I am sorry to say that I really do not have much to report, some weeks are just slow. At school there was nothing exciting to report. Irena and I were asked to look up information to get grant money for our school. Since we received the new doors, the director asked us to find money to paint the hallways, since they are looking a bit shabby. Irena also had the idea of creating an English Library in the school. There is a room on the 3rd floor that use to be a library, still has some old books on the bookcases; and we are going to see if the director and the school would be interested in turning that into a place were students can get and read English books. This is a project that other volunteers have done in their schools; and it would be a good addition to our school as well.
My only out day was to Bitola at the American Corner for Game Night. It was my first time doing this event and it went well. Over 22 kids showed up to socialize and play games, more than normal, it might have had something to do with it being a nice night and some of the parents see it as an hour of free babysitting. But as long as the kids have fun and there are plenty of games to go around....the more the merrier. I have been keeping it local lately since the next 2 weeks are packed full with travel- one big trip for GLOW and the other to Greece to meet the family.
Things with GLOW are starting to pick up. This weekend I was reading over last year's manual because changes need to be made in some areas and Sarah, the Programming Coordinator (the one I am shadowing this year and the position I will have next year) wants everyone to come to the meeting with ideas. So this weekend I have been doing my research in preparation to participate at the meeting. One main component that she would like to add to this year's camp curriculum is adding more critical thinking. It is evident in the classrooms. I had to watch one of the 5th grade classes awhile ago and I had them do an exercise "writing a letter to a student in the states." I wrote some topics on the board that I wanted them to address in their letters (based on the vocabulary they had been learning). I bullet-pointed these items and halfway through the class I noticed that most of the students had just copied down what I had wrote and put their answers beside it. There was no letter format at all. I knew that the students had understood the directions because I had said "write a letter" to them in both English and Macedonian; and I had one of the students that understood what I had said in English, and repeat all of the directions in Macedonian. But even then, they still just copied everything down from the board and thought that was it. I have seen it before in other classes too, the students just copy down what the teacher writes and that is it. They do not take it a step further and they do not think outside of the box. So even though critical thinking skills are sometimes hard to incorporate into American lessons, they still need to be added; even if it's just one exercise, into Macedonian lessons. Otherwise these students will not be able to fully think for themselves, they will stay in their own little box.
Next weekend is my GLOW meeting; and then the following Thursday I leave for Greece to see Mom, Dad and Jen. I'll be in touch when I can!!!
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