Fbt Post #3: Workdays & Connections

Work Life as a Fulbright Fellow

Feelings felt: freedom, respect, interest

I’ve been in the UK for a month now! It’s actually taken this long to get clearances and permissions to “get into” primary schools, but things are finally moving along in that regard.

In the meantime, I’ve been establishing daily work routines and meeting with a growing network of professionals in all sorts of roles related to education: professors, reading specialists, researchers, and teachers/admins. They’ve provided so much material that I have to prioritize reading lists for each day! They’ve also extended invitations to attend classes and lectures at my host university, UCL-IOE. Wonderful, helpful people… I still feel a bit like a student in awe of their expertise, but all have treated me as a colleague, expressing mutual interest and respect toward my work.

One aspect of this Fulbright that feels like a treat is the fact that I’m able to set my own work schedule! (Teachers are not used to freedom like this, as we often don’t even have spare moments for restroom trips or a proper lunch break.) Most days in London, I check emails first-thing. Then I step out into the neighborhood mid-morning for a coffee or to take care of tasks like grocery shopping, then come back to my building’s work lounges to focus on research and project work for the afternoon. Honestly, though, each day is a little different!

I head to campus for meetings and lectures a couple afternoons or evenings each week; the weather’s been pretty enough that some of them take place while strolling through Russell Square, which is adjacent to my department building! The flowers are in bloom, and there is a little Italian café with gelato. (My favorite is the fresh banana flavor!) There are several coffee shops and a gorgeous bookshop on campus, all lovely spots for casual meetings.

As mentioned, I’m now visiting primary schools – I was able to conduct observations in two classrooms with new-to-England/English students last week. I hope to see more soon, as the overall action in classrooms provides a better view of which theoretical ideas are practical in real life.

Lately, the most difficult aspect of my work has been narrowing my focus and figuring out what the tangible product components will be. There are so many rabbit-holes to head down! Coupled with a relatively short amount of time (in the world of research), I have to be selective in how I spend energy and prioritize parts of my proposal. This is a point that my cohort's Stateside advisors stressed during the lead-up to our placements, but now I see what they were talking about. Regardless, it is invigorating to have those choices in front of me!

My next post will focus on logistics of getting set up to work abroad: practical tips for obtaining security clearances and visas, housing, transportation passes, and whatnot. I’ll also share about school visits and neat things I’m noting, so check back soon.