A Busy Week...

Have you ever tried to negotiate your schedule with nine teachers, in your second language? No? Well, it's not fun, but I think I've finally settled on my twelve hours! I'm now in a 7th grade class, an 8th grade class, two 9th grade classes, all of the 10th grade classes, and four 12th grade classes. Woot!


Highlights from the last week:
- The 12th grade class that I was angry at two weeks ago redeemed themselves by being totally into my lesson on civil rights and Brown v. Board of Education. I gave them a choice between continuing in the Civil Rights Movement and looking at the 2008 election, and the response was unanimous: "CIVIL RIGHTS!" Unfortunately, my Freedom Summer lesson plan didn't go quite as well; I had planned it around the song "We Shall Overcome," and then there weren't any speakers in the room. The students were pretty engaged, though.

- I visited two 10th grade classes last week, and the teacher told one class that I couldn't speak any German. Unfortunately, she didn't remember that I had spoken auf Deutsch the last time I visited that class and that we had walked into class speaking German to each other. :)

- Today, I went back to the 10th grade class that is bound and determined to get me to speak German. One boy is still convinced that I'm monolingual, but another girl walked in and started chatting away to me in German. Not fair!

- I had some extra time on Tuesday, so I visited the 5th graders. They didn't behave especially well, but they are so adorable... awww.

- After killing some time with the 5th graders on Tuesday, I went to a local cafe with two teachers and another student about my age, who is studying German, English, and Lehramt. It's always nice to meet more people my age, and I walked away with even more respect for the teacher that I work with. (I don't know the other teacher very well; she's not an English teacher.) There is a reason that I want to stay in her class, even though it's an age group that I'm not particularly good with: she has such a good rapport with the students, and she can get them under control extremely quickly (and without yelling). I just love her classroom management style; I think I'm going to have to take her out for coffee later in the year and pick her brain about how she does it.

- I also really respect my new BL's teaching style: she's less maternal, more strict, but still completely approachable and fair. The students don't try to bargain with her like they do in other classes. (My first BL's teaching style was somewhere in-between the last teacher's and my new BL's methods. I liked her style, too!)

- Of course, singling out these teachers doesn't mean that I disagree with how the other teachers control their classrooms. :) Overall, the English teachers are extremely kind and don't humiliate the students.

- I also visited the last 10th grade class and another 9th grade class, and both seemed nice. The 10th graders were very chatty, but the 9th graders were one of the quietest classes that I've had so far!

- J and I went to the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) to see The Guard. I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of the film for at least the first half, but I ended up really liking it. :) After the movie, I went to My Gymnasium's choir concert, which lasted for three hours! I couldn't believe how long the choirs sang... (The choir also made me immensely grateful for my school's performing arts program... but I do prefer the focus on academics at Gymnasien.)

- On Monday night, I met up with a few students from my German class. We ended up trading tongue twisters in our native languages! I can now pronounce "szczebryzszymie." Say hello from K if you see a Polish guy walking around and muttering about pickled peppers and woodchucks. Quote of the day: "Weil die Polen nach Prag gekommen sind!" The Polish student could turn every conversation into needling the Czech student about her (actually nonexistent) dislike for Polish people. :)


And one thing that American teachers can't say:
Teacher: "As you can see, we have a guest today. This is K, and she is going to supervise you during the film. If you don't behave, she'll shoot you."

The students' reaction? "Oh, yeah, she's an American!"

They probably could use a cultural stereotype lesson. :)