What Would Benjamin Franklin Do?

This semester, I've been teaching an American Literature class using this really difficult text book. Not only do my students find it hard to understand, but I do. It's dense and boring and American Literature deserves more. So, I have to take matters into my own hands, tie a string around my finger, test some new ideas, and let the sparks fly. Well, maybe not sparks...

Last week I taught about Ben Franklin, which consisted of using a biography information gap activity and me drawing pictures of bifocals, flippers, and a kite on the board because I didn't know how to translate. Afterwards,  I had my students make posters about Franklin and present them in front of the class. Here's an uncanny goodie:
                                      

Tomorrow, I'm going to teach Franklin's 13 virtues. I've devised a short quiz for the students to take to see how virtuous they would be in the eyes of Ben Franklin. The quiz consists of thirteen questions based on each of his virtues: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. There are four possible options for each virtue and students must choose the one they agree with the most. I can't wait to see how virtuous my little Franklinsteins are!

For materials and lessons, go here. I started a teaching English blog to stay more organized.

Scoring system:
1-13: Ben Franklin incarnate
14-27: Lil' Franklin is your nickname
28-40: Virtuous smirtuous
41-52: You're in danger of being struck by lightning (and this doesn't bother you)

How virtuous are you? Take the quiz! Give your self one point for every (a), two for every (b), three for every (c), and four for every (d) and add them all up and post your score, if you dare.

What Would Benjamin Franklin Do? 

Look at the following virtues and choose the option that you agree with the most.

1.) Temperance a.) I don’t eat a lot. Only enough to survive b.) at a party, I try all of the food, but I don’t like to eat too much c.) If there is food on the table, I will eat it, even if I’m not very hungry  d.) I eat until I can’t move

2.) Silence a.) I never say anything bad about other people b.) I am generally quiet, but sometimes, I talk loudly to my good friends c.) People say that I am very loud d.) I say what I want, when I want, even I it makes someone upset

3.) Order a.) My bedroom is always neat and very organized b.) My bedroom is neat, but sometimes I forget to make the bed c.)My bedroom is messy and there are things on the floor  d.)I can’t even see the floor of my bedroom and I don’t remember the last time I cleaned it.

4.) Resolution a.) I always do what I say I’ll do b.) I usually do what I say I’ll do c.) I rarely do what I say I’ll do d.) I can’t remember what I said I’d do

5.) Frugality a.) If I have extra money, I save it  b.) If I have extra money, I save most of it and spend a little  c.) I ask my parents for money every week so I can buy snacks d.) I have trouble saving money. I love shopping!

6.) Industry a.) If I am not busy, I am not happy b.)When I finish all my work, I sometimes find something else to do  c.) When I finish all my work, I rest d.) I play computer games or surf the net instead of doing all my homework

7.) Sincerity a.) I always speak the truth, but I try to do it nicely b.)If I don’t like someone, I try not to show it c.) If I don’t like someone, I will tell them d.) If I don’t like someone, I will not be nice to them, and I will laugh at them

8.) Justice  If I was in court for a crime I committed: a.) I would tell the truth and confess with no fear b.) I would tell the truth but be scared c.) I would lie a little d.) I would lie and blame someone else

9.) Moderation  a.) I am a calm person and I don’t like extreme situations b.) If someone makes me angry, I will be upset, but I will stay calm  c.) If I like doing something, I will do it even if I don’t have time  d.) I like to walk on the wild side.

10.) Cleanliness a.) I always smell good and clean b.) I have a pretty clean room  c.) I am clean but sometimes I don’t shower after playing sports d.) I smell. Who cares?!

11.) Tranquility You caught your boyfriend or girlfriend kissing someone else: a.) It’s OK. Things happen. b.) I will be sad and calmly talk to them and ask what went wrong  c.) I will shout and cry and run away  d.) How scandalous! I’m going to give someone a knuckle sandwich!

12.) Chastity a.) I will only have sex to have a baby and raise a child b.) I should be married before having sex c.) I can have sex with anyone if I love them c.) d.) I’m a player, baby!

13.) Humility  a.) I don’t like to talk about myself b.) When I hear a compliment, I blush and say thanks 
c.) I think I’m pretty cool and my friends agree  d.) I am too cool for school

Oh, I Keep Forgetting

I'm sad to say that my brain is not a good diary. The moth that's living up there is leaving little holes. So, before I forget everything, I've got to blog it out.  No more excuses. A lot has happened in the merry month of March. The bare bones of what I've been doing can be seen in the outline below, but if it's meat you're looking for, read on. And don't worry--there are lots of pictures! 

International Writing Contest through Peace Corps
English club at School 16

St. Patrick's Day in Konstantinovka

6 hour school concert

Lecture on gender roles at the local Pedagogical University

A visit from Zap's finest
A visit to Zap Our Visa's into Place

International Writing Contest through Peace Corps

Logan was the oblast coordinator for a writing contest sponsored by the Peace Corps. I proctored and judged the competition at my school and some of my school level winners are being passed on to the next level, so I'm excited. I gave my classes one lesson on creative writing before they participated in the contest and they were some of the best lessons so far. All in all, the contest was a lot of fun, but some students had a lot of difficulty tapping into their creative sides. It's my goal to help them do this over the next two years.

English Club at School 16

Thursdays are my craziest days. I have six lessons in a row and they are filled with ups and downs, but that's what makes being a secondary school teacher fun, right? Anyway, it keeps me on my feet and I'm grateful for that. Sometimes, I'll be walking down the hall to my next class and I'll hear a few "Hello Miss Kerries" from students that I (sometimes) don't even recognize because I do not have classes with them. I only teach the linguistic-track students so I don't usually get the chance to speak with the students who are on a different track (like economics, science...etc). But, some of them are just as eager to talk and practice their English so I decided to start an English club, with the help of my counterpart. It's for older students, 9th grade and above, and I had my first club meeting a few weeks ago. It was wonderful. After such a long day, I ended up staying about two and a half hours more just talking and listening. They even played music for me and sang! I love Thursday suprises!

My goal for the English club is as follows:

to improve listening, speaking, and writing skills

to talk about topics that matter to students

to help students go outside their individual experiences and learn new things based on their pupils' interests and talents. 

to provide an online forum for their words and ideas

In short, I want them to go outside the box and be creative. I want us all to teach each other new things, to take their skills and share them with the class. Maybe we'll throw all our skills and talents into a hat and learn something new at each meeting. I'm still working out the goals in my head. Next week, we're talking about food and I'm going to bring in some chocolate chip cookies!!!

St. Patrick's Day in Konstantinovka

I've been told that Konstantinovka (константиновка) is the biggest village in all of Europe. Wikipedia did not tell me this (so I don't know if it's true or not) but the sky definitely feels bigger there. As we left our fellow Peace Corps Volunteer's house in the evening, the stars were shining and I remembered what it was like to see stars! Maybe I haven't been looking up enough lately. Anyway, my St. Patty's day was filled with peeling potatoes and carrots, making stew, drinking Guiness, hanging with good friends, and an Irish ditty on the ukulele while waiting for the bus to take us back to Melitopol.

I'm a Leprechaun!

St. Patty's Bunch

6 hour school concert

I sat and watched a 6 hour long event. Each class at school 16 presented on different culture topics while a panel of judges chose the winners. 6 hours. I didn't leave the assembly hall once. I said to myself, if the panel of judges can do it, so can I...and I'm still alive. Some of the older forms did presentations on Cyprus,  Japan, Australia...accompanied by dancing, singing, and powerpoint presentations.

Lecture on Gender Roles at the Pedagogical University

This was a really great, yet difficult day at a local University. When I first arrived in Ukraine, life here didn't seem that different, but just the history of Ukraine alone has paved a different path for its citizens and this has created complex roles that I try every day to understand. I know we have common threads that hold us together, but the differences are what define people as a culture. Things here are different here in Ukraine and I truly felt this when Cynden and I gave a lesson on gender roles, stereotypes, and breaking "out of the boxes" that "society" puts us in. It was two American go getter gals up against 50 Ukrainian women with different ideas of gender roles, different traditions, different histories. It was a challenge, and although we had our differences, the students liked the lecture and welcomed us back to give another in the not-so-distant future.

This is not at the Pedagogical University, but at School # 5, where Cynden had a leadership seminar.

A visit from Zap's finest

A weekend with good friends, pizza parties, Lenin statues, and talk about good ol' Melitopol honey and days to come.

We'll call her the Gorky guest who is supposed to be in charge of the playlist.

P-I-Z-Z-A...did I happen to say, "I want pizza?!"

A visit to Zap Our Visas into Place
Travelled to the Zap to apply for new Visas. I think everything is going smoothly with the whole process of getting new visas, thanks to my amazing regional manager, the Peace Corps, and my lovely counterpart.

Fears, Goals, and Cottage Cheese

Melitopol has welcomed us warmly, literally, with a sign in the university’s entranceway: “Welcome Kerry and Logan!” I’m really excited to be here and I’m loving every second of it. This week, I met with the administration at both my school and Logan’s. They are a great group of people and I think we will do great things with them. Meeting the administration at my school may not sound like a big deal, but my school happens to be one the largest schools in Melitopol: three floors, 12 English teachers, four Vice Principals, and about 1,200 students. (There is also a ping-pong table on the first floor that students can play between their breaks. There is a long 10-20 minute break between classes here in Ukraine. Another interesting side note is that there is no lunch period for students. Because of the long breaks, students can go to the cafeteria and grab something quick to eat between classes.)

When my counterpart, the very wonderful Olga, said I should give a short speech (in Russian) at the teacher’s meeting, I assumed it would be just the English teachers in a small room. Lo and behold, I had to speak in front of almost all the teachers about myself and my work experience. This went very well and I’m glad I got to use some Russian. This meeting was proceeded by another one—entirely in Russian—about my work load and teaching schedule. So, my day was filled with Russian and I am still alive!

I’d like to talk about fears, goals, and first impressions now that I am at my site.

Fears

Fear one: upsetting the Babushka’s at the bazaar if I like one Babuska’s cottage cheese over another’s. I’m not too keen on the bazaar etiquette here, but I’ve been told it’s good to stick with one seller because they will get to know you and they will take care of you. However, it’s hard for me to say no.

My biggest fear is not learning Russian. I have to study and practice now that I don’t have 4-5 hours of classes a day, but everyone’s so nice here, and they all know that it’s important for me to learn Russian, so I hope they will test me over the next two years.

I’m not afraid to teach, but it will definitely be a challenge to get some of the adolescents really interested in English. I think the 9^th graders will be my biggest challenge. They have a lot of energy, but I think they don’t know what to do with it and maybe some of them don’t see the benefit in learning English. It’s my goal over the next two years to make it fun for them and to convince them that it’s important. Wish me luck.

Goals

I am setting weekly goals for myself to help me ease into life in Melitopol. Of course, it is my professional goal to be a good teacher and to do the most I can here. But, it is my personal goal to find my favorite cottage cheese vendor on my own. I need small goals and small victories.

Reading over this post, I see that my fears have transformed into goals. That’s because I’m an optimist?

Tomorrow, I will write about my first impressions on buying said cheese. My first impressions of Melitopol are very positive. It’s a small city with a lot of culture and motivated people who are as happy as I am about taking part in a positive cultural exchange.