Our teacher Vanessa arranged a study session for us in a conference room in her temporary home, the Waterfront Hotel. We got lots of work done, were able to talk to our colleagues to clarify some details, and also had time to meet with Vanessa. Now we’re prepared for our assignment, it’s just a matter of putting the words on paper! This time we’re comparing selected aspects of our curriculum framework (e.g. image of the child, role of the teacher, teaching & learning, assessment) to 8-10 other countries.

The view from the top of the hotel is stunning. I can’t believe I’m in Malta… how did I get here again?

A few of us are taking a photography course at the University. Our teacher invited us to the opening night of his exhibition. We loved mingling with Maltese intellectual crowd, enjoyed the wine and finger food, and got new inspiration for our photography class as well. I personally like the title of the exhibition Traces of Traces and might use that theme to think about the photos I take.

Today reality hit hard… We received an e-mail that the IMEC consortium (representatives of our program from Oslo, Dublin, & Malta) will meet here in Malta in less than two weeks from now. This isn’t a surprise of course, but it’s still going to be on all our minds.

We will be presenting our research proposal  to the consortium along with our 1st and 2nd preference regarding the country/institution where we would like to conduct the research. I’ve been working on my research proposal and am much happier with it then I was back in Dublin. But choosing a country is quite painful. I know, I know. It shouldn’t be painful, I GET to decide where I would like to do my research. What an opportunity! But I don’t enjoy the thought of the IMEC family getting separated 🙁

Today was our first Thursday Cultural Trip, we went to the Maritime Museum. I learned about licensed pirates, or corsairs, a strange concept if you ask me. Doesn’t that defeat the idea of a pirate?

Here is what the internet tells me:

A corsair was a French privateer who attacked enemy shipping in the Mediterranean. The difference between privateers and pirates is important, because the two enjoyed a different status in the eyes of the law. Privateers were officially licensed by the crown to raid enemy shipping, returning to their home ports with the prizes and splitting them with the crown. Pirates, on the other hand, operated beyond the law, raiding all shipping indiscriminately and not being granted any legal protections.

Oli and Antje at the Azure Window, Gozo.

Thanks Metha for offering a different angle. What a cute couple… lol

A Halloween trip to the Popeye village in Malta. It was so much fun being scared all evening. We laughed and screamed like crazy. They really put a lot of effort into decorating the village and scaring us. It was amazing. Especially the haunted house.

Here is a picture of the village during the day. Not scary at all 🙂

The Popeye movie was filmed here back in 1980.

A day trip to Gozo.

School is so amazing this semester. First of all, getting dressed has never been easier. Just throw on a dress. Done. Then, we live so close to the University of Malta that it takes longer to fill up my 2.5 l water bottle at the fountain than it takes to walk over to school. And lastly, I have time for Yoga before going to school. I remember working the early shift at Pooh Corner and waking up tired every day (and then I still had to go to classes at night). 8 hours of sleep are amazing. I recommend it to everyone.

In our last module we’re looking at curriculum. Vanessa Paki from New Zealand is our lecturer; her and Linda Mitchell (also form New Zealand) co-taught the module that we just finished. It’s nice to have the continuity and have Vanessa here a little bit longer. She infuses the classes with some of the amazing things they have been doing in New Zealand. If I’m planning to go for a PhD at the Uni of Waikato, I will already have family there… Linda and Vanessa have been absolutely wonderful.

This week we’ve been busy analyzing New Zealand’s Curriculum Framework, Te Whāriki (this is Maori for a woven mat). The curriculum is built on four principles: Empowerment, Relationships, Holistic Development, & Family and Community. The mat is woven around these principles. Every mat is unique as it reflects the diversity of each ECCE service.

In this course we’ll be analyzing our own curricular frameworks. In Canada we don’t have a national curriculum, but some of the provinces have started to design curricular frameworks; British Columbia has developed the Early Learning Framework in 2008. When I worked at Pooh Corner, I somehow missed the wave that told educators about this new framework. I’m learning now that the authors of our framework have been influenced by New Zealand (and others…). I was much more informed about another development in my province, because I was a student at Capilano when the Community Plan for a public system of Integrated Care and Learning was released. We went to a session to learn about the plan and later wrote a letter provide feedback to the authors. I can look at our early learning framework and the plan through different eyes now that I’m in this MA program.

Why am I telling you all this? Remember last year when Lucy and I wrote an article for a journal in BC about the new ECCE degree at Capilano University? We concluded the article with our hope that “the Plan, the framework, and the degree can work together”. Looking at that sentence now is quite strange. I know that we wrote it, but I didn’t really think about how connected they are. I knew that the BA degree was important, but I didn’t know enough about the plan and the framework. Stepping back now and analyzing the different documents has been so much fun. I’m excited about all the advocacy in BC and I can’t wait to find my place once I return. I guess I’m already in my place right now…

I remember back in Oslo I was certain that I could go back to work at Pooh Corner after this degree. I still believe that I can. I think it’s important to have educators with BA and MA degrees working with young children. However, I feel that many other doors are opening in front of me and it’s just a matter of going through. I have sooo many ideas of what I would like to do. In fact, I might just have to write my own job description.

Good morning 32.