End of week 2

Another school week finished! Wow! This trip is going by so quickly but I'm enjoying it so much! This week was full of lessons and enjoying the local culture.

This week I co-taught a lot with a fellow student teacher in 5th grade, 6th grade, and 9th grade. These students continue to blow my mind with their intelligence and willingness to learn from us! The topics we discussed this week were fighting for your rights and global warming. Some of the lessons were planned in advance while some were just on the spot teaching! It's times like this that I get to truly test my teaching and flexibility!

I still find myself adjusting to the time difference and adjusting to the different schedule at school. As mentioned in my previous post, the class periods are more like 90 minute blocks with two 20 minute breaks during the school day! It's very different from school at home, but also an enjoyable difference!

On Thursday, our group of student teachers headed to Münster after school to spend the afternoon. This town is one of the closest big cities and has many college aged students. And not to mention the insane amount of bikes in this city! This city has more bikes than people, how crazy is that!? While in the city, we were able to enjoy the cathedrals, visit the city museum, and eat some typical German food. This city is very nice and only a short train ride away from Werne! One of my favorite parts about Europe is the trains because you can just hop on a train and head to another city while in the US you would have to drive in the car. On a train, everyone is able to talk and enjoy themselves and even rest!

Schnitzel! A typical German food.

I can't believe the time is ticking away as quickly as it is, but I'm loving teaching the students here and spending time with my host family and friends. One thing I love about this program is being able to make friends with other student teachers that I never knew before this trip! We often find ourselves in a local café talking 'teacher talk' for hours here! I can't wait to see what the next couple weeks bring here in Werne, Germany. Tschüss! (One of the few German words I've learned since I got here!)

A beautiful street in Münster.

An iconic red towel picture in front of the historic town hall in Werne.

First School Week Finished!

This is everyone in our group plus the school principal!

 

                             

The top picture is the new part of the school and the bottom is the school cafeteria that we eat in most days!

It's only been five days, but I am absolutely loving my time here in Werne, Germany! The people here are so kind and welcoming, and my host family is nothing short of amazing!

My time at Anne-Frank Gimnasio has been so wonderful and the students surprise me everday by how intelligent they are! Some of the topics I've talked about with students include global warming, politics, religion, and fighting for our rights. On my second day, I was able to co-teach a lesson in a 9th grade class with a fellow student teacher from WKU. During this lesson, we discussed freedom of speech. It was a very in-depth conversation that discussed the topics of why freedom of speech is important to the limits of it. The conversations were extremely in-depth and we were able to express our opinions freely. One of my favorite parts of the school here is the schedule. It is very different from the school schedules at home. For example, the schedules are more like block schedule with 90 minute classes and 20 minute breaks in between! During these breaks, the students can have a snack and hang out with their friends. For many students, the school day ends at lunch which is around 1:15. This is quite different than the US! But it's nice because students can go home for lunch if they so choose or they can eat in the school cafeteria (which has wonderful food by the way!). Also, the teachers go to the students, they don't have their own classroom. All of the teachers spend time and prepare in the teacher's lounge prior to and between classes. This is very different than home but it creates a nice sense of community between teachers which I think is wonderful.

A typical day for me here during this first week starts with my commute to school on a bike! That was quite the change for me, but it's such a lovely change. It was a bit scary at first because it had been many years since I had ridden a bike that wasn't stationary in a gym, but I really enjoy it. The first day it took us almost 30 minutes on the bike to get to school and the second day it took 15 minutes, so my learning curve was quick on the bike! Once I arrive at school, I will observe and assist in many classes throughout the day. I am in classes from the 5th to the 10th grade. My schedule here ends at lunch time, so we often eat lunch together as a group in the cafeteria or go home for lunch. After school, this week we went as a group a few times to hang out in Werne to see the town, and may I say we have mastered the art of ice cream eating. In the evenings, I sit down for dinner with my host family and discuss our days and often find our selves discussing topics like culture and politics.

This week has been so enjoyable and I look forward to what the next couple weeks will bring!

Off to Germany!

Finishing up my last week at Bowling Green High School.

"Thanks, Ms. Jackson and good luck!"

While it's bittersweet to leave my students here, I am so excited to see what I have in store in Werne, Germany! While in Germany,  I am looking forward to working with students whose first language is not English. I think this is going to be such a unique experience working with students with high levels of English proficiency whose first language is not English. I'm also looking forward to immersing myself in the German culture. During this semester, I've been learning about German culture from a colleague and I can't wait to immerse and learn all about German culture! (Thanks Dr. Rose!)

While teaching English in Werne, Germany, I'm expecting to be greeted with smiling faces and students who are eager to learn. I think that while in the classroom, the students will be ready to learn about American culture and increase their English fluency by working with a native English speaker. While researching what to wear at school in Werne, I was most surprised by what the teachers wore! It's not uncommon for teachers to wear jeans everyday! It felt strange packing a stack of jeans in my suitcase! I was also surprised by how the weather looks during my trip. It looks fairly warm and nice spring weather! Walks around Werne sound lovely!

I know this experience is going to be influential in my future teaching! Learning about different cultures and bringing that knowledge and experience to my classroom will influence how and what I teach my students. I know that many students don't have the chance to travel the world, and I want to bring the world to my classroom. I'm hoping to learn some classroom management techniques while in the classrooms in Germany, and bring back language teaching techniques that will help me better teach my future students.

Auf wiedersehen, Bowling Green! Hallo, Germany!