Snow, Elections, and some more Snow... Oh My!

Before the snow

TD;DR  or Quick Summary 

After the snow 

1. Winter has arrived! Last Wednesday (Nov. 9th) it snowed pretty much all day and all night in Białystok, transforming the city into a Winter Wonderland.
2. Teaching is going well. I observed my mentor teaching a couple of weeks ago and it really gave me some good ideas for my own classroom. 
3. Through various groups and parties, I have made several more friends in Białystok and am really starting to feel more comfortable here. 
4. Yesterday, I traveled with a Fulbrighter and his cousin to a small village. It was a great trip into winter. 

Since my last post focused more on my travels, this post will focus more on teaching. It covers about two weeks worth of classes. At the end of the post, you will find waaaaay too many pictures of snow in Białystok (so be prepared). 

Snow in the park outside my university

Teaching Struggles and Breakthroughs 

Just like every teaching experience that I have ever, there are good days and bad day; these past two weeks have had a little of both. Overall, they were good, but they could have definitely been better. I will start with went well. 

Integrated Skills

I finally observed my mentor teacher and she was fantastic! She was teaching a 2nd year integrated skills class, which included several of my own 2nd year students. They were definitely surprised to see me outside of writing class but didn't run out of the room screaming. During this class they were discussing and practicing phrasal verbs (so verbs like break up, wash up, try on, etc...). My mentor posted several words from last week on the board and called on students for a definition or example. As more and more words were taken off the board, the students were getting more nervous about getting stuck with one of the tough final words. Throughout the rest of the class students conversed, discussed, and answered questions using the phrasal verbs. Observing my mentor teach gave me an idea of what a good integrated skills should look like. 

River in Supraśl, a small town near Białystok

The following day I implemented several of my mentor's strategies in my own classes with great success. While teaching idioms, I had every student write sentences and draw pictures that represented the idiom. So there were many drawings of cats being released from bags, slaps on wrists, and ropes being known. Although my students were hesitant at first, they really got into the activity after a little bit. Next class we will have a quiz over the idioms so we will see how effective the lessons were. I plan to do some review games before hand to hopefully help out the students.

As I will do in all of my classes post-election, I will ask my students about their feelings on President-elect Trump and talk about what powers the American president actually has. So far my conversations and discussions with students have been very interesting and they often focused on different issues than my American friends. But, more on that below!

Orthodox church in Supraśl 

4th Year Writing

On the other side of the spectrum, I feel like I am still figuring out the students and course in my 4th year writing class. Two weeks ago, I returned their first essay. In a fantasy world with perfect students, I would have liked for them to read over my edits and comments and then ask me questions about their essays. However, they all read through the comments and seemed perfectly content; no questions, comments, or even small moments of realizations. Part of me should have expected this lack of response (and in the back of my mind I knew that maybe I should have had more realistic expectations). So after talking about general mistakes and issues with the essays, I ended class a little early. While this certainly wasn't the end of the world, it did make me realize that I still had room to improve in my lesson planning and preparation for the class. I could have done more to facilitate a meaningful conversation about writing strategies and styles.

During my other 4th year writing class, I came prepared with a more structured way to discuss common mistakes. We reviewed an essay that I had written on the same topic and I and them find specific strengths of that essay. While still not perfect, the class was much better structured and I think the students got more out of the class.

Looking out into the wilderness

So far, I have only taught one class writing class post-election. I discussed how the electoral college works, showed them how different demographics in the U.S. voted, and defined the constitutional powers of the president. They had questions and predictions about whether Trump could actually build a wall or prevent certain people from entering the country. They were mildly concerned when I told them that the president has complete control over the American military, including nuclear weapons.

When I asked how a Trump presidency would affect them, nearly all of my student's answers focused on relations with Russia. This focus makes complete sense considering their close proximity to Russia. Many expressed concerns that Russia would begin to exert more influence over Poland and Europe. While none of my students mentioned the rise of a second cold war, many of their comments seems to suggest that might be a possibility. This focused is a significant departure from conversations that I have had with many of my American friends and family.

Their second essay assignment is to elaborate upon this. I asked them to write about the effects of a Trump presidency on the U.S., Poland, or the world. I left it fairly open ended in the hopes that I will get a variety of views. I hope no only will my students take a more objective look at American (and global) politics, but that their views and opinions will help give me a more international perspective on the United States.

2nd Year Writing 

Just a little bit of snow here

I assigned 'The Necklace' short story to my second year writing class. In case you can't remember from your own high school English class, 'The Necklace' is a story about a husband and wife who must work for many years to pay back the cost of a lost necklace. The last line of the story reveals that the original necklace was a fake; therefore the couple had wasted 10 years paying back a cheap piece of jewelry. 

The story is rife with themes from 'be happy with what you have' to 'honesty is the best policy' to (my favorite) 'necklaces are the root of evil.' This week, students will be writing an in class essay about the theme they see in the story. 

More snow covered wilderness

Although the students would prefer to write it at home, I was advised that it will be a more accurate assessment of student skill to have them write it in class. I definitely agree with this advice, although now I must go through the difficult task of deciphering their handwriting. The main component I am looking for in their essay is how they present, justify, and connect their arguments and ideas. While I will be looking at spelling and grammar, I think improving their argumentative writing is my biggest goal. 

So overall, teaching is going well. I am definitely reminded of feelings student teaching back at Crockett HS in Austin. There are good days and less good days, but I feel like I am heading in the right direction.

Now if you have made it this far through the post, you must be interested in seeing more snow pictures. Well, I will not leave you disappointed! 

Let it Snow!

Snow in Białystok

Most of my Polish friends and students have told me that my excitement of seeing snow will soon turn into a bitter hatred of the white fluff that turns into gray melting blobs along the side of the road (well not in those words, but close enough). I believe that once March rolls around I might be ready for spring, but for now I still sometimes catch myself staring at snow covered trees, buildings, and fields. 

For me, seeing this much snow is almost like being in a movie. Texas is know for many things, but snow is not one of them. Every Christmas movie has snow covered towns, snowmen, and warm fireplaces; in Houston, my Christmases have more often involved air conditioning and short sleeves. So for now, I will be taking every advantage of the snow. 

Visiting Supraśl and the Wilderness

Inside the chapel

On Saturday, I took a last minute trip to a nearby town, Supraśl. This village is only about 10 kilometers from Białystok, and was definitely worth the trip. One of my Fulbright friends was in town visiting his family and invited me to go with him and his cousin (both of whom speak fluent Polish). So the three of us headed out to Supraśl.

This region of Poland has the highest concentration of Orthodox Christians and there are several ornate Orthodox churches in the area. After strolling along the river, befriending an excitable dog, and throwing several snowballs we took a tour of one church. The tour was led by an Orthodox monk sporting a Nike jacket and shoes but also wearing a religious gown; it looked suspiciously like Nike was his personal sponsor. He showed us several ornate buildings and gave a quick summary of the 500 year history of this order. 

Orthodox art

After a delicious and filling Polish meal, we headed back to town with one quick detour. We stopped along the road and hiked a short distance; once we broke through the tree cover, we could see all the way across a large basin. It was stunning. 

Snow covered trees as far as the eye could see, clear skies, and a setting sun all combined for a beautiful panorama. It was one of the best vistas I have seen. We spent about 30 minutes exploring and taking silly pictures. I attempted to make a snow angel, but unfortunately, the snow wasn't deep enough. 

As we were leaving, my friend's cousin said,  "We should come back in winter! The view will be even better then!" Clearly she was implying that this was not yet winter. We shall see if I survive. 

Well that's all for this week! Thanks for reading!

Bonus Pictures!