IQ LANDIA Liberec

So, a few weeks back I got the idea of organizing a field trip for my students. Of course, over the year they have done many trip with different teachers hence this time around I asked them specifically "where do you want to go?"

Given that there is a much larger proportion of men in the class the most common answer was "lazer game" or "paint ball"... after much debate the vote came down and the trip to Liberec to IQ Landia was planned. 

IQ Landia, a modern science center with a 3D planetarium and hundreds of original exhits was fantastic. The students entered an enchanting world of science and technology, amazing experiements and smart entertainement. Students had a chance to chat with the first and only humanoid robot in the Czech Republic, experience genuine astronaut training, witness a fire storm and danicing lightning and learn about all the functions of the human body and the world around us. For 8 hr their curiosity was satisfied.  

HONZA AND ZAJA trying to hide...

DAN being creative

GEOUP SIMLE

Our students are so clever 

Lunch time... (most important)_

JARDA taking a bubble shower

ZAJA and Marketa doing their best...

Expedition to Scotland

Our annual expedition to Scotland is approaching and once again we are in full speed of preparation… Places we will visit: 

Edinburgh 

is the capital city of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and the seat of the monarchy in Scotland. 

Edinburgh Castle

 is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since the Iron Age (2nd century AD), although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

OLD TOWN and The Royal Mile

is the name given to streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan.  Together with the 18th-century New Town, it forms part of a protected UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE Site. 

Castle Rock 

a volcanic plug in the middle of Edinburgh. The rock is estimated to have risen some 350 million years ago.

Inverness 

is a city in the northern Scotiush Highlands.

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising on 16 April 1746. The conflict was the last batle fought on British soil forever making Scotland part of the British Empire.

Cawdor Castle 

is set 16 km east of Inverness. The castle is built around a 15th-century tower house, with substantial additions in later centuries. 

Loch Ness 

is a large, deep, freshwater loch extending for approximately 37 km.  Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the famous “Nessie”.

Urquhart Castle 

sits beside Loch Ness. The castle ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century. 

And many many more.......

International Experience

Without a doubt keeping students interested in learning English and paying attention can be sometimes a bit of a challenge J hence, when opportunity arises that someone else can do the job I jump to the occasion.

Such occasion came up last month when our school was visited by a group of 25 or so students from Turkey. They were divided into 3 smaller groups and attended each of the classes. Immediately, it became obvious that the Czech students had a higher level of English than the Turkish students and some students worried about “how will they communicate” issue. I eagerly matched a Czech student with a Turkish student and asked them to find out 10 things about each other. Of course, I got questions “but how when they don’t know the words”… I smiled and said “Just try”.

Results: Fantastic! A bit of google translator, a pen and paper and 45 minutes went by in a flash. The students got their 10 facts and even managed to learn some Turkish words including some very important school items like bir kalem and kâğıt, or even otobüs, okul and their favorite ödev!

Thank you to our Turkish students for having the courage to talk to us….

 Great reason to use a phone in class - google translator (at least that is what they told me) 

Who said learning can't be fun- smile! 

Tomas is learning to pronounce Turkish words - should I add them to the next test? :-)

and a little bit of grammar....

Samual - determined to get the info....

To whip or not to whip- that is the question

Today I asked the students to tell me the difference between Czech Easter and American Easter. I assumed it was a semi important topic as there is a slight chance that such a questions might pop up on the maturita exam… oh and tomorrow is the first day of Easter holiday for the school.

Result: lots of “hmmmm’s”. So after 40 minutes of a discussion we came up with this:

We (Czech Republic)

• ·         Celebrate it on Monday (an extra free day is nice)
• ·         Color eggs (nice and fun for kids)
• ·         Eat eggs (not as much fun if you are eating them for a week after)
• ·         Whip girls (…hmmm…no comment on this)
• ·         Drink shots of vodka while visiting neighbors (…hmmm… I hope they don’t drive afterwards)

YOU (United States)

• ·         Celebrate on Sunday ( no extra free days)
• ·         Search for eggs (lots of extra work)
• ·         No eating of eggs (the ones left by Easter Bunny are plastic)
• ·         No whipping (probably a rule about harassment)
• ·         No drinking (it’s a Sunday and most states forbid the sale of alcohol)
• ·         Oh, there is the Easter Bunny who brings mini gifts and well… is imaginary…

So conclusion… The students will be more than glad to go whip some girls and drink on Monday rather than come to school! 

Happy Easter Holidays

Dream Big- Maserati GrandCabrio?

Recently, I've asked my students to write a short essay on “the advantages and disadvantages of going to school”. I mean after all, as a parent I know exactly why I send my kids to school: as soon as the kid leaves the house for school I ditch the business suits for a bathing suit and head for the water park, to return home in time to change clothes before the kids return. I need my free time, right?

Well… maybe there is more to it. After all (let’s exaggerate a bit), and imagine a well-meaning teacher complete with elbow-patched jacket who stands in front of the even rows of school chairs and desks… He attempts to be inspirational, encourages the students to dream bigger dreams and reach for the stars.

Dutifully, students begin to envision where they want to be. (Truth be told, most students envision when lunch break begin – but let’s still exaggerate.) Mental pictures of vacation homes and fancy cars dance in their minds. They start to believe: if you want big, just dream big.

WRONG

Let’s be honest… our head is positioned above our heart and although one doesn’t work without the other there is a reason why our head stands firmly on our shoulders.  And the student’s dreams and goals are not to be just imaginary visions or day dreams, but rather note-worthy goals set on intelligent collection of facts and knowledge acquired somewhere- life…? Yes, but school is part of life.

The school bell will ring for the final time in every student’s life, and the task of translating education into living will be thrown upon them. Their dreams and goals will be fulfilled not because they one day took few minute of their class time to day-dream about a nice red Maserati  but rather because they learned to communicate, work hard and well…know what they want and how to get it –( ok and maybe how to calculate a good loan for a Maserati GrandCabrio :-) ) . 

a nerdy teacher - challange accepted

As a teacher, I should try to give my students challenges. I want them to be stumped at first, to struggle to find the answer and be stoked when they overcome the obstacle. I feel like that is my job. Kids need to be prepared to face tough challenges and work to solve them. And only once in a while do I come across a student who throws the challenge back at me.

This happened last week, about 2 minutes before the class ended I threw my famous “what are you going to do over the weekend?” question. It’s no surprise that I always get the same answers: watch tv and play computer games. This time, in an unexpected turn of events a student threw his challenge of “pani ucitelko, you should play Dungeon and Dragons”… hahaha

Well, the weekend did come and maybe thanks to my nostalgia for youthfulness (I did celebrate yet another birthday last Saturday) I turned on the computer and thought to myself: Challenge Accepted

1. Stumped at first- yes! Dungeon and Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game, including computer games, console games, arcade games and mobile games. Not to mention some online games. With a deranged look I must admit „that I don’t even know where to start! “

2. Struggled to find the answer- not only that, but I am still in awe as to where to start…

I always loved surprises and boy, was I surprised. I am going to go to class this week and ask my students how and what and when – not so I can see if they know it as without a doubt they do- but so I can catch onto a string of something (the game) which has sparked my curiosity enough to just maybe learn it. 

3. Overcame the obstacle – nope, not yet…. But it is to be continued…

time to recharge?

Every now and then, my passion meter gets close to zero. Near the middle of the second semester it can get very low. I use different things to keep me going during the school year. Sometimes I pull out a box of chocolates, buy a pair of shoes or watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day off”. They put a smile on my face and get me through the rough spots of a school year. But by March, the long gloomy winter months just get to me and all I can think is "JUNE". However, there is one thing that never fails to recharge my passion bar; my yearly hiking trip with the students! Some say it’s a punishment to go on a holiday with a group of teenagers, and at moments it does feel like it. However, away from the school desk with no ability to charge your computer (thank goodness they haven’t invented chargers in trees yet) I end up talking to students as people, not as students who must learn something. Result is astonishing, they actually learn something. In some small tiny way, they learn to be young adults. And that is enough to spark a boost of energy which makes me come back for another year.  As teachers, we are so busy inspiring the little bodies in the desks, we forget to keep the fires burning within for ourselves. And hence, today as we move into the semi- “spring-ish” month of March and I still have two more months before the trip I just need to check my passion meter – as it just might need a fill up… and today a chocolate bar will do just fine.