Today woke up early (6 am) to drink coffee and walk to the public transport station.

Nicki
packed bread with butter/jam for a meal. Rode the train to Hamburg Airport instead of Hamburg
Central Station (misleading Google Map directions) and had to backtrack to Berliner Tor to ride
S21 Bahn to Nettelnburg and walk to Stadtteilschule Bergedorf (GSB) as planned. Observations
today were of Grade 8 English students during Projectwoche so not regular class schedules.
I spent the day with Ms. H and a German student teacher working on English dealing with the
topic of drug addictions and prevention. I briefly met headmaster of school outside his office,
though we didnt discuss much. A wall display contains photos of all the faculty and their names
- I find it useful to reference when meeting/remembering new teachers.

http://www.gs-bergedorf.de/index.php
First the students wrote creative stories in English incorporating selected (random) quotes about
a character Max who was dealing with types of cigarette/alcohol addiction. Groups at tables
were allowed to leave the main classroom and work in separate settings like the hall or special
conference/study spaces with tables and chairs. Then one student from each group read aloud
their story to the class. Many of the students expressed reluctance (nervous?) to read stories in
English and needed repeated prompts to read aloud the paragraph that groups wrote down.
Some creative writing was serious while others had fun with the assignment.
During 2 period, all grade eight students go to the theater/auditorium for a play performed by a
6-person acting troupe [in German with some English song lyrics, music, and dancing]. The
story (as I understand from seeing/hearing several perspectives) was about the life of Max and
his struggles with family, friends, and loved ones to overcome negative effects/influences of
smoking and alcohol to build self-confidence singing with supports of guiding angels. After a
short break, students returned to auditorium for a open-mic question-and-answer session with
the actors/actresses, who shared their personal accounts with different types of substance use
or addiction and what the performance meant to them/why they did it for the school (one actor
rehabilitated, wished to share story/educate others).
nd

Again there was a 30 minute break, and I was shown a

tour (inside and outside) of the school buildings, with
different colors designating various subject departments
and grades (including main office, teachers areas/lounge,
cafeteria and gymnasium). When everyone reconvened in
the regular classroom, the teacher and students shared
initial impressions, what they found memorable, and what
made them think. Ms. H conducted a Four Corners activity,
in which students moved about the room to respond
(Agree, Totally Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree) to a
number or reflection questions on whether they liked the
theater performance, the characters, and story, explaining
reasoning (with prompting/encouragement) for positions.
During the hour lunch break, students task was to indicate
their thoughts (opinion) and degree/extent of feelings (how
much like or dislike) towards the performance on a chart (hung on board) before the next period.
see sample chart, (inner circle=stronger preference for topics; outer circle=less preference)
We (fellow student teachers and mentor) had lunch in the cafeteria. For 3.50 euros one may
choose all you can eat from options (salad, pasta, dairy, kraut, with measured servings of the
main dish chicken/meat with bread. The variety was good. On a normal day, there would be
more students present (however many were away for projects/exams) in school restaurant but
teachers/admin generally sit separately in the front/corner area (by practice/understanding) or
eat/plan lessons in the teachers room. After an espresso from the teacher lounge and work
(consultations) on lessons with colleagues, we went back to the light green building for the final
class period of the day. This building in particular has issues with ventilation (distinctive
odors/chemicals and high C02 levels) so windows are often left open. Other block buildings are
being torn down and rebuilt due to asbestos in materials. I believe the school recently opened
and began the last school year. Expenses have been paid for newer facilities (rooms,
auditorium, gymnasium, nice cafeteria, a football/soccer field) for students but teachers still do
not all have desks in rooms and there are quite a few empty/sparsely decorated areas still under
development.
The fourth class of the day was one of the most interesting I thought, with higher levels of
participation and engagement. I was introduced now as an American student teacher from North
Carolina (pointed out on map) visiting the school classes in Hamburg and Germany. Then I
responded to a few questions about life/schools in the United States (e.g. what are
different/typical American student schedules in school like what do students learn? Why did
you choose to travel to Germany? Do you know/have you met celebrities (Justin Bieber, Ariana
Grande, etc.)? What does university (UNC) look like is it big? Which is better US or German
schools?). One note on German schools is they seem to have more/longer breaks for students,
and different schedules for teachers on M, T, Th classes go from 8-4pm and W, F are earlier
release (c. 1:30pm). Students in grades 8-10 (age 13-15) stay with one teacher for several
years (3) to build relationships and learn multiple subjects (math, physical science, English,
social studies) from worksheets or instruction to earn credit. Receive (positive) award
certificates in early elementary, then begin tracking grades in 8 . Emphasis in classes appeared
more on discussions, rather than technology/computers. The final activity was called the bag of
addictions. Student moved into a circle of chairs facing one another and went around drawing
items (magazines, pictures, books, empty containers, medicine bottles, candy/sugar, coffee,
th

etc.) the teacher had brought out of a bag. Then the students had to explain what the item was,
how it could be related to addiction, and what made it addicting? Certain items (video games,
cigarette, alcohol, and pain-killer bottles, cell phones, sports) generated lots of excitement,
questions, and talking related to the topic. I was also available to provide details on similarities
and differences and English terms for types of addictions and drugs in the States. Then the
group sorted the items into legal and illegal categories based on their school age. Tomorrow
they will continue to look at what addictions are and how they may be addressed. The Project
Week theme, as it was described, is Dont Judge Me (Respect/Tolerance, also a Dont Judge
Me Challenge) trying to foster open discussions and sharing without holding things against
people based on opinions (exploring + learning from different perspectives).
At 4, students and teachers departed and I rode
with Ms. H to be dropped off near Gymnasium
Bornbrook for the student teacher welcome
reception. I walked a bit in the neighborhoods and
parks in the surrounding area, visited a small
pond (see image, left)and fed ducks small pieces
of brot (bread). Around 5, I went into the
Gymnasium and helped Marcus Frederici, Gerd,
et al. set up tables and carry things (food, drinks,
tables into place) and explored the school. There
were interesting art displays (sculptures,
ceramic/cardboard masks, decorated pillars, and
carved wooden benches with faces), pictures
(student art), and science hallway (biologie,
chemie) posters (plant taxonomies, animals, Albert Einstein). The bathrooms/facilities in
Germany are more environmentally-friendly/sustainable (i.e. rarely see paper towels or
napkins). Guests and families began arriving towards 6 pm for the welcome event. Met and
mingled with the UNC and Hamburg student teachers, host families, Hamburg University
professors, and school representatives, continuing to learn names/faces and discuss
international connections. Mike and Luna were both able to come and we sat and ate dinner
together and talked about first day in school, future
(education/career) plans, US/Hamburg tourism and study
abroad program events. With Mikes recommendations I
tried special smoked Kiel fish and salted herring, and ate
multiple plates with bread, cheeses, ham, and apple pastry
(local Hamburg cuisines)! Enjoyed the inspirational
speeches from Markus (Mr. Fix-it), Gerd, Professor
Andreas, and the Friendship Society thanking supporters
(Bjorn Hennings, host families, organizers) and remaking on the importance of international
travel, communications, and education [training] programs like the Hamburg-UNC Chapel Hill
exchange. Lastly, at closure as people said goodbye and left separate ways across Hamburg, I
helped clean, rearrange the room, pack and load remaining food into Markuss car and we
drove through parts of the city to his house, identifying different musicians/songs on the radio
and talking about Mr. Fredericis upcoming band (named Short as tribute to Stevie Ray
Vaughan) performance (electric bass guitar) covering rock/pop classics (i.e. Whitney Houston,
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John) for a May 1 dancing festival (celebrating Spring).

May 1 Concert Flyers

Time to watch the National Championship Game (at 03:00 in the morning)... Go Heels!!!

03:00 Josh