International teaching...same focus in a different setting

Well, I just finished grading my final essays. Even though I don't miss reading papers, I still find it's the best way to understand what my students really know, understand and comprehend. I gave my students five different writing prompts, still believing in differentiation. And my students did a remarkable job sifting through all the passion, courage and dark images of Stalin's deportation of the Baltic people. For some, it was a look back into their grandparents lives. For others, it was a hard look into their countries roles in this historic time. The discussions tore at the hearts of some of these students. It was a very quick two weeks and rewarding for me in many ways. I tested the new grading rubrics developed at AHS by the core teachers, rewriting, of course, the rubrics to focus on the needs of these students. I was able to conert the rubric into grades with remarkable ease. The correlations worked rather well. After trying this system, I think I can seamlessly work it into the new courses we are developing at AHS for next fall. In addition, I tried a new variation to in class discussions regarding the book. Each day, for example, the students journaled about their previous night's reading--writing a summary, recording pages they read, focusing on key quotations and individual vocabulary word choices to increase their own needs. We often discussed these points without revealing what happened in the story, so as not to reveal the storyline for those not as far as others. It worked well, and I believe could serve as a good model in any classroom. Maybe I just realized what I should have been doing all along...the technology at LCC is also a plus. Every room now has a smart board and podium with computer, DVD player, and Internet connections.
Last night, I met with my friend Marius for beer. We have been picking each other's brains about our our different cultural experiences. He was telling me all about the history of the communist flats, dachas or summer gardens, individual incomes and living expenses. During communist times, flats were built based on the needs of individual space. The bathroom, for instance, is rather small and for me clostrophobic. Average toilet rooms are about 3 x 4 feet. When sitting on the toilet, my knees touch the door and my shoulders almost touch the side walls. My bath tube and shower are in another room. There is no sink, so I need to use the tub faucet to brush my teeth and wash my hands. The Soviets decided these dimensions based on the room an average person needs--not desires. I have been in one room flats where the living room also serves as a bedroom. I have seen kitchen sinks and bathtubs in the same room. Hot water heating systems have no individual temperature controls, so it's really warm in the flats, so warm in fact that I usually open windows to cool it down. My flat is large compared to the ones I have visited with two bedrooms, a living room, two balconies and a kitchen--approximately 600 square feet. So when Marius asked me about my house, it seemed like a mansion. He asked why I needed so much space? I so look forward to our chats and beer...Marius was going to his dacha today to prepare his soil for summer planting. His plot of land is 8 miles away. He had to get a permit from the city to cut down some dead trees. All trees are protected and even though it's his tree on his land, he still needs permission to cut it down. Tomorrow before I have a church gathering at my flat, Marius will help me pay my utility bills at the same place I buy my bus tickets--a little kiosk across from my flat. To do this, I had to read three different meters, cold water, hot water, gas and electric--one for day and one for night usage. Each utility has a booklet that needs to be filled in and calculated. Then it's taken to the kiosk, paid and stamped, so that it's official. A little overwhelming for me, but part of this Lithuanian experience. Later today, I have been invited to dinner with Jurante, another Lithuanian friend. I've gotten used to riding the buses, walking and getting around this part of Klaipeda. So cool...

Location:Vingio gatvė,Klaipėda,Lithuania