Education - Czech Style

"The essence of intercultural education is the acquisition of empathy - the ability to see the world as others see it, and to allow for the possibility that others may see something we have failed to see, or may see it more accurately. The simple purpose of the exchange program...is to erode the culturally rooted mistrust that sets nations against one another. The exchange program is not a panacea but an avenue of hope..."

Senator J. William Fulbright in The Price of Empire, 1989

We are here in the Czech Republic, in essense, because of our belief in the above quote - to develop our sense of empathy and to pass that along to our students and of course our girls. I hope that the following entry provides a better sense of our purpose here and that you will see the reality of our daily lives as we teach and learn here in the CR for the year.

The front of the Secondary School in which I (Heidi) teach and where Mark teaches a conversational English class for local adults who want to practice their English skills with a native speaker.

I so wish I had taken a picture of my school in Barrington, just so you'd see the contrast. But I'll try to create the picture in words, for those of you who've never seen it. Barrington High School (BHS) has nearly 3000 students and a staff of well over 200. My school here in Moravske Budejovice has around 250 students and a staff of about 20 - it's a school much like the size of my own high school back in Michigan - my graduating class boasted 36 people - which was a school record. The graduating class here has a few more - around 55. BHS graduates nearly 700 students each year - the number difference is vast and there are as many differences between American education and Czech education - too many to enumerate here - as there are students at BHS. I'll address only a few through the following picture show:

The above is a picture of the weekly schedule, which took me 2 months to figure out. At BHS I teach the same 5 classes everyday at the same times. Here, I teach 7 different groups - some 4, some 3 and some 2 times a week, all at different times within a 4-week rotation of classes - which means I have a different teaching schedule every day within those 4 weeks. For example, some days I teach only 3 classes and go home by 11:30. Other days I teach 6 or even 7 classes right in a row with no break, save a 20 minute snack break between the 2nd and 3rd hours. The American flag (graciously used in honor of me!) is posted on the current week's schedule - just in case we get confused and plan lessons based on a different week's schedule. The students have a similar schedule posted to keep them up-dated as to room changes or cancelations of classes. It has happened that I go to my classroom and no students are to be found - they're in a different room as designated by the schedule. I, who have difficulties reading Czech, am usually the last to know of these changes. I'm quickly learning again the importance of flexibility in teaching. I think the reason for a 4-week rotation of classes is because students here take anywhere from 10-14 different courses a week - not the 6-8 that US students take. Every notion of teaching/grading/assigning homework/testing is different here as a result. Again, being flexibile and having a willingness to adjust one's practice are essential components in this exchange. I spent most of October and November readjusting my teaching methods. In some ways, going through this year is like reliving my first year of teaching....ugh!! Though I do have to say, I've got 9 years of exerience from which to draw ideas, so the learning curve this time around is much shorter!!

My classroom from both angles. I have 15 students or less in 5 of my classes, which is the standard in language classes here. In the other 2 classes I have 20 and 22 students respectively. I'm more used to those numbers, though it's rare to have a class of only 20 students at BHS. Most of my classes last year had over 30 students per class, so I am enjoying the lower class numbers, even though I have more groups here. There are no clocks in the classrooms, but there is a picture of Vaclav Klaus, the current Czech president.

BHS has numerous wings and 3 levels in some locations. Here we have 2 main hallways and 2 levels, with one connecting hallway. Here's Hallway #1 - the one right outside the teachers' room. Notice all of the plants! I love that!!!

The connecting hallway...

And now for hallway #3. My classroom is at the far end of this hallway and to the right.

Here's the staff room - It has it's own copy machine! My colleagues are very gracious with me, even though my Czech is nearly non-existant. I listen attentively and hear all the words I know, but that's just not enough to communicate clearly. However, I'm really good at reading facial expressions and intonations, so I usually know what's going on. It's a real bummer though to laugh at a joke way after the fact once I'm told the translation. Still, I'm holding my own and am learning enough words to survive fairly decently. It is funny, though, that some emotions translate instantly - like laughter and sarcasm and annoyance. Deprivation in one area (verbal language) causes heightened sensitivity in another area (body language). I don't read everything correctly, but I'm not bad at anticipating responses.

The students' cloak room during school hours....

And after hours....take note of the "slippers" - Birkenstock style sandles that are worn in school only. The Czechs change their shoes everytime they enter their homes and schools and wear these indoor shoes. Our apartment stairways are filled with shoes that are taken off and kept outside the door - no Czech enters the main part of the house in outside shoes and it is expected that you provide your guests with house shoes when they come to visit.

Just a few more points. I teach in a secondary school, which is nothing like the US high school really. Czech education is stratified - there's a Gymnasium for the college bound students; secondary schools (like mine) that specialize in particular areas of study, such as Public Administration and Social Care, which is what my school provides - some students will proceed to the university if they pass the entrance exams; then there are technical secondary schools, such as computer programing or optical studies; and finally there are trade schools such as service and hotel management. I eat lunch at one of these schools and am served by students learning to work in such an industry. Most students in all of these schools are aged 15-20, unlike the 14-18 year olds in US schools. If you enter a class, you stay with that class throughout the day, even if your ability is different than your classmates. For example, if you are a first year student but are advanced in English, you stay with all of your first-year classmates, even if some of them are beginning English students. If you have to repeat a year due to illness, you repeat every one of your classes, even the ones you passed last year. At least that seems to be the case with several of my students this year. Other comparative points between US and Czech education - well - teachers are horribly underpaid here - something like 5-6 times less than their European counterparts. In fact, this coming Tuesday the teachers are striking in protest of reduced wages for next year, and 80% of the country's schools are expected to be closed for the day. Apparently the former education minister quit because of a major mismanagement of educational funds and the politians just appointed a 30-year-old political science major to head the education department, despite his lack of background in the field. His response to that criticizm - he'll do fine because he's a good manager and will hire all the experts to help him do his job. Hmmm...that sounds a bit too familiar. I think teachers here expect more strikes to occur.

Other differences of interest include the fact that there are no after-school sports or activities sponsored by the school. All after-school activities are connected to outside organizations, though they may conduct their activities in the schools, especially at the primary levels. Teachers are not expected to coach a sport or sponsor a club to keep their jobs. Students have class reunions from their primary schools. For secondary schools, lunch is served in a separate school and can be taken by people from local businesses as well as students and teachers from area schools. And secondary schools must market themselves to stay in operation, much like colleges and universities in the US. These are just a few differences. A few similarities include the fact that Mondays and Fridays are not as productive as the other 3 days; no one likes homework and tests; and verbal affirmation always elicits a smile.

Teaching is never an easy job...but I love my profession and am grateful for the change in perspective, despite its many challenges. Hopefully my students, both current and future, will benefit as a result and enjoy learning as much as I do. Ahoj!

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The misc. issue

Czech this photo by Mari. This is done by our crappy digital camera.... meaning this turned out pretty good for digital. The effect-the darkening is from a snow storm that is moving through.


ok, our blog needs some new material. I realize we have slacked off. So this is a blog of various experiences or items that you might find interesting. First: Beer! Czech beer is cheap and easy to come by here and it's very good. It's true that it's cheaper than buying pop at a restaurant. Already there have been many times I have gotten to a cafe early to get some coffee, which is never to go and always an espresso drink of some sort... reader, beware! I'm not complaining. But I must say that living in a foreign land makes you realize the things you do like, even when they are things you might not be proud of. I like coffee to go, just regular coffee. But I must say then, the "kava" here is always good.
Back to beer: So anyway, many a time in the early morning I've sat next to people who were having their morning beer... or two. Trust me in this, it seems quite normal here and not out of place... in other words, these people aren't the old coots who seem permanently pickled that we find in some establishments in the U.S. I do think, however, that there are Czech versions of this, though I've seen little of it here.
nuff chat, more splat... or beer I mean.
Here are 5 brands. From left to right: Gambrinus,
Pilsner Urquell, this beer is brewed in Plzen, a city that was named after the neighborhood in Chicago. ha ha ho ho.... no silly... it's the other way round, which is a good segweg to the next.
Budweiser Budvar: this would be the original Budwiser and they advertise it as such. The real version tastes nothing like the American knock-off.
Hostan: Brewed in nearby Znojmo. This is my favorite so far.
Bernard: I have no idea where it comes from, but this particular version was a dark beer and really smooth.

Next we have some of the "finer" liquids distilled here and are considered typical Czech.
Again, left to right.
Fernet Stock: It is an appertif. somewhat herbal and has a definite anise flavor.
Becherovka: This seems to be the standard here. It's found I think nowhere else. I believe it might be made from Chamomile. It is common to have a shot of this and toast to your health.
Slivovice: Here is a legitmate bottle that you can purchase at the store. This version, the most common, is made from plums. others are made from pears, or cherries or whatever they find on the ground that can be converted into alcohol. you think I am joking?
Black Death Tequila: Nope, don't let the packaging fool you. here is the deal: Most people don't buy slivovice. They take their fruit from their gardens, which they all have. And btw, their gardens are serious. This means they usually have some fruit trees. One must remember that in the communist era growing your own food was essential. So, they take all their fruit to a local distillery... who makes them their own slivovice. Which is usually 80 proof. For the uninitiated, this means twice as combustible as that regular 40 proof stuff. So why the tequila bottle? Cause the distillery makes you bring your own bottles, so everyone recycles them. Still, "Black Death" slivovice is more appropriate. This bottle above was a gift from Hana's mother.

One last story about Slivovice. I was first intorduced to it though a very generous lady named Dana. We met when I was taking Elise to her first day of school. She noted I spoke English and she had spent 4 years in England, so talking was easy. In short, her generosity consisted of loaning us a mattress, which we are still enjoying. She also loaned us the use of her BMW. Very nice. One of the times I was returning the car, her husband was leaving to help a friend work on a fence. He walked out of the house and took a case of beer and a jug of water. I made the comment wondering how much work can get done while drinking the beer, but then I said "well at least that jug of water will hydrate them." Dana's reply, "oh, that's not water, that's slivovice" then she gave me some and showed me his home distillery. Something like the "swamp" in MASH. Since then, every time I turn around, someone is offering slivovice. I recently went to talk to a man about buying his vehilce. It was 8:30 in the morning. We christened the moment with a shot of... yes, slivovice. That is how it is here. Stuff warms you up quickly. We've even been instructed to use Slivovice as a topical ointment of sorts - kind of like a home remedy for what ails you!

Now for something completely different

They are Christmas chocolate... devils I think. Well, they are just like Christmas Santa Claus's. But here they have this celebration called "S Mikulaskou Nadilkuo". I believe this is a national holiday that celebrates St. Mikulaskou. He is dressed a lot like Santa and walks around. But then there are other guys dressed as devils that walk around with chains and scare the children. If the children aren't good.... uh oh! yep, they get carried off. Not really, but that is the idea. I recently ate these.... I must confess, they were too tempting.

Next, again, something completely different.

We have been to Vienna several times. This is the train that you take to Vienna or back to the Czech boarder in this case.

This is us departing the Austrian train.

This is us getting onto the nearby Czech train.

A closer view.
The 'untrained' eye might not have noticed, but there is a huge qualitative difference in the trains. For instance, beside the obvious appearance, the engineer in the Czech car is constantly shifting gears. The best way to describe this train is that is is like sitting in the back of a long bed truck. On the other hand, the Austrian train is simply one of the nicest trains I've ever been on. The point here? There still exists strong vestiges of economic disparity between the two countries.

Here is Heidi and I (not pictured) at Vienna's famous Cafe Sperl.

What!? haven't you heard of this place? pish tosh.

Here is Heidi inside. Cafe Sperl is an old school Viennese style cafe. Oh never mind, go choke down that stuff they call coffee at Starbucks. Still, I wish I could get a Cafe Sperl to go. But see the inside? nice. Doesn't she make the place more beautiful?

No, this isn't the underbelly of the cafe. It's our apartment.

But it's not all fun and games here... fancy cafes and discos. We are often just sitting around our computers, especially as it is cold now.

Nove Syrovice revisted

I need to go back to begin this segment. Perhaps you will recall some familiar images from a prior entry.

This is Frank who is dancing with Heidi. He is something like her department head. He has probably been one of the most kind and helpful people in introducing us to many Czech experiences. This evening was after a long day of a town celebration... which ended with dancing and drinking. But I am ahead of myself, for there is much to explain. I want to point out Frank again simply because he has become prominate in our adventures here. Also, note the couple dancing to the left; that is Frank's father and mother. Something that Frank also introduced us to this evening was "Slivovice". It is essentially alcohol, vodka really, made from plums, apples or pears. Everybody drinks this stuff, pretty much all of the time. In fact it was lately told to me that it was seen as sort of a cure all, even as a topical agent. Now this locally made Slivovice is 80 proof. ...so its high octane. What is my long point to all this? After drinking and dancing this eve, and with the social lubricant of 80 proof moonshine, I had somehow agreed to help Frank and his father drain their pond the following weekend. All I could figure out was that once it was drained we would be cleaning it out. They would provide hip-waders. The following week I was thinking that I had gotten myself into some dirty work. So, the following pictures are the advent of the pond draining. Are you thrilled and filled with suspense?

This is Frank's Father's pond. This picture was taken maybe at 7 in the morning. We had already been there 2 hours. The picture above looks from the cabin (below) towards the drain, or low end of the pond. If you look at the really tall reeds, you can note the normal water level. The pond by the time we arrived had been draining for at least 24 hours.

This picture is taken from the drain area, where most of the work was done. I simply wanted to show the small fishing/hunting cabin. Frank's brother was there when we arrived at 5 in the morning. He had stayed the night there and immediately we were served hot spiced wine and grog. Drinking already and the sun wasn't up. You know what this means...

It means there will be more people showing up... and more drinking. Note the Czech 'chuckwagon' in the background. Frank called this a Czech Barbecue.


Here is a close-up. It was an old Czech cooking wagon procured after the wall came down in 1989. It is actually pretty cool. It is wood heated and has three compartments, one for spiced Moravian white wine, the second for Grog, and the final for Kielbasa. There was also plenty of Slivovice to be had. Everybody brought their own stock in a provincial flask... in other words, a reused plastic coke bottle. I didn't bring one, of course, but everyone was very generous with theirs. So...after plenty of coffee, grog, wine and slivovice, we got to work...
which meant catching and clearing all the fish from the pond. Until I saw the equipment, I really had no idea what I was in for... other than the necessity of drinking to maintain good international relationships. So the following pictures show some of the day's activities.
As you can see, large nets were used to catch all the fish in the remaining water.

The fish were sorted according to size.
Then the fish were hauled up the banks and put into these tanks.
A close-up... that's a lot of fishies.
Then the fish were weighed and put in the tanker trucks. Fish farming.
Lunch time... more drinking, which included Hostan Beer... made locally in the town of Znjomo. It's pretty good I think.
From the other end of the table... see Frank drink. drink Frank, drink.
I think you've seen enough. Before the day began, I had no idea what it would hold... I actually thought we would be scooping out mud from the bottom of the pond and all the sediment that had settled there throughout the year(s). I hope this isn't too boring... I actually count this as one of the best moments I've had here. I struggle to say why. This, like the Grassel celebration, is a slice of real Czech life. I suppose many will ask why on earth one would want to know such things. I'm not sure I can give a satisfactory answer. I suppose that one might walk all of Europe, or some other point of interest, and spend the entire time looking at ancient buildings or locations. And while this is an amazing thing to do, I have found that it can be a bit empty. Those places were made and built by real people, and not just those who have been immortalized in statue form. But shown in the above pictures - these are some of those 'real' people. They are a community. They all got together and helped a friend drain his pond and sell his fish. There was no pretension here. We drank like fish and then worked with fish and then we had a meal. In the day's work, there was a sort of honesty and simplicity that was enjoyable. I think in the past, in my various travels, I moved through a place that I only got to observe as though behind glass. This is true of some of my and Ryan's bike trips, though I do think we strive to go out in the places we stay so that we can at least taste the society. My day with Frank, likewise, allowed me to participate in a community and become part of it...at least for a moment.

Biking in Moravia

Why would I entitle this entry Biking in Moravia and begin with such a picture? The above has been an all too common experience while here. I'm not complaining! But biking has become more of a necessity than mere recreation. Let me explain. The staples here are pork, all in its various and sundry forms, dumplings/bread and beer. Someone told us before we came that we would gain weight. So on to the biking! ...well, come to think of it, while the following pics are of areas I bike, it might be that only Ryan or a few others will appreciate the pics in those terms. The rest of you might simply enjoy what the country side is like...

But first, here is my new steed, a Czech "Author" model: Zenith. Made from aluminum, including front shocks. I say this in terms of description as I will still advise that steel is the type of frame I prefer. ...and no shocks. But I simply couldn't find a steel framed bike. I struggled with whether to purchase a road frame or this mountain frame. I still prefer the cyclo-cross style... which might be easily understood as a combination of both. As it turns out and you will see from the following pics, the roads here can be of any texture. But the ones I'm loving are perfect for this style of bike.

Here is a picture of Moraske Budejovice from my most common route. This is taken late in the day. The following pictures are all from one particular route... but taken from several different rides as you'll note from the lighting.

You can see by the above that there are options of doing more "two track" style of riding. The main road here is fairly narrow, but in good condition.

Paved and in somewhat more degraded condition, but the context is quite good.

Enough forest pictures? There is much of this to be had, but below is just as common and more prevalent unless you are seeking the roads in the forest.

Big hay bales dot this land. sometimes they are nice and square or simply heaps. There seems to be little or no livestock in the area, so I'm not sure what these are for.

Again, our village... at sunset. This is a picture taken from the south.

And this picture is slightly askance, to the right of the other above. Note the big blockish apartment complex that dominates the skyline? Home sweet home.

Let me be quite clear about one thing. Some of the above pictures are taken on nice clear days. But since I have been here I'm sure that 3/4 of the days have been cloudy. I'm jealous of the fall that Chicago has been enjoying... it's been generally cooler here and gray. But the countryside more than makes up for the weather.

Here I end with the leftovers of Halloween

Ah lil pumpkins, it is the morning after, your flame extinguished, ...and quite frankly you are beginning to smell. How is it you keep your smiles?