Children

I substituted in a fifth grade class today and one student definitely asked me if I had children of my own.  I don't think I've been asked that one before...

Not in America

You know you're not in America when your classroom is provided with an Advent wreath and candles.

That being said, I feel like the concept of Advent is much more ingrained in the culture here than back home.  Sundays are commonly called 1. Advent, 2. Advent and so forth.  I bet a lot of Americans would be left scratching their heads.

November Update

It's been way too long since my last post, and a lot has happened since then!  It's hard to believe that it's already the time of year for the committee at St. Olaf to search for next year's guest teacher.  It doesn't seem like I've been here that long yet.

I have been singing with the Rimbacher Singkreis, which many of the other guest teachers have also sung with.  Our last concert was on October 31, where we sang Franz Schubert's Mass in A-flat-major and the orchestra played Robert Schubert's 4th Symphony in D-minor.  Today I also had the opportunity to sing the tenor solos with the Evangelischer Kirchenchor Rimbach.  We sang Georg Telemann's Machet die Tore weit and Antonio Vivaldi's Magnificat.  I certainly appreciate the chance to keep singing and especially to explore such great repertoire.

Last night I attended the annual Christmas concert (Weinachtskonzert) and had the chance to be introduced to the MLS musical ensembles.  18 groups and three hours later, I got to see how the school achieved its certificate as a school with an emphasis on music (Schwerpunkt Musik).  I was especially impressed with the JEM, the "MLS Big Band" which is the school's jazz band.

I also haven't written yet about my trip with the 11th grade class to Berlin.  I left at 0:15 on Monday, November 1st, which was just a few hours after the Singkreis concert.  We traveled through Monday morning and arrived at our hostel.  Throughout the week we visited many museums, landmarks and even saw some theater and other kinds of shows (I saw Blue Man Group).  It is a trip for the history and political science departments, and I personally learned quite a bit in both categories; I can only hope the students did as well.  Highlights for me were the Reichstag (where the German parliament meets), the DDR Museum (about the former East Germany, which I attended on my own) and the German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum).  We left Friday evening and returned very early Saturday morning (2:00).

Me in front of a section of the Berlin wall at the East Side Gallery:

Here is a link to my Facebook photo album.

Fall Break travels

If you're interested, my personal blog has some new entries about my travels during Fall Break:

http://lenzadventures.blogspot.com/2010/10/visit-to-munich.html
http://lenzadventures.blogspot.com/2010/10/budapest.html
http://lenzadventures.blogspot.com/2010/10/salzburg.html

New Skype Program

Here is a little update on the skype program we have begun this year:

I believe the idea for the project was Devin Horne's and he, Karl Fink and Romy Schuster did a lot of the brainstorming for the project.  This fall we've begun and tackled many issues ranging from recruitment to scheduling to technology.  But it has been a rewarding activity.

The program consists of weekly meetings of a group of MLS students and a group of St. Olaf students who communicate electronically via a program called skype.  Lea Scheuble has been facilitating the St. Olaf group.  She is an exchange student at St. Olaf from Germany who is the German House Resident.  The MLS students get to practice their English and the St. Olaf students get to practice their German.  And, we have the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues that contribute to cultural exchange.

I look forward to seeing the program grow as the year progresses and hopefully continue in future years.

Elternabend

Last week my eighth grade class had its parents' night (Elternabend).  Needless to say, I was quite nervous.  I knew that my German speaking and listening skills were sub-par for communicating with the parents.  And I also knew that my class hadn't been going perfectly.  The students' behavior had been a challenge, and as a result, not every student was learning as much as he or she could have.  As parents and the other teachers arrived in the room, it was helpful to hear from another teacher that she also gets nervous for these nights, partially because she is younger than the parents (though not as much as I).

I explained some things about my classroom and as expected, the parents had some questions.  It's not always easy to hear criticism.  One said that her child was not understanding the homework prompts.  Another said her child wasn't understanding the new grammar we were learning.  Answering these parents in German was a challenge.  It was difficult for me to be as subtle and diplomatic as I wished to be.  I actually didn't know whose mothers they were, but if the students weren't understanding, it's definitely important to make adjustments.  I hope I got that across in a polite and reassuring manner.  I remember learning in an education class at St. Olaf about ensuring the parents were on your team and I now understand why that is important.

Anyway, I am learning a lot here about teaching and how to interact with students.  I have especially appreciated the opportunities to speak with students outside of class or school.  It's hard to believe I've already been here for over two months!

Theater Festival in Mannheim

Today I had the opportunity to visit Mannheim with Jutta and Bernt Meyer and a friend of theirs and attend a theater festival at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.  I really enjoyed watching excerpts from Die Dreigroschenoper by Kurt Weil after studying it in a music history class.
I also had the opportunity to meet Linda Johnke who was the second guest teacher of the second series from 2003-4.  She now lives in Fürth (near Rimbach) and works on a production at this theater in Mannheim.

I'm also pleased to report that I'm feeling more comfortable with my German.  I still have quite a bit to learn, but I'm less scared of speaking and listening and it is coming easier to me.  It is definitely easier to understand people when they speak to me and I have gotten more used to saying the kinds of things that are essential in conversation.  My next goal is to spend some time studying grammar and vocabulary on my own.  Hopefully I will later be able to report some progress in this regard!