- The schedule will continue to change despite efforts to the contrary.
- Georgian students will never learn the idea of raising your hand to talk and that only one person at a time speaks.
- The school officials think that the Americans are incapable of planning their own free time, hence make us attend mandatory events with 24-48 hours advance notice.
- The "English" teachers will continue to conduct the English classes using a minimal amount of English and a maximum amount of Georgian.
- Marshutkas are a level of hell that Dante could not have envisioned.
While the issue of public transportation here does not relate to school, it is something I have to accept. If I want to get anywhere, I have no choice but to take it, as program participants are forbidden from driving. (Georgian drivers are very bad). The next post will feature the hideous world of the marshutka.
There have been some successes at school too, successes which help to spur me on each day.
- I now teach the 12th graders who care about English solely by myself. There are about 4 of them.
- Class 7B listens...for the most part.
- The after school class for students who show promise in the English language is going well, but they still need to learn the difference between preparing for a discussion and writing down exactly what they will say.
Hopefully as the weeks continue there will be more successes to list.
Hello Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteTLG volunteers' blog link randomly popped up on my facebook. So I decided to read them as I wanted to know your opinion and experience about my country. I see that you aren't having good time here and you are about to give up. Although I hope it is temporarily!I think you are having signs of cultural shock!:)
I was an exchange student in the USA for a year. So I kinda have the idea about american education system and of course I'm aware of georgian one. I know that they are totally different. Changing schedule a lot and students being talkative all the time isn't common at all in the states. But everything isn't that bad here. I didn't figure out which part of Georgia you are in but I'm sure you'll find friendly people. It's just all matter of time. People will get used to having foreigner around and they'll stop staring at you. Also don't listen to those teacher who believe that involving all the students in the class is impossible. Do whatever you think is right. Try some energizers and warming up activities. Georgian classes lack of things like that. If you can teach georgian students listening to each other then you can count that you did more worthwhile thing than just teaching english language! So please don't give up!
Good Luck!
P.S. Marshutka being beyond Dante's hell is just one of the greatest comparisons I've ever heard about georgian transportation lol
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