Tuesday: Teaching and music

Today was teaching day! I taught 3 lessons to 3 different groups of students in year 2 at a Middle school.  Middle school here is like our high school: yr1 pupils are 12/13, yr2 13/14, yr3 14/15. Students must achieve a grade 2 or higher to proceed into the next year; grades are from 1-6 with 6 being the highest. Students will get kept back to repeat the year! I think this encourages them to do well! Students who reach age 16 and have not completed years 1-3 of middle school go into special education program instead of college.

Students do not wear a uniform in Poland and the teachers are also dressed casual; most are wearing jeans! The students are a little apprehensive about having a foreign teacher, but we are also treated like local celebrities. All students are friendly and happy to put their English into practise. The boys are little more reserved than the girls.  Their task was to research Polish Scientists and produce a poster of interesting facts; all students did well :-)

The afternoon was all about music! Students of the local community put on a concert for us which included a rock band, traditional Polish folk dancing, 6th form pupils showcasing their talents and the Hungarian Comenius group adding their skills into the mix.  A very enjoyable a afternoon!