First Week in Review

I am now a seasoned teacher with eight classes in the bag! Nevermind the fact that I haven't yet met with eleven of my classes!

From Wednesday to Friday, I met with eight different classes. Monday and Tuesday of this week, I will meet with my other classes for the first time. Actually, I served as a proctor for an entrance exam for one of my classes on Wednesday, so I really haven't had class with them yet... So twelve new classes this week, it is!

I meet with each 3.1 (ages 13-14), 4.1 (14-15), 5.1, 1.A, 1.B (all 15-16), 6.1, 2.A, and 2.B (all 16-17), once a week for 45 minutes each. Each of these classes is split in half when I have them, so I really see 16 classes for 45 minutes. I see so many different students because my school wants as many students as possible (aside from the youngest students -- the 1.1 and 2.1 classes at 11-13 years old -- who have minimal knowledge of English) to be exposed to the native English speaker in the school. I think this is where my title, Lector, comes from. Each of these eight classes of students also meets twice a week with its Czech English teacher, who focuses on curriculum from the book, i.e. straight grammar. I get the fun job of getting these students to practice their English conversation skills! Note: Czech students love to converse...in Czech! :)

Then, I also have three seminars: one with 7.1/3.A (ages 17-18, or approximately American h.s. juniors) and two with 8.1/4.A (ages 18-19, or approximately American h.s. seniors). Each seminar class meets once a week for 90 minutes. Once students reach junior level, they gain a bit of freedom with their schedules, in that mandatory classes might not meet as often. This enables to take more focused seminar classes in their areas of interest. My junior and senior classes still have English class each week with a Czech teacher even if students are not specifically enrolled in my seminars, but many of the students -- especially the seniors -- choose to take the English Conversation seminar in order to help prepare them for the Maturita exam.

Maturita is the college entrance exam at the end of Gymnázium. Unlike at American high schools, where you simply have to pass your classes to graduate and sit a quick Saturday morning SAT/ACT for college, Czech students must take both high school exit exams and college entrance exams. For Maturita, students test in four different subjects: Czech and three other subject, of which English is typically one. There is a written and an oral test for each subject area, even if it's a subject like Physics. My job, then, in my senior seminars, is to make sure students are prepared for the oral section of the Maturita exam. They have a list of thirty possible topics, of which, on exam day, they'll randomly be assigned one, which they will then talk about for fifteen minutes after a brief preparation time. The goal is to test fluency of language, though proper knowledge of the subject matter is definitely appreciated. Oh, the bonus on test day is that students have to talk about their topic (the head English teacher and me can ask them questions if they get stumped) while three "judges" listen. The exam is also open to the public, which means the students usually have an audience of friends and family members in the room, as well. Talk about nerve-wracking!

So those are my classes, and here is the short version of my schedule:
Monday: 4 classes
Tuesday: 6 classes + one seminar
Wednesday: 4 classes + one seminar
Thursday: 1 class + one seminar
Friday: 1 class
I also have three class period's worth of substitute duty (because there are no separate substitutes, teachers sub when needed), and two times I have hallway duty between classes (basically making sure the students aren't getting into too much trouble).

A cool thing about Czech schools is that if you are not scheduled to teach or sub, you don't have to be in the building. For me, that means during the three-hour break between my Thursday class and seminar, I can go to the gym! Of course, I normally will only have a period in between classes, if I have any breaks at all, which I will use for getting myself organized and lesson-planning.

I also have each day braved the cafeteria! As a teacher, I get to eat in the cafeteria for just under the equivalent of 1USD, which sounds like a good plan for me! For that price, I get a bowl of soup, a full plate of food (usually potatoes and some form of meat -- so much for being a vegetarian!), sometimes a piece of fruit, and a glass of tea. There is a computer where I am supposed to pick out my meal choice ahead of time (there are usually 2-3 choices), but I've yet to make headway on it: I really need to practice my Czech food words, because the menu is filled with typically Czech dishes, written with abbreviated Czech vocabulary! Most things have been fairly tasty so far though, fortunately!

I also am THRILLED with some of my interactions with students already! In each of my classes so far, we have been working on introductions. I have started by introducing myself (the logical thing to do!), which means describing where I grew up, the high school I went to, where I went to college, my family, and my interests/hobbies. When I've gotten to the "interests" portion of the introduction, I have said "I like reading, watching TV, running/walking/bike-riding, singing, skiing, and going to church on Sundays." I wasn't sure how the "going to church" bit was going to go over in my classes, but in my first 6.1 section, when I asked if there were any questions (students don't always have the chance to ask any in Czech classrooms), one girl asked what type of Christian I am. So already I have had a chance in the classroom to share a tiny bit of my religious background! Then, later on that same day, two girls approached me after their seminar to ask if I was going to have pub talks. I was stoked! Pub talks are a relatively new thing at GEKOM, but even after only one year of pub talks, students are eager to 1) practice English outside of class, and 2) socialize with their new (albeit young and hip!) American teacher outside of class. I'm SO excited to get to know my students better -- especially because I really only see each of them once a week -- and to see how God is already blessing these relationships! I think pub talks are going to be to fantastic for my juniors and seniors and for me. :)

Now onto teaching for the second week!

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