Growing up Kladno

I've always said that you couldn't pay me enough to go back to high school. Well, I guess that wasn't true because I spent last week making my bread and butter at a high school in a town not far from Prague called Kladno.

There were seven of us English teachers from the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Our job was to lead conversation sessions on aspects of our own country and culture. I chose "Ohio" (none of the students had been there...big surprise!) and "Rites of Passage in Childhood and Adolescence".

The students were all last year students, preparing to take their final exams and spread their wings and fly out into the real world. We teachers were there to give them a booster shot of English conversation to help them with their English exams. But I think each of us probably were given as much by the students as we gave to them.

These young adults were lovely. They were well-mannered, polite and had that Czech sense of humor where one line can make you chuckle all day. I was impressed that compared to the high school where I went, these students had a lot of freedom. They could have a snack in class, they carried around bottles of water and they went out for lunch because there was no cafeteria in the school. But they were so responsible with the freedom given. They weren't late for class, they didn't disrupt the teacher or other students and at the end of the day they picked up the extra papers, threw away any trash and put the chairs on the desks without being asked or instructed. Lovely.

Although Ohio isn't quite as fascinating as New Zealand when you first introduce it, it does have some unique points. The obsession with the buckeye, our history of a love of flight, skunks and peanut butter all led to lengthy conversation pieces.

Rites of Passage such as the tooth fairy, driving at 16 (it is 18 in the Czech Republic) and a drinking age of 21 (it is also 18 here) showed that we all grow up in a community that tries to make us happy, healthy and safe- if that is always successful is a topic for another day.


I would still say you couldn't pay me enough to go back to my high school days, but I'd gladly spend a few more days at high school here in the Czech Republic.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We played the game "Have you ever...?". Here are some of my favorite questions that students asked, they show that kids are the same all over the world:

-Have you ever missed your school bus?
-Have you ever been on a date with someone you thought was cute, but now you think is horrible?
-Have you ever slept all night at the school?
-Have you ever been to driving school?
-Have you ever drunk alcohol when you were under age?
-Have you ever got lost when you were young?
-Have you ever been in a circus?
-Have you ever been angry with your parents because they didn't allow you to go to a party?





www.gymnasiumkladno.cz