One of the things I’ve struggled with the most here is my very tenuous relationship with NYU, which just happens to be the institution receiving incredible sums of borrowed money from me and is supposed to be giving me a top-notch education in teaching languages in return. To put it simply, I am currently rather disappointed. Coming to New York to study education seems worth it, but doing it at NYU? They haven’t made a believer out of me yet.
I’m not interested in just totally bashing NYU, but some things have definitely made me question this investment in a big way. First and foremost: I can’t speak for the whole university, but the graduate education department – at least the part of it that covers language teaching – is extremely unorganized and unprofessional. If I had visited NYU before choosing to do my Masters here (I couldn’t because I was in Berlin), and encountered anything like what I’ve encountered in the past 6 weeks at NYU, I’m not sure I would’ve still decided to go here. The orientation session was the most useless one I’ve sat through probably in my life. I think it was actually more useless than the Pedagogical Exchange Service’s orientation for teaching assistants in Germany (which was pretty outrageous). It was poorly organized, poorly structured, poorly presented, and literally left me thinking, “Is this really what I’m paying for?”
On top of that, students are not assigned advisers until the middle of their first semester. So we all had to pick our first semester courses with random temporary advisors who knew nothing about us, and while I can’t speak for those whom the other students met with, the one I met with was basically clueless and could not explain to me the logical progression of coursework from one semester to the next – about a month later I finally got this information from the lead advisor, only after approaching her personally though! – and gave me plenty of useless information about courses and little useful information. I went home, looked at the course descriptions online – which no one had told us how to access until that meeting – and picked a different set of courses from what we discussed on my own, making the initial meeting essentially useless. (Add to that that there are required courses for the program which are “full” – how can a university require a course and then not provide for enough places in it so that everyone in the program can take it? – and that they can’t seem to find field work placements for us that actually fit our studies.)
Now I should also mention that I have a professor who doesn’t teach and in fact gives the impression that she is basically clueless about a) how to teach a graduate course and b) the subject material (beyond what’s in the required texts for the class). We have to do a case study for this class, and she literally spent over 45 minutes describing how to do a case study, though the assignment was totally clear after about the first 5 minutes. It could’ve been summed up in a paragraph on a handout. The other sessions we’ve had so far have been comparable.
And, though it’s a touchy subject and I don’t wish to be judgmental, let’s talk about the students. Now, to be fair, I often had kids in classes at Penn that made me think, “Did they really get into Penn?” Usually it was because they couldn’t write, which I’ve discovered is basically an epidemic ın this generation. Here, the general academic level is just lower. There are some really smart people in some of my classes, but there are also some who seem clueless and whose contributions to class discussions consist of simplistic value judgements and have little or nothing truly intellectual about them. It’s horribly boring and frustrating not to receive much quality imput from my peers.
Overall, what worries me the most is that grad school hasn’t been challenging. Undergrad was so much harder, and in that sense, a lot more interesting. I do have one class here that is challenging, but I feel it would be much more interesting and challenging if I had more peers at my level.
This has been the hardest thing for me to cope with since moving to New York. I’m coming to terms with the high cost of living (I still hate it, of course, but I’ve accepted it and am finding a balance), and feeling less threatened by the obsession of so many New Yorkers with trendy clothes, places and lifestyles, but NYU is still cause to some uneasiness.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
I love what I do. (Nov. 2008)
An excerpt from the blog I kept while teaching English in Berlin as a Fulbright assistant.
Last week at school we had a "project week," where the kids were with their homeroom teachers the first half of the day for a "project," instead of normal classes. This week it was all about "method training" for my 5th-graders - they did all kinds of exercises and activities to find out what type of learner they are, how to work in a group, how to give an oral presentation, etc. etc. On Friday, the parents were invited to come and here their kids give a presentation about what they had learned.Friday was really really cool.
The kids were excited and nervous about their presentation. Almost all of them had a part (no one was forced to get up and talk), and they presented everything both in German and Turkish, since some of their parents don't speak much German. It was my first time to meet any of the parents, so I also introduced myself briefly - in German and in Turkish. The kids helped me figure out what to say and helped me practice, which was quite fun. Another teacher who is also Turkish helped me too during the break, and we spoke a little Turkish. (Hopefully this will continue in the future!) So I was a little excited and nervous too, like my kids.
Then the parents came. There were a few dads, but mostly it was moms. All with headscarves. I have to admit, it was a slightly intimidating moment when they all walked in the room. I had no idea what they thought of me and what kind of impression I would make on them. It is a strange feeling to find yourself in front of a group of people whose culture and beliefs are so different from yours, who would never dress like you're dressed, who probably assume the worst about you because of pop culture and the media...And then it started, and I introduced myself in both languages... and the atmosphere softened a little. I didn't really take in their reaction to it, but Ulrike told me later that they suddenly seemed interested when I started speaking Turkish. I like to hope that somehow a door was opened that way.
Then the kids presented, and they did a great job. And inbetween one of my more difficult students occasionally looked over at his baby sister on his mother's lap and made silly faces with her, and I fell in love with them all. No matter how different we are - language, culture, dress, religion, everything - we all have something in common, we're all humans who laugh, cry, and love. I have loved these kids since my first day at E.-O.-Plauen, but in that moment, I fell in love with them more, and somewhere inside me a love for their families sparked too.
Afterward, as I was leaving the school, there was one place I had to go, even though I didn't know why. Around the corner from the school is this great little cafe owned by an incredibly friendly Turkish couple, and through my occasional visits I've gotten to know them a bit. I wasn't hungry and had already had too much coffee, but I had to go see them and share my joy for some reason. Taner, the husband, said, "You seem to really have fun doing what you do."Yes! I absolutely do!
What a miracle it is to be exactly where I belong, exactly where my heart is calling me...
Friday, December 10, 2010
My First Day of School in Germany (Sept. 2008)
My first day at e.o.plauen-Grundschule, an elementary school in Kreuzberg, a mostly Turkish neighborhood in Berlin, where I taught English as a Fulbright assistant.
I have to go to bed soon but I absolutely had to write about my first day of school today!!! First of all, it was pretty unexpected... I'm not actually supposed to start until after my orientation, which is next week. But all the kids go back to school today, and since I'm already here I thought it would be exciting to experience the first couple days of school, since it's kind of a big deal. :) I emailed the teacher I'll be working with last week to ask her if I could come visit the school this week, and I didn't here back from her until late last night, just in time to head straight to bed so I could get up early today and go to school!
To put it simply - it was wonderful. I am so incredibly happy to be where I am. I'll even admit - when I stepped onto the school grounds I got a little teary-eyed. I have read about German schools and studied the situation of immigrant schoolchildren for several years, and to finally be at an elementary school in Kreuzberg was almost like traveling for the first time to a foreign country you've always dreamed of seeing, that you've read and learned about for years. It was a similar feeling to how I felt when I first visited Germany my sophomore year of high school. I don't know why I didn't think through it sooner, but the feeling was totally unexpected... and incredibly beautiful.
I absolutely adore these kids. The teacher I work with - her name is Ulrike - has a 5th grade "homeroom" class, and teaches English and math for her homeroom as well as a few other classes - for English, another 5th grade class, two 4th grade classes, and a 3rd grade class. I will probably be assisting in all of those classes. Today I met Ulrike's homeroom class and the two 4th grade classes. Almost all of the kids are Turkish. In Ulrike's homeroom there are two German boys, and in the 4th grade classes there is a Lebanese girl, an African boy, and a few others who aren't Turkish. The kids all speak German pretty well though, and speak mostly German with each other - though I wasn't with them at recess. The kids got to interview me and they asked the funniest questions - first the obvious, where I'm from, how old I am, if I have siblings, what my hobbies are, my favorite color, but they also had to know if I was married, and when I said no, if I had a boyfriend! They also wanted to know my parents' and brother's names, and where/how I learned German. One kid asked if I'd ever seen Indians, and what they look like! :) Then Ulrike had them guess what 3rd language I am learning, and when they guessed Turkish they were very excited and got to ask me a few questions in Turkish. They liked the idea that I could teach them my language and they could teach me theirs.
For English class, the kids all get to pick English names. They had names like Mary, Betty (they thought it was cool that that's my mom's name too!), Nicole, Jennifer, Sandy, Miriam, Angela, Olivia and the boys were Henry, Harry, Bob, Johnny, Michael... Keep in mind, they learn British English. In their textbooks there are pictures of little British kids in their British school uniforms - so funny! But Ulrike is not a teach-out-of-the-textbook kind of teacher. She is very spunky and likes to have the kids up and moving around, singing and dancing. We sang songs like "Good morning to you," "10 Little Indians," and, my favorite, "5 Little Frogs." I'd never heard this one before, but it is very funny and involves some dancing and jumping. :)
The school itself is very nice. The building is beautiful - not like American schools, which are often just big brick boxes, but a 4-story dark brick building with big windows and a big courtyard where the kids play at recess. Instead of a big huge cafeteria, there is a kitchen where the food is prepared and then the kids eat in a couple different smaller lunchrooms at round tables. I'm pretty sure all the kids eat the cafeteria food, but they bring their own snack for the morning. The kids are at school until 4:00 because the school is on a "full-day" program (Ganztagsschule). A lot of schools with mostly immigrant students do this because the kids don't have much support at home for their education - a lot of their parents have little education or don't speak much German, and education isn't always as much of a priority in their culture as it is for Germans. After around 1:30 or 2 the kids don't usually have any more classes, but they can get homework help and take part in sports clubs and other activities. The kids do almost all of their homework at school.
The teachers I met were very nice, as well as the principal. The teachers' lounge is basically the same as in the States (I spent a decent amount of time in Brentwood High's when I shadowed Emily Sherman) except the teachers don't eat lunch there - instead they eat in the lunchrooms where the kids eat, and sometimes they sit with the kids too. Another thing that's interesting is that when the students have a different teacher for a different subject, it's not the kids who change rooms but the teachers! The kids stay in the same room for most subjects (not gym and such, of course!) and have all their books and supplies in that room, and the teachers move around to teach different classes. (In secondary school this changes and the kids change rooms.)
By far the greatest part of the day was meeting the kids. They seemed so excited to have a new teaching assistant, and they were really having fun today. Just to see the look in their eyes, the way they are hungry to learn and to grow (though many don't really know it yet :) and to be loved and valued. Their faces are all so beautiful! I absolutely cannot wait to get to know them all and to go on this adventure with them. I am totally in love!!!
Now I absolutely have to go to bed so I have plenty of energy for Ebru, Ayse, Hasan, Orhun, Ali, Nuray, Melek, Mimi...
I have to go to bed soon but I absolutely had to write about my first day of school today!!! First of all, it was pretty unexpected... I'm not actually supposed to start until after my orientation, which is next week. But all the kids go back to school today, and since I'm already here I thought it would be exciting to experience the first couple days of school, since it's kind of a big deal. :) I emailed the teacher I'll be working with last week to ask her if I could come visit the school this week, and I didn't here back from her until late last night, just in time to head straight to bed so I could get up early today and go to school!
To put it simply - it was wonderful. I am so incredibly happy to be where I am. I'll even admit - when I stepped onto the school grounds I got a little teary-eyed. I have read about German schools and studied the situation of immigrant schoolchildren for several years, and to finally be at an elementary school in Kreuzberg was almost like traveling for the first time to a foreign country you've always dreamed of seeing, that you've read and learned about for years. It was a similar feeling to how I felt when I first visited Germany my sophomore year of high school. I don't know why I didn't think through it sooner, but the feeling was totally unexpected... and incredibly beautiful.
I absolutely adore these kids. The teacher I work with - her name is Ulrike - has a 5th grade "homeroom" class, and teaches English and math for her homeroom as well as a few other classes - for English, another 5th grade class, two 4th grade classes, and a 3rd grade class. I will probably be assisting in all of those classes. Today I met Ulrike's homeroom class and the two 4th grade classes. Almost all of the kids are Turkish. In Ulrike's homeroom there are two German boys, and in the 4th grade classes there is a Lebanese girl, an African boy, and a few others who aren't Turkish. The kids all speak German pretty well though, and speak mostly German with each other - though I wasn't with them at recess. The kids got to interview me and they asked the funniest questions - first the obvious, where I'm from, how old I am, if I have siblings, what my hobbies are, my favorite color, but they also had to know if I was married, and when I said no, if I had a boyfriend! They also wanted to know my parents' and brother's names, and where/how I learned German. One kid asked if I'd ever seen Indians, and what they look like! :) Then Ulrike had them guess what 3rd language I am learning, and when they guessed Turkish they were very excited and got to ask me a few questions in Turkish. They liked the idea that I could teach them my language and they could teach me theirs.
For English class, the kids all get to pick English names. They had names like Mary, Betty (they thought it was cool that that's my mom's name too!), Nicole, Jennifer, Sandy, Miriam, Angela, Olivia and the boys were Henry, Harry, Bob, Johnny, Michael... Keep in mind, they learn British English. In their textbooks there are pictures of little British kids in their British school uniforms - so funny! But Ulrike is not a teach-out-of-the-textbook kind of teacher. She is very spunky and likes to have the kids up and moving around, singing and dancing. We sang songs like "Good morning to you," "10 Little Indians," and, my favorite, "5 Little Frogs." I'd never heard this one before, but it is very funny and involves some dancing and jumping. :)
The school itself is very nice. The building is beautiful - not like American schools, which are often just big brick boxes, but a 4-story dark brick building with big windows and a big courtyard where the kids play at recess. Instead of a big huge cafeteria, there is a kitchen where the food is prepared and then the kids eat in a couple different smaller lunchrooms at round tables. I'm pretty sure all the kids eat the cafeteria food, but they bring their own snack for the morning. The kids are at school until 4:00 because the school is on a "full-day" program (Ganztagsschule). A lot of schools with mostly immigrant students do this because the kids don't have much support at home for their education - a lot of their parents have little education or don't speak much German, and education isn't always as much of a priority in their culture as it is for Germans. After around 1:30 or 2 the kids don't usually have any more classes, but they can get homework help and take part in sports clubs and other activities. The kids do almost all of their homework at school.
The teachers I met were very nice, as well as the principal. The teachers' lounge is basically the same as in the States (I spent a decent amount of time in Brentwood High's when I shadowed Emily Sherman) except the teachers don't eat lunch there - instead they eat in the lunchrooms where the kids eat, and sometimes they sit with the kids too. Another thing that's interesting is that when the students have a different teacher for a different subject, it's not the kids who change rooms but the teachers! The kids stay in the same room for most subjects (not gym and such, of course!) and have all their books and supplies in that room, and the teachers move around to teach different classes. (In secondary school this changes and the kids change rooms.)
By far the greatest part of the day was meeting the kids. They seemed so excited to have a new teaching assistant, and they were really having fun today. Just to see the look in their eyes, the way they are hungry to learn and to grow (though many don't really know it yet :) and to be loved and valued. Their faces are all so beautiful! I absolutely cannot wait to get to know them all and to go on this adventure with them. I am totally in love!!!
Now I absolutely have to go to bed so I have plenty of energy for Ebru, Ayse, Hasan, Orhun, Ali, Nuray, Melek, Mimi...
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