Two flies on some more classroom walls

So, today the Girl got to endure parental presence in some of her classes - not just me, her dad was able to take some time to spy on her, too.

Not that that's what we were doing, really.  It was just genuinely interesting to see how school is taught these days.  We observed a different style of teaching to anything I can remember.

For starters, the super-cool English teacher (technically young enough to be my child - yikes!), leaping round the classroom exuding confidence and energy, enthusing the kids and incidentally teaching quite effectively.  The students clearly think he's awesome, and frankly so did we.

Science was a more static affair, reviewing the process of water transforming from solid to liquid and back again.  More like lessons I've experienced, but incorporating a nifty computerized magic board/projector - no more chalk dust.

French next, where the emphasis is less on grammar and more on communication, which seems like the right approach.  The teacher had the students develop and act out a slightly surreal story to do with Justin Bieber buying himself a new head.  Lots of laughs, but the lesson kept on track, and again the teaching seemed effective.

And our final stop was Engineering Basics.  The students have been designing and building model bridges, and this was a testing day to measure their load-bearing capabilities.  Dramatic splintering and snapping ensued, which was all pretty entertaining - I wish I'd had the chance to do stuff like that back in the day, instead of having to unpick hems and churn out disgusting chicken fricasse in home economics.