Today we went to the Joseph Chamberlain College. College in England is not how it is in the US. In the US college and university are used synonymously, however in the UK college is the second part of high school before university. This specific college or sixth form school supports many lower-socioeconomic individuals. However, this school has very high ratings of success. It is in the top 20% of the country for academic progress. This really helps these students have opportunities they might not have had otherwise. Students do not have to pay tuition unless they are making over 30,000 pounds, which almost everybody falls under this bracket. The school also provides childcare funding and transportation funding for students who need it. The students are 98% muslim, but come from various countries and speak different languages. We took the bus most of the way there and then got off and walked in. There is only one place for entrance and exit. This helps students feel safe, especially since most do not always have the best life outside of school. This school can be a peaceful haven that allows students to focus on learning.

The first room I went into was a classroom that was helping students become teaching assistants or TAs. The teacher and all the students were welcomed into the classroom, everyone smiled and waved hello. They were working out of a packet asking about roles and responsibilities. We stayed there for only about ten minutes before switching to another room. The next classroom I went into was for beginner English language learners. The classroom had posters on homophones, verb tenses, conjugations, contractions, and more. The teacher seemed to be American based off of her accent and there was a teaching assistant in that class as well. They were primarily older adult women and a few older men. The few men sat at one table and were reserved, which was different from the women in the class who were talking and participating a lot during the class. They had a paragraph to read and simple questions that they should answer with a single sentence. Then they had sentences they needed to correct. The teacher speaks solely in English, however the students talk somewhat in their primary language. At the table I was sitting at, women spoke Arabic, Italian, Bangladeshi, and others. 

The students were learning simple present verbs such as do, have, go, as well as others. Along with that they learned frequency words and how to add them to sentences with simple present verbs. These students are a part of the 1,162 adult learners at this school. They are part time and they offer online classes as well to fit into their lives. Some of these students start off just wanting to learn English and then they continue on to take more classes. This leads them to learn what they want to do and know about opportunities out there. They have connected events that have different jobs, universities, and banks come, set up stations, and talk with students. We were also given a tour of the school and a small presentation on the school itself. While we were walking around we got to see artwork by the students. It was amazing seeing how artistically talented so many of the students are. Then at noon we left to go back to the BCU campus. Here we grabbed lunch before going to our next lecture. 

This lecture was on learning disabilities. A learning disability is present before an individual is 18 years old, it significantly reduces ability to understand complex information and learn new skills. It also reduces their ability to cope independently both practically and socially. This can be caused by the mother having an illness during pregnancy, trauma during birth, or genetics. They have the Equality Act of 2010 which protects people with a physical or mental impairment. In 1918 there was the Education Act which made school for disabled children compulsory. Before then they were often deemed unable to be educated. There has been so much progress in recent years on how children and adults with cognitive disabilities are treated. Education and healthcare have both made great improvement even just within the language they use. After that lecture we all walked to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This had beautiful flowers, cacti, and other plants. It was nice to walk around and see the variety of plants they had. To conclude the day, me and other students decided to get Italian food for dinner.