My Celebrity Stint in Szerencs

I was told in November rather urgently that I would be observed by a few teachers who probably didn't even speak English on January 12th. Apparently, I needed to start planning away. At that time the New Year was so far away that I made a mental note of the date and filed it away until 2006. I really began thinking about it last weekend much to the annoyance of Laura and Liz who I think were dumbfounded on why I needed to bolt out of Tiszaujvaros so quickly. It was in order to get all my lessons in line. I am certainly not one of those "wingin' it folks." I've got to have it all planned out and written down. Well I ended up sleeping most of Sunday instead.

So I didn't worry about my observation lesson any more than I worry about my ordinary lessons. I've been observed before and the one upside is that the kids are on their best behavior, because for some reason, they think they're being monitored somehow...hands that once texted their friends or hit the boy/girl next to them is now shooting up in the air in eager participation. Otherwise annoying chatter has dissolved to nothing but absolute WHITE silence.

Anyway, I started to wonder a little bit when my Etelka, my contact teacher told me to cancel my teaching the teachers class on Wednesday and work on my lesson instead. Looks like she expected a lot. Then, I go into Bolyai-Janos primary school today for my primary lessons and the BIG lesson only to get all kinds of sympathy stares from the teachers. Teachers who had never spoken to me before in English were all of a sudden spewing out broken sentences and smiling at me. Was I "dead American teacher walking?"

Then Zita, a fellow colleague asks me which students I would like to have for my lesson. Like selecting the right "trousers," shirt, shoes, etc for class? She then begins telling me which students are better. While this conversation goes on, Angela, another teacher asks me if I would prefer to not have my 6th lesson as I might be too tired. Instead, I should "have a rest" before my big lesson. Both colleagues then ask me how I would like the desks arranged. Minutes later, after I've decided to polish up my plan a little more, Angela reappears and rattles off something in Hungarian (as Hungarians do). The teachers in the "tanari szoba" all gasp and start laughing, then look at me. I sit there, as I normally do, completely out of the loop wondering what FOR THE LOVE OF GOD was going on.

Zita giggles in her girlish way, touches my shoulder and says, "Great news Kat, you're gonna be on TV!" Twenty minutes before I "go on," I just smile...I'm trying to convey the "no worries" front. Elizabeth, a different colleague, asks if I want a coffee. I say no, but I would like a whisky. I'm led down to a room where there is a banquet table set up with all kinds of snacks, water, and plants. I see most of the English teachers from all my schools among others. I'm introduced by the headmaster and then we all head off to class. I'm surprised to see that about 16 teachers have filed into my classroom of 9 students. My 9 7th graders sat in a half circle as I had requested and their eyes probably looked like mine when it was announced to me that I'd be on TV. They sat timidly, like deer caught in headlights while an army of stoney-faced Hungarian English teachers sat behind them in rows.

I stood at the front of the class, my mouth parched as it always is when I'm nervous, and began the lesson on adjectives, nouns, and verbs...and making sentences. It went okay, except for the fact that my students were so nervous the whole time that they couldn't remember some simple vocabulary and they were too afraid to stand up for my "acting out" activity. The TV men shoved their cameras into my student's papers and I could see their shoulders tense up. Poor kids...I really did feel sorry for them. At least I could shake the nervous jitters after a few minutes...but the kids never seemed able to.

When the lesson was over, I told the students, "Okay that's all...thank you, good-bye." Usually they jump from their seats, but this time they were still frozen. The teachers continued to sit, so I decided to start erasing the board, hoping someone would do something so I wouldn't have to say, "Okay guys, I'm done...for real." Eventually after a few more moments of silence, a teacher guided the students out of the room and eventually it was all over.

Unfortunately, I won't make the evening news back home in the US, but I'm guessing I'll be a part of Szerencs TV history forever...I've made my mark!