Today was a really special day. I was invited to go to the village of Zherovjane, which is south of Tetovo. One of the master's students at the University is teaching there and invited me to come to her classes today. The school's name is Liria. In the mornings the school is for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. There are two classes of each. In the afternoon the younger students come and use the same school and classrooms. They attend school in shifts. There is one teacher for each area or subject like Math, Geography, English... the teachers rotate classrooms and teach the students. In other words, the student stay in the same classroom and the teachers come to them. There is a homeroom teacher that they meet with on Mondays. Between classes there is a 5min break. The teachers go back to their office which is one office for all of them. There is one big table, and cabinets that they use. During this break time the teachers may have a snack, smoke a cigarette, or have a Turkish tea. I participated in having a Turkish tea ( this is just brewed tea, that is fairly strong, hot and drank from a small glass cup. Many people put sugar in it, I do not.) The teachers also bring with them the grades for the class they have just taught. It is a big red book, where the students names are written down the side with the subjects across the top. Teachers can make notes, and put grades in this book, and it travels with the students. Female teachers where a uniform; it is a solid colored jacket that they put on top of their clothes. From the pictures you will also be able to tell that the conditions are much different in this school than those many of us know in America. Chalkboards with water erasers, wood burning stoves, desks that seat two students, a teacher desk that is used just during class....
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| The school gate |
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| Liria Primary School |
Today in the 7th grade classroom, I taught their regular lesson on Superstars. It is expected for the students to stand when the teacher comes in and when the teacher leaves the classroom. This was an obvious difference from American Schools. We did some exercises in the book, and then I printed off famous people from the United States and descriptions about who they were. The students then wrote sentences to describe their superstar. It was a fun lesson and a way to introduce them to more icons from American Culture.
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| 7th grade group and classroom |
With the 8th grade group I played games. I had the vocabulary words that they have been learning, so we played two games with the words. I think they really enjoyed the games! In this culture, most of the teaching methods do not include much communication or group work. I have noticed in my time here that it is difficult for them to get comfortable with this style. One time in my University class one of the students said: "remember teacher, this type of work is new for us." I asked the student, are you learning okay? He replied, "yes we like it very much, it is just different". I knew this to be true before today, so I was prepared. When I had the student work in pairs, it took several times of me saying, it is okay to talk with your partner before they actually did it. At the completion of my time with the 8th grade group, the students asked if they could take a picture with me. I was already planning on take a photo of them. We took a group photo that you can see below, but then their mobile phones came out and they wanted to take pictures with me... It was quite an honor! It made me think back to my childhood. I can remember some great things that teachers did in schools. It has been quite a few years but I still remember some of the activities and guests we had with vivid pictures and emotions. I can only hope that Meleke (the teacher) created something like that for her students today!!!
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| 8th grade group |
As we drove away, many of the students came outside to say goodbye again and wave. It was a wonderful experience! I am so glad that Meleke invited me to come to her school and classroom. When asked if I could come back - I of course replied that I would LOVE that! Hopefully next semester's schedule will allow me the opportunity!!
Lesson: The smallest moments in time can make the longest and most lasting impression.
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