The school where I am teaching (Vuko Jovovich) is a 1-9 Primary School serving all of Danilovgrad and the surrounding villages (although the villages have a 1-5 school and send the kids 'into town' starting with 6th grade). There are so many students - more than 1,000 - that they have to have two shiffs. The first is from 8am - 1:10pm and is for 6th - 9th graders, while the second shift is from 1:30pm - 5:50pm and is for 1st - 5th graders.
Right now, I'm co-teaching with my counterpart's classes, which includes three 2nd grade classes that meet twice a week, one sixth grade class that meets 3x a week and three 8th grade classes that meet 3x a week.. The kids have about 12-14 subjects as few classes/subjects meet every day of the week. They all take Montenegrin, of course, English and then 1-2 other languages (Italian, Russian, German, etc.), some type of math class (and sometimes 2 kinds at higher grades), some type of science, History, P.E., Music, Geography, Computers, Art, and some others I'm probably forgetting. Classes are 45 mintues with a 5 minute break in between, except for a 20 min. recess in the morning and afternoon. There's no lunch since the first shift goes home for it, and the second has it before they arrive. They do have a "canteen" at the school and kids buy or bring snacks for the recess.
The 2nd graders are adorable, but not my speed, so Radmilla (my counterpart) takes lead in those classes and I'll do the occasional fun review activity. I take lead on the 6th and 8th grade classes except when she needs to give grammar explanations in Montenegrin. The kids are pretty typical/similar to American kids, although the younger ones are definitely more respectful and well behaved - and like everywhere it seems, the 8th graders (esp. the boys) are generally a nightmare. I'm shocked at how many kids just run their mouth during class/don't pay attention. Starting in March, I'll be teaching mostly 9th graders, so we'll see how that goes,
The male-female raito is really screwed. Out of the 176 students I see, 101 are boys and 75 are girls. It's still a pretty sexist society and boys are preferred just like they are in many other societies - apparently to the point that parents will abort female festuses. With seixsm comes homophobia, and one of the 8th grade boys asked me my first day if I supported LGBT people. I said, "Of course, they're people, too." To which he replied, "No, they are all going to hell." I assured him they were not, he tried to argue with me, but luckily the bell rang. For what it's worth, many other kids in his class - particularly the girls - rolled their eyes at his proselytizing, so he may be known as a bit of a religious zealot. As most of you probably know, religion is still a big deal in the Balkans - esp. when it comes to Orthodox vs. Muslim. A legacy of their history, the Turks, the Romans, etc.
There are, of course, virtually no fat kids. Certainly no obese ones. I can think of maybe 2-3 big or somewhat "chubby" kids out of the 176 I have, and I never see any outside of my class, in the halls, on the grounds, etc. There is no fast food culture here, needless to say (there are two Burger Kings in the whole country and no McD's, no KFC, etc.).
When I went next door to the high school last week to meet the teachers and students there, and pitch secondary projects like an English Club, Speech & Debate, Drama Club, etc., I spent a little time in 3 different classes for a meet & greet and for them to ask me questions about America. In every class, I got the, "Is it true most kids in America are fat?" and ""Is it true Americans know nothing about Geography?" questions. I sadly confirmed both. Of course they also asked what I thought of Montenegro, if I liked it, etc. And luckily I was able to say it reminds me a lot of Northern California in its weather (except too much rain), topography, fruits and wines, diet, etc.
The high school has 4 years, so kids actually go through 13 grades here - altho probably not quite as many kids go on to high school here as in America. A small number stop after primary school and go to a trade school, go ahead and work and/or help on the family farm, etc. So it was a bit weird to see some grown ass looking "kids" in the 4th year class that are probably 18-19 years old. And TALL. If I haven't mentioned it before, Montenegrins are the second tallest folks in all of Europe - just a hair shorter than the Danes. The AVERAGE adult male is just over 6 feet. AVERAGE. (Aieeeee, Godzilla!)
Next time: The teachers go on strike! Or not.
Disclaimer: Any thoughts, observations, opinions, etc. are of course mine and not necessarily the views of Peace Corps.
