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Thursday, September 17, 2009

KCA video

For more information about KCA and to see some of my students :), click on the following link to watch a short video!

http://2macaroon.com/mv08/KC_08.php

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Things I miss...

~large cereal boxes, so I don't have to buy cereal every week
~not having to feel like a pack-mule as I carry my things from school on my back...then walk 20 mins to and from the bus stop each day
~real Mexican food
~pre-made sauces and seasonings
~fresh air that doesn't smell like cigarette smoke or other kinds of pollution

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Testing Bias

I've recently heard in my education classes about the bias of the SAT/ACT and textbook materials, but didn't really understand until I started teaching in Ukraine.

These standardized tests are prejudiced against students who do not speak English as a primary language or are not familiar with American currency.

In the algebra 2 test, a problem referenced a girl with only nickels and dimes in her piggy bank. A few of my students needed to be reminded of the value of nickels and dimes. The book assumes that students in algebra 2 have used American currency all their lives, and expects that they have memorized the values. Not so for Third Culture Kids in Ukraine...they are more familiar with griven/kopecks than dollars/cents.

"You are enclosing a garden with prefabricated fencing you salvaged from a landfill. You found x pieces of fence that are each y feet long. What is the maximum rectangular area you can enclose with these pieces of fence?"

"Enclosing," "prefabricated," "salvaged," "landfill"--are these really everyday vocabulary words that a non-native speaker would understand? I think not. Could the test writers have chosen a different situation with easier vocabulary? Probably.

Just another day in the life of teaching math in Ukraine to students from* Europe, Asia, and America, with texts geared toward monocultural American students in America.

*From: meaning that's their passport country. They may identify more with Ukrainians or with each other--third culture kids.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Thank you to my "other" home church in New England

Very cool and encouraging email I got from the church I attended during my time at ENC. Thanks for all your support!

I just wanted you to know that you were prayed for today!

We are doing the Nazarene Children's Missions Curriculum once a month on Sunday mornings. Our lesson today was on the country of Ukraine!

Kathy W, from our church, had given me your blog posting information, so I was able to go online and print off a few of your pictures including you infront of the zoopark, the mail box, the open air market, Kiev Christian School, and your first Ukrainian meal. These pictures were wonderful for giving the children a window into the country where you are serving.

I also was able to print off your picture and make a small prayer slip for each child, listing prayer requests for you regarding learning a new language, raising additional funds, and teaching math at the Kiev Christian School. All 13 of the children joined in prayer for you this morning.

They also took home a plastic Easter egg containing the prayer slip to remind them to pray for you during this school year. (We used the Easter eggs to hold the prayer request slip because the lesson also taught the children about the Ukrainian custom of decorating Easter eggs and giving them as a gesture of blessing.) Several of the children remembered you when they saw your picture! It was a great way to make missions come alive for them.

God bless you and you serve God in Ukraine.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

conversations

I am beginning to have VERY basic conversations with the Ukrainians who come into my room each day to sweep and mop. That is, beyond asking how they are. Anya (I think that is her name) asked me about how much work I had left to do, and she also said that with part of the setup by my desk, it's hard for her to get her broom/mop in there to clean.

Since I don't know many verbs, I tend to say "to do" a lot, and then gesture what I mean. "Mozhna delit" then I hold up my camera--"May I to do..photos?" Perhaps I need to adopt the strategy of covering the walls with sticky notes of vocabulary words.

The more I speak, and try and figure out what words are--for instance, the words for "students" and "classes" are cognates--the faster I will be able to have longer conversations and understand more. Also, the more I practice, the more I'll remember. (Now, whether those words are in Ukrainian or Russian, I couldn't tell you.)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Language Barriers

Here in Ukraine, one must speak Ukrainian or Russian in order to do things like grocery shopping. Since I've been here, I haven't done any formal language study, except picking up words/phrases here and there. I thought I would share some recent stories of my misadventures with Russian.

At KCA, there are a number of Ukrainian staff members, including the Russian language teachers. Some of the staff speak some English, others don't. Almost every day I see two of them come in to sweep/mop my floor. We also have some guards that we say hello to each day. More often than not, I fumble my way through Russian in the hopes of being understood, and expressing what I actually want to say.

My classroom had 2 extra desks and chairs that I didn't need, so I wanted them out of there. One day when the cleaning guy (Sasha?) came in, I told him, "Не мне нужно это, это, и это" (not necessary for me this, this, and this). [In retrospect, "это, это, и это не нада" (this, this, and this not necessary) probably would've worked too.] He replied in Russian and I understood not a single word, so I looked toward the chairs, waved goodbye, and said "До свидання, пока!" (goodbye, see you!). He laughed and said he understood.

Another day I was trying to find out what the word for "yesterday" was. I already know the words for "today" and "tomorrow," and most of the days of the week, and yes, I could've just looked them up in my phrasebook. I asked the cleaning lady, "How do you say--not today, not tomorrow, but..." (then I tried to motion something in the opposite direction). Then I tried to work through the days of the week, and somehow come up with describing Sunday as yesterday. She kept repeating some word, which I didn't know, and we just gave up. Abstract words are really difficult to learn and describe.

Another weekly adventure is buying groceries. When you want food from the produce section of the store, you have to put it in a plastic bag and take it to the clerk to weigh. She will then put a sticker on the bag and tie it closed. Once you reach the checkout aisle, the cashier will ask you if you want any "paketi" (bags). If you do, you have to pay for them (only a few cents/kopecks). Hence, we try to take our own bags with us to the store. When she has totaled all the prices, she will tell you what it is, and you are to pay her. But there is one catch--she will want exact kopecks. If you don't have exact change, she will be mad and will not give you back exact change.

"Russian is the heavenly language because it takes an eternity to learn." So true!