May 12-13, 2010

Thursday, May 13, 2010

We are settling into a routine, at least here at home at Reymontowka. Mary Martin, Audrey and Jim are the larks, up early---not quite with the sun, which rises by 4:30 a.m. at this time of year, but certainly before 6:00 a.m.---and working in the resource room by 6:30. Georgianna is the owl who prefers to finish her preparation the night before so she can get up at 7:10, in time to be ready for 7:30 breakfast.

And what breakfasts they are! Apple fritters or delicate crepes with fresh whipped cream and/or jam for toppings or scrambled eggs, and always with yogurt, dry cereal, tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, cheese, cold meats, fresh rolls and rye bread and, of course, herbata for the larks and kawa for the owl. A nutritious start for the day ahead, on our feet in the classrooms or chatting in PolEnglish with the schools’ volunteer drivers, most of whom take time from their jobs or other duties to take us back and forth. It’s their contribution to the Global Volunteers’ effort.

Our assignments have shifted a bit from day to day, with changes in times and schools as well as in tutoring assignments, mostly because we are a very small team and so many schools want native speakers of English to supplement their own English language curriculum. The Polish teachers of English do a masterful job, often being shared by two schools due to a shortage of teachers trained to teach English. Like teachers in the United States, they are under pressure to get through the textbook and prepare students for exams and the next year’s curriculum. In the primary and middle schools especially, they must focus on vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension. Conversation, listening to and understanding spoken English, and speaking it take a lot of time and they often do not have that. We do and we are not accountable for getting through the textbooks or that full course of study.

So, we four are being very flexible, adapting to a situation planned for six volunteers, two of whom canceled at the last minute due to the family medical emergency. Each of us has agreed to do a little extra, whether taking on one more adult student to tutor or working with an extra class, to help fill in the gaps. It is, after all, only three weeks and we are here to serve as asked, not a difficult thing because this is fun and a grand opportunity to learn about Poland and Polish people.

Therefore, today Georgianna taught three grades at Niwiski School and then, late in the afternoon, worked with the Niwiski principal and her husband, who have been learning English with Global Volunteers for the last two years. They, like all the adults we tutor late each day, put in full days at their regular, full-time jobs before driving as much as 20 kilometres (about 14 miles) to Reymontowka, usually a 30-minute journey in rush-hour traffic on Route 2, the highway that carries all traffic between Warsaw and Terespol on the border with Belarus. And then they drive back home. Their commitment and determination is remarkable. They work hard and they do it with good grace and great courtesy, showing appreciation for everything and anything we do.

Audrey, always chipper and calm, finished her usual stint co-teaching at Cisie School before dinner (served at our lunch time) before she went off to her new second school, Zelkow. She reported that it was quite satisfying, with focused students and a very supportive teacher, who had worked with the students beforehand to be certain they and Audrey could make the best use of the limited time available.

Jim’s Spoleczna assignment is stabilizing after two days of changes made to accommodate students’ prior commitments to a drama competition. He and the students are settling into a comfortable routine of four classes---gender-segregated as it turns out, probably by chance---three of which are terrific. The fourth is taking a little longer to settle in, but it will come. He is mulling over which play to put on with them, and may decide to write his own, something appropriate for his small classes of four or five advanced students.

As for Mary Martin, well, here is her very own report:

“I simply had fun, F-U-N!” MM begins. I experience a wave of energy and creativity by working with these young Polish children. Of course my mentor, Agnes, a gifted teacher and an energetic personality, is an ideal teaching partner. She gives me a topic and some guidelines, and away we go – sailing blithely into Grade 1. Grade 1 quickly takes to the song, “Good morning to you. . . with sunshiny faces. . . “ I react with great surprise when they sing their song, “Hello, hello!” With quick insight, I add some easy, rhythmic steps to their singing. Dorota wanders in, camera in hand, the ever vigilant Global Volunteers facilitator, who passed out chocolate bars to us (volunteers) earlier this morning.

Grade 5 come prepared with Job Project posters to complete in small task groups. I circulate, asking probing questions, but few feel competent enough to answer questions with other than one or two word phrases. I put a schema on the board to help them create answers: “Why is/was / she important? What does/did s/he do?” for our next meeting.

The entire school enjoyed a concert by a professional music group which played a mixed set of songs, from Polish classics to pop music influenced by U.S.A. jazz. Grade 3 class was shortened due to the concert, but we had time to practice the Days of the Week, and to look at vocabulary words. Suddenly, the school day was over.

Lunch is very satisfying.Vice-Principal Margaret arrives for a tutorial. She is intrigued by two idiomatic phrases: to knock oneself out and to be hot under the collar. We apply these to people in her life. Shortly after 4:00, Paulina arrives for her tutorial. “I hate the passive voice!” Paulina declares. “I hope we can make it your friend, “ I encourage. By the time she leaves, Paulina appears confident. Rain patters on the roof for few minutes. This upper floor feels cozy and relaxing.

And so, thus ended our public work day. After colazione (supper) at 6:30, we repaired to the resource room to work a while but then the larks fluttered off to their cozy nests under the eaves of Reymontowka. It is raining now, a lovely night to snuggle into our beds, and so I shall. Tomorrow is another day and another deluxe breakfast will await.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Thoughts for the Day:

* Keep calm and carry on.

* Do whatever you can, with whatever you have, wherever you are.

It’s Audrey’s turn to record the team’s day of activity so here goes. I awoke to another beautiful summer like day with birds singing and flowering shrubs and trees outside my window….this is the most beautiful place and it feeds the soul!! My new abode in the manor house overlooks the main entrance and is both cozy and comfortable. Breakfast gave us another Polish delight….apple fritters…yum yum…. but I managed to restrain myself this time!!!!

Off to school at 8.30am in Cisie again and today I met Margaret for teaching grades 4, 5 and 6. She is an excellent teacher and fairly strict. It was somewhat of a relief to observe that, even with her, some students can be chatty or inattentive at times.

Margaret began by introducing me to the class and with the map asked me to show the class where I lived and also where my family lived: the distances, climate, etc. Then each student introduced themselves to me: name, age, brothers and sisters, pets and Margaret would ask them for names and colors, etc. After that the workbooks came out and Margaret involved me in asking questions: names, colors, how many, etc. and relating it to objects in the room. Some students gave full answers and others just one word answers but Margaret said that was okay. They feel good when they get the right answer…of course! . In the last class she asked two students to come up front and the class to describe their clothes. The Pani (Principal) always greets me when I arrive at the school and serves tea and goodies in the staff room between classes. This morning it was so nice to be greeted inside and out by many students calling out Good Morning Mrs.!!!

We were a foursome for lunch today as Mary Marten was having lunch at her school . Afterwards I did some paper work, took a rest and later on a walk before dinner. Dorota has asked me to tutor another small group on Friday afternoon and I am happy to do so. Tonight we had quite a discussion during and after dinner covering many topics relating to the war years.

In speaking with Georgianna she reports it was her first full day teaching all 3 grades….5, 4 and 3 with a lunch break of course and she enjoyed it very much.

Jim reports that Day 2 went quite well but still had a few wrinkles in regard to scheduling. He enjoyed his students very much and is impressed with their language skills. He teaches ages 13-16. Today he taught the English alphabet in CODE using a Poster ‘THINKING TOGETHER IS FUN’ in teams of 2. He also spent some time stressing the difficult TH sound and its many applications, also talked of family, food and colors. His day was capped off nicely with the two ladies from yesterday in another two hour session.

It’s a full day for Mary Martin. Four classes at Strzala School pass in rapid succession: grades 6, 1st, 3rd, and 2nd. As a “bonus”, the principal asked Agnes and me to cover an “older group” at 12:35, since a teacher was called away. This was followed by tea and chatting with the principal before being escorted into the gym where a professional photographer was taking photos of each class group. The principal, Agnes, and I posed together for a photo.

Next, Mary Martin was a guest at Agnes’ home where she met her husband, Peter, her grandmother, her 21 month-old daughter, Susana, and Agnes’ mother, who came to take Susana for a long walk while MM assisted Agnes with questions about her thesis preparation. There was time, however, for tea and cheesecake! On the return trip to Reymontowka little Susan, from the backseat, cooed in English, “Cow, cow! Dog, dog! Baby, baby!” as she peered out her window. Life in Poland is full of the unexpected under bright sunshine.

Tonight both Jim and Audrey took up Mary Martin’s kind offer to use her SKYPE telephone and made calls back home. Time to ‘get horizontal’ now…..as Jim would say!!!! Goodnight everyone…..in several languages!