Teaching in Kosovo

The main purpose of my trip last month was to teach school.  My sister Penny is friends with a woman named Nadine who started a school in Mitrovica, Kosovo.  She has lived in Kosovo since around 2000 and raised her daughter there.  Her daughter married a man there and now they are all working at the school.  Nadine wanted to make a trip to the U.S. to see if she could recruit teachers for next year.  She is the science teacher at the school, and so my job was to be the science teacher in her absence.

I took some materials I had used in Bledsoe County and taught a simulation about a family lost at sea.  Each student received information on a different family, including plants and animals they had encountered, and the students had to do research to try to determine where the family was located.  The students did a great job, and they seemed to really enjoy it.

My traveling companion, Kay, is also a teacher, and she was a lot of help in the classroom.  She was so willing to do whatever I needed to make the lesson go smoothly.  She contributed many good ideas to our plans, and I'm very glad she was able to be with me on this adventure.

My favorite part of the week was on Friday.  The students, who were speaking English as their second language, all had to prepare a dramatic reading to present to the class.  I was able to watch all the 6th and 7th graders present their readings.  They were delightful.  Three girls gave a reading from one of the Harry Potter books, each one playing a different character.  The girl playing Ron got all the sarcasm just right.  Two other girls read a story called "Gloria Who Might Be My Best Friend."  It was very touching.  Another boy gave a solo performance of a Judy Moody book.  He would read a couple of pages and then pantomime what he had just read.  It was all very entertaining, and their command of the language was so impressive.

Here are some pictures from the week.

We stayed with Nadine's family.  Most of the homes in Kosovo are
multi-generational.

Kay demonstrating the concept of different
densities of salt water.

During lunch period there is always time for a little dodgeball.

The view from our classroom window.  The city
was not a very attractive place.  The building here was a car wash which
is a popular business in Kosovo.

I love teaching!

The ninth graders working on their project.

We were able to spend one afternoon doing experiments about bubbles.

One evening the whole staff went out for dinner.  They
were all such a pleasure to spend the week with.  Kay and I
are hopeful that we were able to encourage them in the work
they are doing there in Kosovo.