Der Schule

Hands down. One the most interesting things I have ever done abroad.  Laura and I accompanied Pascalis to school, Humboldt Gymnasium in Potsdam, yesterday to help him with his senior project in English class.  His task was to present an overview of the American education system, particularly career technical education.  He was in charge of the classroom of about 14 students for 90 minutes.  The girls got into the act as well, explaining their experience.  As part of his project, Pascalis had his classmates write English cover letters to apply for an Assistant Teacher job in HeadStart at NeighborImpact (He had a job posting off the web.)  He then randomly selected students to  conduct mock interviews with us American employers in English.  Afterwards, Laura and I provided feedback on interviewing technique. Nicholas and Helene were brave and  impressed us with their efforts.  Needless to say, they were terrified, but suppressed that to perform.  Olivia definitely was impressed by the rigor of the system, something she hadn't quite grasped before.  Laura and I were impressed by the attentiveness of the students and in particular by the very talented instructor, Herr Malecki, who speaks nearly unsccented English even though he has never studied in the U.S.  At the same time, however,  we walked away with an improved attitude toward American schools.  Yes, things are different. American schools have more diversity, the range of ability in any one classroom is wider, the facilities are better and our students underappreciate the value of self-direction in their educational opportunities.  In many ways it wouldn't be hard to swap the kids we met for American kids and notice much difference--positive or negative.  The 90 minutes flew by.  Pascalis did a great job of keeping class moving. Laura did a good job of covering her part of the curriculum, especially around higher ed and students seemed engaged in learning the keys to better interviewing. (Example:  how to answer the "What is your greatest weakness?" question).  Amazing experience overall.  An item on my bucket list that I hadn't previously known was there.  Check! (Now how do I get that amazing teacher to Crook County?)