With Eyes Wide Open

Hi we never discussed the

2010-09-04T13:41:00.001-05:00

Hi we never discussed the home warranty at the closing.

Train in Moscow

2009-10-01T01:22:00.000-05:00

The train arrived at 6:45 and it was raining. The many gifts made for a lot of luggage which I was trying to take to the terminal in the rain. Much to my disappointment the driver holding my name card was not there. I was not having much luck finding someone who could speak English. After about 20 minutes I heard my name over the intercom but I couldn't understand the rest of it telling me where to go. Finally, a very stern looking policeman took me to where the driver was standing. Boy, was I glad to see him.

Last Day in Nizhney

2009-10-01T01:18:00.000-05:00

Previously, I was in Nizhney Novogorod in March. Today we took a tour in the sunshine. It looks a lot different with the beautiful flowers, fall leaves on the trees and no snow.
After a specially prepared dinner, going away gifts, and good-byes, it was time to get on the train. This train was brand new with only two people per car.It left the station at 10:45 and would arrive in Moscow at 6:45 am. There a car from the Embassy would meet me and take me to the airport. This was the beginning of a 36 hour trip home.

Lyceum and Hoklama

2009-10-01T01:10:00.000-05:00

When I was sick the last time I visited I was scheduled to visit a Lyceum and go to the Hoklema factory in Smirnoff. but did not get to go. So today was the day.
It was about an hours drive to the town so Nina was telling me a little about her job with the accrediting group. She talked about the issues they have in getting teachers to teach in the village schools. They are trying some programs such as buying a young teacher a car and a flat if they will teach ten years in the village. They have also offered them a 25% pay increase over those that teach in the larger cities. These approaches haven't worked real well and have gone a long way to upset the teachers that have taught in these villages and did not receive the perks.

We arrived at the lyceum in Smirnoff and toured the school before meeting with about 20 students who were in the 11th form (grade). They will be going to college next year. These students had participated in an Intel Project-based Learning classroom. Two groups of students presented their projects for us. The first group focused on the sport facilities available for volleyball, a sport they loved to play. They put together a business plan after analyzing the deficiencies (windows, lighting, floor surface) of the facilities. They met with and interviewed the principal about their concerns and proposed a funding model that contained finding sponsorships. As a result of their efforts, new windows were replaced in the gym and the floor was resurfaced. Their in-depth presentation also contained what skills they developed and what they learned conducting this project.

The second group felt their project was a little silly and didn't want to show it but the teacher convinced them to go ahead. This team of boys loved to play computer games so their presentation centered around researching the popularity of playing computer games and the future employment opportunities available for those that create them. Their project was really well done and brought a lot of credibility to the field.

The trip to the Hoklema factory was so interesting. This traditional Russian painting goes back to the founding of Smirnoff. Today their factory employs 500 painters (almost all women) and 1300 people in all the factory. We began the tour seeing how the wood is formed into dolls, bowl, cups, beads etc. The wood comes from the lime tree. From there we went to see the Matruska dolls being painted. The painting of the dolls is more like an assembly line as each painter paints a certain part of the doll, like the face, or the apron or dress. There is the traditional doll that is red and yellow an has flowers on the apron.Then there are dolls of all colors and some special character dolls. In showing us some of the special order dolls they showed us a set of dolls made for the Green Bay Packers in 2002. The outside doll is no other than Brett Favre and there are four other dolls including Darren Sharper.I asked if they sold that set and she told us they were not in their shop but only part of their special collection. When I came back later she handed me a set and charged me $18. What a fun souvenir.

The next part of the tour showed the steps in the 58 day process of making the dishes, spoons, and other speciality pieces. It includes different kinds of layers of solutions, painting and then baking. The baking process turns what looks like silver into a very bright gold. When the pieces are ready to be painted, one painter does the complete piece. It was fascinating to see the talent of the painters.

The final part of the tour was a master class. Nina and I were taught how to paint a Matruska doll. Needless to say, I could never be hired in that line of work but it was fun to try.

I have seen and purchased pieces of Hoklema painting but I have a total new appreciation for the talent that goes into making the them.

Sunday - English Class and Shish Kabob

2009-09-29T02:05:00.002-05:00

Marsha makes a little extra money by conducting a club English class on Wednesday. The students and parents agreed to a special lesson on Sunday to visit with an American teacher. These students are eight years old and have only had three lessons. They introduced themselves and sang an English song. They sang it very well for only having three lessons. I told them all about North Dakota and they and their parents asked questions about the USA.

Next a trip to the local park for shish kebabs. Nina, Vladmir, her sister Nadia and her husband Oleg made quite the feast. Sausages, barbecued pork, salad, decorated apples, pears cut like pine trees, cucumbers pickles YUM!

Saturday - My Last Day in Volgagrad

2009-09-29T01:58:00.001-05:00

It was hard to think that it was my last day in Volgagrad. It had been a wonderful week and I had made some very wonderful friends. Natasha's mother came for a visit and what a delightful lady. She had been a teacher for 44 years and you could tell that that is where her heart is. She had taught geography and then had taught home economics for the rest of her career. We were talking about the difficulty that Russians have with the many documents that need to filled out for the government and some of the poilicies that are difficult for people to deal with. She commented that she so respected the United States for their Bill of Rights that has lasted since the 18th century. I always find it so interesting that Russians know so much about us. When I tell people that I am from North Dakota, most of them know where the state is located. Could I tell you different areas of Russia?
Natasha and I had a nice discussion about their school system. Their students take eleven subjects in a week. Some meet only a day as others might meet three times a week. You can imagine the scheduling. The classes are about forty minutes. Teachers do not have their own classrooms so they need to move all over the school. The school has many floors so they get a lot of exercise during the day. Natasha's classes vary from day to day. Some days she teaches seven classes. Teachers teach six days a week and young teachers get two hundred dollars a month. They get an additional twenty dollars if they check their students copy books (homework). They have a lesson plan book/gradebook that must be filled in every day and left in the office. The book is checked everyday and teachers get paid only if it is completed. They have started anelectronic grading system but now teachers must do both. Teachers can retire at 55 but they get a pension of one hundred dollars so it is difficult to live on that.
Of course, I seem to create some sort of excitement when it is time to do something. This time I left my registration papers in my suitcase. I thought I only needed my immigration card. I did not know if the officials were going to allow me to leave Volgagrad and go to Nihzney Novogorad. The official told me that I must keep my papers with me at all times. I am going to Nihnzey Novogorad as that is where I visisted a year ago last March. I have very good friends there and I wanted to see them while I was in Russia. The American Councils supported my trip here as they called it a follow-on program.

I sat to business man that works for Caterpillar. He was creating a PowerPoint in English. Wehad a very nice visit on the plane. He asked if someone was meeting me as he would help me with the airport if they weren't
There was Nina and Vladmir at the airport waiting for with flowers - it was so nice to see them. I had been worried about Nina as she quite writing anв I knew something was wrong. She has developed glaucoma in her eyes so she cannot use the computer very much. She was an IT teacher and now she works on an accrediting team for the 3000 schools in their region. Each school must be accredidted every five years.
It was very late so we went directly to Marsha and Sasha's house where I am staying. Marsha is an English teacher who was my interpretor when I was here before. She now has a beautiful little boy and the government pays her money to stay home with him for three years. It is so great to spend time with them again.
Luckily the medicine was working and I was no longer struggling with a fever.

Friday -Trip to the Doctor

2009-09-29T01:24:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe but I guess I want to explore the medical system when I am over here. When I had my cancer surgery lymph nodes were removed from under my arm so the lymph system does not work quite right. On Friday morning I woke with an infection in my upper arm, I know that I need antibiotics for this (sometimes I am given a couple of IVs so off to the doctor we went. Galena knows a doctor who is the head of the department so we got right in. She sent me to the skin specialist who then sent me to the head doctor. I was given two antibiotics, antibiotic cream and something like Benebdryl and was sent on my way. My arm was very puffy and very hot and I had a fever to go along with it. The doctor said it was fine to go on with my regular schedule.
The rest of the morning was meeting with just the heads of the departments at Lyceum 8. They were very interested in PowerSchool, in the structure of our school system, in our grading system, etc. They also brought in their nice charging case with iPods in it and wondered if I could tell them how to use them. We didn't have much time at that point but that conversation will continue.
Galena had aranged for us to have a yacht ride on the Volga with the Vice Speaker of the State Duma (authorities?) so onto the marina. The yacht ended up to be a sailboat that Sergey ran with the motor so the ride was smoother. Wу had a very nice lunch and Sergey and his wife have been singing together for 33 years. He plays the guitar as they sing. They sang a few songs for us, one of them was the first song they ever sang together 33 years ago. I asked them if they sell their music and they said they only do this as a hobby so they give their CDs to friends. I am happy to say I have one of the CDs in my suitcase.

Out of the boat and on to the dacha (country home) of Natasha's Oleg's friends. As we passed by many country homes on very narrow roads, you could not see the houses. Galena says it's because Russian people are afraid so they put up these fences to protect themseleves. Andrew and Natasha's dacha did not have a high fence. Andrew had in the last year built the new house after tearing down the one that was there. It had a main housу ща a living area, kitchen, and two bedrooms. In the back was a barbeque area with table and overhead cover and a building with a sauna and a room for relaxing. Both buildings had fireplaces. The gournds were cover with fruits and vegetables - apples, peaches, berries, grapes, cucumbers, onions, herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. Wу tok a walk to the Volga River and he showed us where he fishes. He likes to dive and spearfish. We ate some of the fish that he had caught.

The meal was delicious with cancers (Russian lobster), a couple of different kinds of fish, barbequed pork, vegetables of all kinds, and torte. Of course, there was vodka and cognac for toasting.
Upon arriving home, my night was spent with my friend, the fever.

Tuesday Already

2009-09-29T01:01:00.000-05:00

It is Tuesday and I will be going home tonight. I will try to get caught up before I leave.

Foreign Student Day and Day 2 at the Forum

2009-09-24T12:52:00.005-05:00

I arrived at school this morning in time to see their first celebration of the year. They have some student from AFS at their school and AFS had asked if they could plan a special day. The courtyard was filled with primary age students and students through the ninth grade. Italian students, Indian students, Malaysian students and Guatemalan all performed and talked (they had been invited from other schools). The Russian students performed traditional songs and dances. After the gathering the foreign students participated in classes and then all met together to have lunch before returning to their schools. I didn't get to see all of the courtyard celebration but with what I saw I couldn't help but see the pride exhibited by the foreign students and the respect and celebration shown by the Russian students.It made me wonder how much we celebrate the cultures in our schools???

Next on the agenda was an online video conference with three groups - Teachers at the Forum, the Professional Development division for the school and the State Education Authorities. It was the first meeting of it's kind that they have had they asked very good questions. They wanted to know why they cannot have professional development that is more relevant to something they are doing in their classrooms. They get theory after theory but no one helps them understand how to apply it. They also wondered why they had to go to the Professional Development Center for their in-service. Why can't some classes be put online? They asked me to tell about our system and then continued to ask for changes in their system. There are two teachers that have programmed in Moodle. All the teachers wanted to know why this system could not be set up for them to use for their classes. They also have some cable channels but materials are not presented this way or are not being used. They thought there could be a better way of using these channels. Both the Professional Development group and the State Authorities were pretty quiet during all of these questions. One teacher specifically asked the head of education to please answer the questions. His answers were pretty sarcastic. By the end of the conference, members of both groups (PD and State Auth.) said they were open and willing to make some changes.

After a very quick lunch, it was time for my workshop, which instead of one, ended up to be two. I showed the Kindle, the iPod touch, the GPS camera, the digital microscope and podcast material. The teachers had not seen these used in an educational way and were so amazed. I told them not to beleive that our students are using them much but these devices do exist now.

The second session and wrap-up was also fun. They were so appreciative. I worried that it might be discouraging since they do not have that many resources. But I asked them to think about the possibilities and work toward a dream that their students will someday learn from these devices. The Superintendent said her idea of an electronic book was a CD - she was so happy to know of other formats.

On to the American Center - this presentation was about North Dakota. There were probably about thirty people there - some Americans, a University English Teacher, some Russian students hoping to come to college in America, some students from foreign countries.... I had prepared a presentation but there was no projector so we sat and talked. I had brought many postcards so I sent them around as I told about North Dakota. They had many interesting questions - ranging from our economy, to homeless people, to the state of technology in Volgograd Schools, to what kind of work do my children do.... I said that I had many postcards and feel free to take one - guess what? They are all gone!

Now it was time to go home. I think I will actually get to bed by eleven tonight. Tomorrow will be more presentations in the morning and then a yacht trip down the Volga in the afternoon. Dinner will be at the dacha (country home).

My pictures do not relate to today - all I have is video and I can't upload it here. But I will just add a couple of pictures from before.

Today's Forum

2009-09-23T15:23:00.001-05:00

Today was an exciting day as three hundred teachers came to the lyceum for a forum (conference). I was asked to speak to the group earlier than planned and I had hoped to connect by Skype to Darin. Well, it was five minutes before starting time and I hadn't even been able to test the connection. I was about to give up hope when low and behold there he was. The connection worked beautifully, very clear, and the sound was perfect. Thank you , Darin - I do believe in this picture he had just said that his eyes were a little red as it was in the middle of the night there.

The rest of the presentation lasted for fifteen minutes after the connection and all went well after a worried start. I was sure to stay in the time limit as I didn't want to get the forum off schedule. We then listened to three presentations given by university faculty members. The third presenter talked a lot about Web 2.0 tools.

We met the other teachers in this area from the LTMS program for lunch. It was fun to see people that I had not seen in almost two years. I remembered faces but I certainly did not remember names. Our food is always very colorful - includes fresh, salted vegetables, many friuts, soup, fish, cheese, pies (rolls with filling -egg, jam, veggies)coffee, tea and wine for toasting. We also always have a fruit compote drink. On the right in the picture is Natasha, my interpreter.

I originally was to present at one so the session I was in still had a little time. So I showed podcasting (as the presenter in the morning had mentioned it), the Schroeder student's movie of their TV studio and a little bit about Google Docs.

Time to move again. This time we visited the local College Academy of Agricultural Studies. They focus on a number of specialties including ecology, energy resources, information technology, video production and many others. They also focus on agricultural specific topics. They have an area where they work with animals. The students are in charge of their care. I had a close encounter with a camel.

After a very nice dinner at the academy we were on the way home. It is already midnight and I am not in bed yet!

It's Tuesday - I Think!

2009-09-22T16:00:00.002-05:00

The days go by so quickly and we are so busy that it is difficult to remember what day it is. Today was the student Olympiad and the teams of students from different schools came to the Lyceum to participate in Information tasks. Each task was allowed fifteen minutes and the teams could take no longer. part of the time limit was to help them realize that different strategies are needed when time is a factor. They were involved with creating a brand and a slogan, researching and then deciding on the ideal education system, mixing a song, doing a scientific experiment, and others. Winners were chosen at the end of the morning. The students enjoyed it and seemed to work real well in their teams.

I have a presentation tomorrow so Natalya helped put together the Russian slides that will show on the screen at the same time as the English version.

We headed to the country to visit a school on the military base. Its quite large as it once housed 750 students and now there are five hundred there. On the way we crossed a canal that connects the Don and the Volga River.

I am hoping to Skype with Darin during my presentation tomorrow. We will see if it works.

Clean Clothes

2009-09-21T15:23:00.003-05:00

Well, first of all, it is nice to have my luggage. I was able to wear my own clothes during the first day at the Lyceum. I was greeted with caravy (bread) and salt and a traditional dance with song. Upon entering the building some primary students were participating a a remote control car contest through an obstacle course. I spent the morning visiting many classes - geography class, primary physics class, English class for first graders, dance class, a class devoted to the study of local monuments, a demo of their distance education classes built with Moodle and a music class. The physics class was fifth graders that were learning about physics principles from their teacher and a high school physics teacher. Some of the older students had worked with the younger students as they studied principles of physics related to flying paper airplanes and constructing a workable parachute. Today was the final testing and there were experts (students dressed in graduation gowns as judges)that were testing the final products. They graded them on construction and the length of flight or time in the air for the parachutes. A winner was determined based on these qualities. The students were so excited as they watched the results(the same person always flew the model to keep the variable the same). I was so struck with the smiles and motivation of the students as they participated in all of the classes I attended. You could tell they enjoyed being there.

During the Moodle demo, they showed me a site developed by a math teacher that provides tutorial help for students studying for the math examination (sort of like our ACT). This site is accessed by 15,000 people a day.
In the afternoon we visited a museum in the countryside that showed the life of the Kozaks. It included a lunch of traditional food (soup, vegetables, a pastry with meat, watermelon, a sweet pastry and moonshine. The herb in the moonshine was thyme.
On the trip home we stopped at a market with many different vegetables and fruit. A watermelon was selling for seventy cents and a huge potato sack of different colored peppers was three dollars.

This evening I watched a production at the Lyceum put on by former students of the Lyceum. They all are involved in other careers but continue to come back and perform in plays. I found out they agreed to do one more production of this play because Natasha (embassy official) and I were in town. We got home about ten and Natasha, my host, showed me pictures and told me about escaping twice from the Chechin Republic (her home). It is a very moving story and helps me to understand how lucky I am.

The weather has been beautiful and the people are wonderful. Tomorrow I am going to be part of a team as we participate in an IT Olympiad. More to come......

What An Adventure

2009-09-20T14:49:00.001-05:00

It is now Sunday evening in Volgograd and I am at Natasha flat after two very interesting days. To begin with the airline lost my luggage. so you can imagine when I got to Moscow and waited for all of the luggage to be loaded on the carosel and no where was my luggage. Luckily for me, the Moscow American Embassy representative was going to travel with me to Volgograd and she was waiting outside of customs. Thank goodness that I had activated a global plan for my cell phone as she called to see where I was. Natalya filled out about six forms and I needed to tell them eveything that was in my suitcase (hard to remember when you have been traveling 27 hours). Come to find out, the luggage was coming on the next plane from New York but we had to leave for Volograd before it got there. So with the necessary documents in hand we got on the plane for Volgograd.
We were met in Volograd by Gelena, Ludmila and Natasha, given flowers and taken to a resort out of town to spend the night. As part of our trip to the resort we took a car ferry across the Volga River. This ferry will only run one more day as a new bridge across the Volga will be opened by Putin on Monday.
My hosts knew that my luggage was lost so they had brought me pajamas, a clean t-shirt and a pair of stirup stretch pants.
I was welcomed with a traditional Russian welcome of cardivy (a beautiful scultured bread) and salt. The tradition is only real friends will eat bread with lots of salt. After a nice dinner of beef tongue, chicken, carrots, rice, watermelon, honeydew, cheeses and smoked fish I went to bed.
Of course, I did not have any clothes yet so today was dressing the same. We spent the morning at the Country Club Olympiad which is partially owned by the school. It is a beautiful setting with many cottages, tennis courts, a restaurant and a newly completed conference hall.
We then left for the American Center and passed by the hydroelectric plant. At the American Center I talked with about 20 students who are interested in attending college in the US. They had very good questions and I enjoyed meeting them very much. After the American Center we went to the Stalingrad Monument. We got there in time to see the changing of the guard and then toured the grounds. The monument is very impressive and the whole design tells the story of the 200 day battle in Stalingrad where the Russians held back the Nazis. (I will share pictures at a later time as I am not on my computer.)Stalingrad, now Volgograd was almost toatlly destroyed during this battle. The fortitude and determination of the soldiers are captured in amny of the monuments. There are monuyments all over the city as it is said there was a battle in every house.
Later - need to go to bed.

On the Road Again

2009-09-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it but on Friday of this week I will be flying to Russia again. The first leg of my trip will take me to Volgograd. I will be visiting the Federal IT Curriculum Testing School. The second leg I will fly to Nihzny Novogorad where I visited a year ago last March. I have four presentations to give when I am in Volgograd so I am staying busy.
Today I Skyped with my friend and interpreter, Marsha in Nihzny. She told me they were celebrating their city's birthday today. The city is 788 years old. Grand Forks, on the other hand, was incorporated in 1881. We sure are youngsters when compared to them.

Up Close and Personal

2008-03-24T17:07:00.000-05:00

I reflect often how different my experience would have been if I had gone to Russia as a tourist. Walking down the streets of Moscow, most people look very serious and stern. There is little or no eye contact as people pass on the street. As you approach a stairway, Metro car or escalator, Russians push to the front. Traffic is terrible and drivers are constantly jockeying for position. I'm afraid from these observations that I would have considered Russian people to be unfriendly and rude. How wrong I would have been.
As I have said before, Russian people are the friendliest, most hospitable, most generous people I have ever met.

My Observations of the Russian Education System

2008-03-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

All parents and especially students seem to value education. The children feel that an education will help them have a better life. There are many academic competitions and the students pursue the prestigious awards through hard work and dedication.

The teachers must teach from a national curriculum for their regular classes. Every student should be on the same topic, on the same day and receive a mark for that exercise. The rest of the classes are extra curricular or electives. These classes are more creative and offer students a variety of options. These classes may only meet once a week.

The number of students in a class seems to be in the teens. Often schools run a morning shift and an afternoon shift as the school is not large enough to hold all of the students. The students attend school six days a week.

Students seem very happy in school. There is a ten minute break between classes, where students run, dance and play games in the hallways. They also spend time on their cell phones, no matter what the age is. I never saw students in lines in the hallways. In all of the schools that I visited, students were wearing uniforms. Many of the older boys wore suits with a shirt and tie.

The teachers have very few supplies to work with. They create amazing materials with few supplies.

The students know so much about the United States and we know so little about Russia. They talk about the US and British authors that they read.

I did not observe education for children with special needs. Even though the Superintendent talked about classes for children with disabilities, I never observed any and none of the other teachers did either. I question whether there are classes available for these kids.

Children start studying English at a very young age. As a result, they are very fluent. I think we wait too long to study a foreign language.

More Photos of Moscow

2008-03-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

Day in Moscow

2008-03-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

After arriving on the train, I sat in the van that picked me up for six hours as we picked up others who were coming in on other trains. A quick evening meal and then a good night's sleep.
We left for the walking tour of Moscow at nine in the morning and did not return until six in the evening. During these nine hours, we took the Metro to Red Square, toured the Square, the Kremlin, The Armory (their national museum), saw the changing of the guard, shopped for souvenirs and then had a reception at the US Embassy.It was fun to meet the Russian teachers who will be traveling to the US in a couple of weeks. When we returned home, we had not sat down for the whole nine hours and we had walked and walked and walked. What a day. You can see from the pictures that it was an amazing experience.

Train Trip to Moscow

2008-03-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Another train trip through the night. I did not leave until 10:45 and would arrive in Moscow at 6:00 am. It was hard to say good-bye to my new friends. They have been so good to me and when will I get a chance to see them again?
I shared a coupe with three other women. It amazes me that they come dressed in professional clothes, change into sweats, hang up their clothes very carefully and fall right to sleep. In the morning, they dress in their professional clothes and look as if they are ready for work. I haven't managed the "look like I am ready for work" technique.
I think it would be fun to travel across the country in a Russian train.

Icon Painting

2008-03-20T14:53:00.000-05:00

First the figures are sketched on the canvas. Then the gold layer is applied with colors added last. All paints are to be made of natural materials. The spiritual aspect of creating the painting is very important. The painter talked about the lack of spiritual training in schools - that is why they have Sunday School but they wish that more schools were willing to incorporate spiritual training in daily lessons.

Largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the World

2008-03-19T04:04:00.000-05:00

Irina, the theatrical teacher at school arranged a tour of the cathedral, a visit to Sunday School, and a visit to the Icon painting shop to meet the artist and learn about the process of Icon painting. Much of the cathedral was undergoing reconstruction but we were able to see two portions with the five different levels of Icon paintings. During the visit to Sunday School, the students and the teacher asked some very interesting questions. The teacher wondered what percentage of ordinary people believe in God, how do different factions of the Protestant religion get along, what does the ordinary citizen think of the war in Irag, etc. A student asked what was wrong with American culture?
To say the least, it was an interesting visit. They invited us to the fasting meal of salad, soup and bread and then we got a unique opportunity to visit the painting shop. This shop creates Icon paintings for many cathedrals through out Russia.

The Museum of Wooden Sculpture

2008-03-17T23:28:00.000-05:00

Have you every strolled through a forest and observed strange root formations or blemishes on tress? Well, I will never look at one the same again after visiting this museum. The director of the museum opened up early in the morning just for our visit. What a special treat! Each carving starts with nature and the artist turns it into a life like creation. His whole collection was created after his retirement. As seems to be the custom, not only did we have a wonderful tour but were treated to tea and pie.

The Circus

2008-03-17T14:12:00.000-05:00

We spent the evening at the circus. Nina had never been to a circus so this was a new experience for her. The circus has it's own building in Nizhny Novogorod. Circus troupes travel around from venue to venue. Circuses have changed since I used to take the kids. There are lots of special effects and choreography. We had a good time - even had some popcorn and like a little kid, I have a clown souvenir.
This was one time that we all shared a good laugh. Vladmir, Nina's husband said that he had been to a circus when he was little. Marsha interpreted to me that he had been IN the circus. I got all excited and wondered if he had photos of his act in the circus. They thought I was a little strange getting all excited and we all laughed when we realized the misinterpretation of language. I think I will make a picture of Vladmir in the circus and send it to them.

Classroom Visits Continued

2008-03-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

We next went to visit the classroom of the only male teacher in the elementary schools in the whole region. He has taught for twenty-one years and believes that his classroom has to be alive and motivating for students. We watched a theatrical presentation of a classic Russian fairy tale complete with costumes, projected special effects and sound effects.

There is only one man elementary teacher in the region because teachers are paid so poorly. They get about a dollar an hour and until they have taught for ten years they lose 70% of their pay if they miss because of illness. It is difficult to figure out the schedule as each day is different but often teachers start at eight in the morning and go home at seven at night as they teach both shifts in schools that have them. High school teachers get paid more than elementary and vice principals make less than teachers. Information technology is a new area and those teachers get paid less too. This also varies from district to district but teacher's pay is very low.

We also watched the Patriotic club get ready for a competition. They had studied a famous battle and had made a replica as well as a presentation and acted as military officers as they gave the presentation.

Visits to Gymnasium #13 and 91

2008-03-15T13:16:00.000-05:00

Students go to school six days a week so we had an opportunity to visit two more schools. The first class was a World Cultures class and the students were studying North Dakota and South Dakota. They first discussed why it is important to study other cultures and then the teacher randomly assigned the twelve students to two groups - similarities and differences. The students had been given an article to read for homework and they were now going to analyze the information in groups. After discussion, the students viewed pictures and tried to determine which state the picture was from. In showing Crazy Horse and the four presidents she asked then to hypothesize why the monuments were located together. The students asked me many questions about North Dakota, some of them I couldn't answer. I should have brushed up on my ND history. I forgot to say, this class was all in English.

The next class was Chemistry in Real Life. The teacher had written the textbook the
students were using. Her lesson this day was how to make colors for paint and then turn them into tempera or oil paint. She had copies of famous paintings for the students to study and then she conducted the experiment to make the color. The color was then mixed with egg (tempera) and oil to make the paint. Some students then painted pictures. I tried too but any of you who know me, know that I am not the greatest artist. This class is held once a week and is especially applicable in a school that emphasizes the humanities.

Onto the Gymnasium #91. We were served lunch first of salad, pirogies, and borscht. I will have to tell Perry Nako that I had borscht four times. It's very tasty. One thing that is hard for me to get used to, is Russians do not drink liquids during the meal. We always have tea afterwards but not during the meal. I think it is a habit that I think I should be drinking something.

This school was built in 1992 and has one thousand students. We first watched a music program with traditional costumes, dancing,singing and playing spoons. The children were delightful. We had other classes on the schedule so we couldn't watch the rest of the program which was too bad.

Nina's Students

2008-03-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

I knew that we were going to see a presentation by Nina's students but I had no idea it was going to be such a special night. Nina uses a problem-based approach based on materials from Intel. The program emphasizes problem-solving, group work, data gathering, incorporating technology and communicating findings. The students presented on projects that included 1. How to Get Visitors to Come to Nizhny Novgorod, 2. How to Improve the Local Park, 3. How to Improve the Local Zoo and 4. How to Prevent Traffic-Pedestrian Accidents Especially for Students. The students talked about the process and showed presentations of their results. They often gave English translations, either spoken or written in their presentation. It was very impressive. They made the night special by serving local breads, blinnies(pancakes), chocolate and homemade apple juice. All of the items on the table were labeled with English words. Many students gave me homemade souvenirs or other souvenirs of the area. One very special gift was a booklet with all of their names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. The students had many questions about North Dakota and are eager to come visit. I will post pictures a little later.

Feeling Better

2008-03-14T08:39:00.000-05:00

The day started out early as we fought the traffic to get to the Pedalogical University. This is the school where students learn to be teachers and Dimitri who I met last Saturday was my guide. The first stop was the museum and then a tour of some classrooms and offices. The faulty in each department share one office - it's not a very big space and it holds many desks.

From there we went to the Higher Education School of Economics. I met professors of psychology and we were invited to attend a session of their faculty-student conference. A main focus was "The Psychological Aspects of Communication". One professor is giving me a presentation in English which describes a computer system they built to teach French. Mark, I told him of your study skills system and he gave me his email address.

We then drove to the Center of Gifted Children. It is a boarding school of 345 students from the region that are in the 10th and 11th grade. In ten years they have had over a thousand graduates and every one has gone onto higher education. The students can study in-depth in 15 different areas and only fifty percent of them live close enough to go home on weekends. We sat in on two classes and got a tour of the classrooms, dorms and medical facilities for the students (they are quite extensive). I always get the question, "What do you like the best?" That is a very difficult question to answer.

Home Again

2008-03-13T03:53:00.000-05:00

I did not post yesterday for when I came home my fever had returned - bummer. We decided to take it easy today and I seem to have gotten rid of the fever again. It is rather comical as Nina, Vladmir and I communicate with very little common language, but we seem to do rather well anyway.

Yesterday was a very full day with visits to another gymnasium (#67) and an invitation to dinner (lunch) at the home of an Armenian couple. They have two children - the youngest studying in a Rapid City SD high school for the year. Not only did we have more than could you could eat in two weeks but we were also treated to songs by the daughter and her father. When we returned we successfully connected to Twining Middle School using Skype and also managed to talk to Mark right before he taught my class. There were two very talented 15 year old students (Stash and Micha) who set up the equipment, took a short video and when they found they couldn't post it to my blog they uploaded it to YouTube and I thought they were going to post the address in the comment field but I haven't seen it yet.

Getting back to my classroom visits - History Museum, Math, Science, English,
and kind of a Consumer Science class. It seems that most school maintain an historical museum and the gymnasiums that I have visited also maintain a museum of Russian history. This museum highlighted the military during World War II. The students explained very plainly in the English the documents and drawings on the walls.

The rest of the classes were all held in the Media Center that has just recently been outfitted with computers and an Interactive WhiteBoard. The first class was Algebra. The structure of the class starts out with the purpose of the lesson, teacher demonstration with the whiteboard, group work on problems, student explanation of the problem using a chart, and a group test with results entered into the computer. The most amazing thing to me was the students read and accomplished tasks using a book where the information was sometimes written in Russian and other parts in English.

The science class was studying viruses. They read from both a Russian textbook and an English textbook. They watched an English video and took notes on the most important concepts. Then a number of students read their reports they had written in English about a number of different viruses. They easily went back and forth between the two languages addressing a subject with very specific terminology. I suppose it is hard to know how much they practiced but they seemd to be able to do it with such ease.

The English teacher had been to the US as part of the Teacher To Teacher program in April so she took an interesting approach to her lesson on the United States. She first showed images of Columbus discovering America, then showed her trip and how she discovered America for herself and students gave presentations on how they had discovered America. They chose the states of Indiana, Montana and California and created PowerPoints in English.

The final class in the morning consisted of all girls and I was a student in this class. We followed the teacher's directions and created a Russian doll using cloth pieces and string. All of the students gave me their dolls so I could bring them back to the United States and give them to my friends.

After we returned from lunch the extra curricular club gave a presentation about their activites. Two girls sang songs (beautiful voices) and the students told about their International Friendship Club called Globe. Students often travel to England, Italy, United States and other countrues.

I have noticed that many children have cell phones so I asked about the policies. There are no formal policies written down but they ask them to put them on vibrate and wait until the break to return the call. The attitude is they can't take them away because parents have purchased them and that makes them their property.

The classes are forty minutes long and students leave with homework. Gymnasium 67 has about 700 students and they run two shifts in order to accomodate that number.

It was great that we could make the Skype connection to Twining. I am going to give Rachel, Melissa and Katie, Misha's email address so they can write to him and answer his questions.

I am going to try and post some pictures.

Superintendent's Visit & Gymnasium #80

2008-03-11T11:45:00.001-05:00

I am feeling so much better today - as I have said Nina (and Vladmir) take such good care of me. She cooks special food (chicken broth, stewed fruit, cauliflower, rice). They even make me warm milk with butter at night. It's supposed to help. The doctor called yesterday to see how I was doing - amazing! Today on our visit Nina brought herbal tea in a thermos so I would have herbal tea to drink. She carries the bag full of medicine and makes sure that I take it. Nina thought, in fact, that I should see the doctor again this evening and I told her I did not think it was necessary.

The day was full with many wonderful experiences. We first went to visit the Superintendent of the district. The district has 120,000 students with 5,000 teachers. The only teacher shortage they have is Teachers of English and Information Technology, otherwise, they have enough teachers that apply. Her wish for her district is to remodel all of the schools and give them all good equipment. There is a chocolate factory in town so I have received many boxes of chocolates as gifts. (I'll have to tell American Councils that the person going to Nihzny Novgorod should leave chocolates at home and not bring them as gifts.)

We then visited the Gymnasium. I have had trouble understanding the differences between Lyceums and Gymnasiums but it is finally clear. Gymnasiums focus on humanities and Lyceums focus on math, science, economics and physics. The students at the gymnasiums learn English and another language - either German or French from a very early age. Children start school at age 7 and go to school until 17. The primary school runs from 8:30 - 1:00. The children go home with homework. If their parents work, the children can stay until 6:00. The older children go home at 2:30.

We visited an elementary technology education class. They were doing exercises in logic which I suppose is the preliminary to programing. At the end of the class the students were using computers to create a card for the anniversary of their school. This school had received 2 million rubbles to buy equipment. So they purchased the 18 computers in the media center and connected them to the Internet. Ten teachers got laptops and projectors for their classrooms and 8 computers were placed in a math area. They also purchased a couple of whiteboards.

We then visited a math lesson for children that are eight years old. The children were actively going back and forth to the chalkboard and the teacher brought the theme of Spring into her lesson. She is a very creative teacher and cares very much for her students.
We visited the physics teacher (she teaches physics to children from age 7 - 17). She demonstrated the software that she has for each level - filled with video and simulations. Onto a math demonstration of software - very much like our Geometer's Sketchpad.

We then visited a technology teacher that showed us projects that the students had designed from recyclable materials. They first needed to study the materials, plan an invention and then create it. One student had created lights attached to the frames of old glasses so you could walk down the stairs in a dark basement and still have light as you carried up the potatoes. I will try to post some pictures later. (Since I am not on my own computer I am just learning to navigate the computer I have access to - since I have also been sick, the interest was not there as well). Also I cannot reach my First Class email so I am sorry if you have emailed and I have not answered.

I visited some extra curricular clubs where they worked with puppets and produced a school magazine. I also saw beading and students showed me their Russian museum. They are part of a Russian culture club that has gathered and continues to gather historical memorabilia. The students used the objects to tell me about their history.

The final meeting was with the teachers of English. They teach 28 lessons a week for beginning, intermediate and advance English learners. They were a delightful group. The vice principal is very interested in setting up a student exchange. She says they offer a formal invitation, the students stay with families, they have many excursions and the only cost is the plane tickets.

I was able to connect with Mark on Skype today. We will try again tomorrow and hope that Lee at Twining is on Skype at 8:00 in the morning.

I realize I have rambled on and on but my days are so full I want to remember. Nina and her husband, Vladmir, are taking many pictures. I will certainly get tired of seeing myself.

I truly believe that I have found some of the nicest and most caring people that I have ever met. I am worried tonight that Marcia, my interpretor, may have caught my illness.

Monday at School

2008-03-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

I was scheduled to visit classes in Biology, Economics, English upper classes and lower classes and a class in math - this would have been hard to reschedule so I made it school feeling a little weak. My doctor(Nina) took my temperature a couple of times while I was there. It was very interesting to see the classes and to try to answer the student's questions - especially in economics.The children in the biology class are working on a special project to build a garden near their school. They had completed their research, constructed a plan and were now looking for sponsors for their project. The students in upper English were learning about transportation, while the students in lower English were learning about pollution and how to apply why - because. The students in math were studying coordinates and the economics's students were looking at economic patterns. One student asked me if I could compare the economics of today in the US with the economics of the 1980s. I am afraid that I was at a loss.
The afternoon activities were canceled so I could take a nap. I expect to feel much better tomorrow.

Who Wants to be Sick?

2008-03-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

How disappointing to come half way around the world and get sick. Nina, Vladmir and Lena took very good care of me yesterday. Lena is a former student of Nina's and Vladmir's and had come to not only visit but help interpret while Marcia visited her mother and sister on International Women's Day. Lena is 23 and an Associate Dean at the University. It is her job to monitor what the faculty are doing in their courses. She is delightful and caring and helped to interpret what the doctor prescribed to help me (I just have a virus but Nina cooks special food and makes sure I take my medication.) The activities of the day were canceled as I spent the day sleeping.

International Women's Day

2008-03-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

What a full day! First of all I was invited to visit a family that has created an organization to help families. The families participate in many ways but an important event is the family concert. Each family is involved in the artistic performance of some sorts, whether it be a puppet play, singing or a dramatic performance. I was treated to a slideshow that captured that event, a piano performance by the mother and guitar and singing by the whole family. The youngest daughter had spent four months in the United States. She worked in Burger King and talked about how nice her boss was. She said she spilled and made a mess and he told her not to worry as she was just learning. She flew to New York without a place to stay,met another Russian girl in the same predicament and spent the most wonderful month, cleaning houses for money and going to the Metropolitan Museum every day.
The rest of the day was spent touring Nihzny Norgovrod - Dimitri was our guide - a college student studying to be a history teacher who also writes short stories and paints. Here is one of Dimitri's paintings.

I was telling him the students the day before wanted to know how old I was - I asked them how old they thought I was and they said 38. I told them I was really 58 and Dimitri said "Really good teachers never age" - now is he a keeper or what.
Men cook and cleanup on International Women's day so Nina's husband and her brother in law had fixed this amazing dinner - when I get a chance I will post a picture. Unfortunately, I have caught the flu bug so it was a little hard to appreciate the food. The evening was filled with laughter, food, toasts and presents for the women.
This being Sunday has been a tough day as my fever has been up and down all day. They have taken such good care of me - a doctor even came to the house to see me. She says it is a virus and it should clear up in three days - I'm determined to make it quicker.
I know this has rambled but as I said I'm not feeling well. My Internet connections are a little iffy so I can't promise anything.
This has been an amazing trip so far - you cannot ask for nicer people than the people I have met here. Hopefully, I am well tomorrow.

My Posts Didn't Work

2008-03-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

I see that the two posts I did on a dial up connection did not post. Well I will try to remember what I said.
We did arrive in Moscow about four hours late and then took a van to the train station. The traffic in Moscow lives up to its name. It took us four hours to drive 35 miles. Believe me the jockeying for position was a major contest. One car's mirror hit the van at one time and the driver just pulled in the mirror.
The train ride was very interesting. You share a little coupe (room) with three other people. I was lucky to share with a nice lady who could speak some English so she helped me and the other two were two young girls. There is no rule against the coupe being coed.
Nina, her husband and Macia ( my interpretor) met me at the train station. We went directly to the flat where I am staying. A quick cleanup and on to school. This school is a math and science school. They have 200 applicants for 75 seats for the Fall. The has 830 students and 65 teachers. The children in the morning put on puppet shows and a talent show to help celebrate the holiday - March 8 International Women's Day and March 9 - the ending of winter celebration ( I don't think the weather cooperates however).

The principal is very proud of the family lineage at the school. Her grand father had been a principal there and many of the teachers have gone there and their children go there as well. On International Women's Day all women are congratulated so I received many cards and flowers ( I think this is a holiday to bring home.)

Made It to Nizhny (I found one of the posts)

2008-03-07T12:51:00.000-06:00

The adventure continued yesterday, the flight got in at four and we then took a van to train stations. Because the traffic was so bad, some of the teachers got off the van with a greeter (university student) and took the Metro to catch their trains. Jeanie and I didn't leave until after ten. The traffic was so bad that we spent four hours going 35 miles. A university student (Sasha) met us at the train station and stayed with us until we got on the train. On the train I shared a coupe (small room) with three others. I had very helpful roommates - two in their early twenties and a mom who worked 12 days in Moscow and then went home for 12 days.

Vladmir Marsha and Nina

I did sleep some so I managed to get through the day but I am very exhausted. The day was filled with meeting many teachers, watching student performances the celebrate the beginning of Spring, visiting the Dean at the Linguistic University and seeing a Russian Ballet tonight - Sleeping Beauty. It was very good but my tired head bobbed a few times.There is so much I want to write but my weary brain can't do it tonight.

First Unexpected Adventure

2008-03-06T01:20:00.000-06:00

Here we are in Frankfurt - I can see by my computer clock that it is about 1:30 am in Grand Forks. We arrived about 6:30 am and were supposed to be on the 8:30 flight - IT'S CANCELED! We had heard that maybe there was a Lufthansa strike but when we got here it was only our flight. We were immediately booked on a ten-thirty flight and everyone here was very helpful and friendly.
When I opened my blog page the options were all in German - now mind you I had two years in high school and three quarters in college but not much of that has stuck. Luckily, I can remember where the options are.
We should arrive in Moscow about 4:00 and my train leaves at 10:30 this evening. I will be on the train for eight hours - some teachers have to travel 25 hours on the train. When I arrive at six I will be taken to where I stay first and then onto school. The schedule is busy all day with the ballet or opera in the evening, I think my eyelids are going to be a little heavy.
It's a gorgeous day here - sun shining and temperature about 27. I just purchased a 30 day pass on T-Mobile for Internet connection. It will be interesting to see how often I can use it.
A few more tidbits about what to expect. You will be served shots of vodka but it is only polite to drink any of it when someone has proposed a toast. You can take sips and not the whole thing but only when someone gives a toast.
We are called teacher diplomats, representing the United States as part of the State Department. We were very much encouraged to be ourselves. Probably the most important advice was Be Flexible and Maintain a Sense of Humor.
So there was no real panic when the flight was canceled and all seems to be OK. It may be a little more dicey when we all head our separate ways on different trains out of Moscow.

Meetings Are Over - On to the Airport

2008-03-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note - learned some of the ins and outs about our home stay - take off your shoes when you come into the house and wear the slippers that your host gives you. You will be fed, fed, fed. Do not clear your plate as that is a sign that you want more. Everyone will toast - need to go!

70 Degrees in Washington

2008-03-04T21:57:00.000-06:00

Who would have believed when I left snowy North Dakota that Washington DC would be seventy degrees. It was definitely a shock getting off the plane. Luckily, travel was quite uneventful today even with all of the warnings of storms. Tonight I met the five other teachers that I had not met before. They are from Indiana, Virginia, California, Tennessee and Montana. We walked to the restaurant called Skewers for kabobs. It is so interesting to hear about other districts and also about upcoming schedules in Russia. I think we will all have quite the stories to share about our experiences.
Tomorrow comes bright and early for meetings at the American Councils offices.

An Interesting Start

2008-03-03T22:27:00.000-06:00

North Dakota weather - you've got to love it. I am sitting in a Super 8 Hotel room tonight in Fargo. My plane leaves from Fargo at 10:45 tomorrow and it's supposed to snow tonight. The Interstate between Fargo and Grand Forks was closed last night because of blowing snow and ice, so we decided not to chance missing the flight in the morning. Mark dropped me off and headed on down to Iowa to visit his mother - I'll catch a taxi in the morning. Packing was a challenge - I always tend to take too much. Hopefully, they will let me on the plane.
Tomorrow I fly to Chicago and then to Washington DC. I will meet seven other teachers at the meetings in Washington and will fly with them to Moscow Wednesday night. WE will spend time at the Embassy and then head to different cities. I have an eight hour train ride to get to Nizhny.

Russia - Can You Believe It?

2008-03-02T21:47:00.000-06:00

It's March and I am almost organized for my trip to Russia. I knew I had been selected for this State Department program last June and thought March was a long way off - time sure flew. I spent a weekend in October with sixteen Russian teachers - I learned so much. I found out the end of January that I will be visiting Nina in Nizhny Norgorod. This city is the fourth largest in Russia and between 1932 and 1990 it was called Gorky.