loftet.

I dag kan man så læse i Metroexpress at 32 elever er ganske normalt og at der flere steder er tæt på 40 elever i de startende klasser! Det er jo for meget. De sidste to år har jeg brugt noget af min tid på at undervise i gymnasieskolen og har også haft fornøjelsen af 1.g klasser med ca. 30 elever i hver klasse. Det går bare ikke med så mange elever. For selvom gymnasiet selvfølgelig er et tilvalg og eleverne som udgangspunkt er tilstede i klasselokalet for at tilegne sig selv ny viden og nye måder at se verden på, så kommer de fleste 1.g elever altså også direkte fra folkeskolen. Det er langt fra alle der har helt styr på den helt basale klasserumskultur. Så med 30 elever, hvor mange ikke kan finde ud af hvornår de skal tie stille, i et ofte for lille lokale er det oplagt at resultatet bliver dårligere undervisning og risikoen for at nogen af eleverne dropper ud stiger.

Money talks!

Men om man kan lide det eller ej, så er der cool cash i at fylde klasserne op! Gymnasierne bliver betalt pr. elev, så specielt indtil den første ‘optælling’ (som vist foregår i oktober) så bliver klasserne fyld op, for at skaffe penge til skolerne. Problemet her er jo oplagt. Skolerne bliver belønnet for at få elever igennem, men ikke direkte for at levere god undervisning. Resultatet er at ting som indeklima og indlæringsmuligheder for de mange 1.g’ere bliver nedprioriteret.

Videnssamfund og undervisning i verdensklasse min…!

Nu stopper det!

LHC er endelig blevet tændt. Alle tiders!

Jeg har været optaget af andre ting de sidste par dage, så jeg har ikke fulgt pressens dækning af denne begivenhed specielt tæt, men da mine elever i mandags og igen i går (onsdag) begyndte at spørge hvorfor jorden skulle gå under blev jeg lidt interesseret i at se hvordan sagen faktisk bliver præsenteret i pressen.

Jeg burde nok have ladet være… for magen til overfladisk og useriøs journalistik skal man da lede længe efter. Jeg ved godt at journalister har brug for en vinkel og Jorden går under i morgen sælger nok flere aviser end Fysikere leder efter Higgs boson. Men at dreje hele dækningen af LHC over på dommedagsprofetier – som er blevet tilbagevist, i stedet for at lave en seriøs dækning af hvad der faktisk foregår og hvorfor man udfører eksperimentet, det er ikke i orden. Der altså nogle journalister der ikke gør deres arbejde godt nok!

Hvis man vil have en kritisk vinkel på LHC eksperimentet er der såmænd nok at tage af. En kunne være den økonomiske. Er det pengene værd? Bruger vi for mange penge på grundforskning – eller bliver pengene brugt på det rigtige? Men at gentage den samme (forkerte) historie igen og igen fordi det sælger aviser eller fordi emnet er for svært at sætte sig ind i – det er simpelthen den forkerte journalistisk løsning!

… og så til sidste et par hygge links om LHC fordi jeg egentlig ikke kan lide at være sur (heller ikke på journalister).

PHD Comics
XKCD
Stejl Fart – hvis Brian Mikkelsen går af som kulturminister er det måske meget godt at jorden går under… eller er det omvendt?

I was born to tend a bar!

… well, properly not. But I had my bar tending virginity taken yesterday afternoon. It’s not that I haven’t poured a beer behind a bar before but I have never been behind a “real” bar with a cash register, dishwasher etc.
I was part of the volunteer staff at Studenterhuset. It was a very slow afternoon, mostly tourists asking for coffee and it was clear that the semester hasn’t started yet. But it was a great opportunity for me to familiarize myself with the cappuccino machine, cash register etc. without to many thirsty students breathing down my neck. But I properly wont quit my day job just yet.

Speaking of my day job, I have now taught for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) and I’m still alive! The students seem nice so far and I have been able to fill the schedule with meaning full content so far. (At least I thing so…) I was very tired after the first day and I do have a lot of preparation for each lesson, but hopefully as I get the hang of it and get into a routine I will be able to get by using less time to prepare each lesson.

I have gotten a job!

I have gotten a job! It is a one year substitute position at Stenløse Gymnasium og HF. I will be teaching one class of math, one of physics and one of science (naturvidenskabeligt grundforløb).
I see this as a great chance for me to figure out if teaching is really what I want to spend my life doing.
I went to the gymnasium today to pick up the books I am supposed to teach from. So hopefully I will have some time to look through them over the summer.

I plan on leaving for Roskilde tomorrow. The weather is not quite what I had hoped, but I guess it is not a real Roskilde Festival if there is no mud. And it can still clear up for when the music starts Thursday!