Student Revue ZÁŘÍ-ŘÍJEN | Page 24

interview So, I am here because it is interesting for me aca- demically and profe- ssionally, and also personally, because I am half Czech. analysis, statistics, and research. I really enjoyed it. But I wanted to actually be in the classroom, and get to under- stand the teaching side of it as well. Also, my dad is from the Czech Republic (from Prague). He was 18 when he escaped to the U.S. illegally as a political refugee. It was after 1968. He was basically your age. Most of my dad’s side of the family is still here. For a long time, I have wanted to come back and live here as an adult, and be closer to my Czech family. Also, because of my interest in policy, I was interested in learning about another country’s education system and com- paring it to what I knew about the U.S. system after working there for 2 years. So, I am here because it is interesting for me academically and professionally, and also personally, because I am half Czech. Can you understand Czech? You can test me and find out . I’ve lived in the Czech Republic before, so that has helped – first when I was 2 years old, and again when I was 13. I attended 7th grade in a Czech school. And besides that, have you visited Czech Republic? I visited several times because I have fam- ily here. I also took a gap year after high school and spent the whole year travel- ing and working in Europe – 3 of those months were in the Czech Republic. I have a conversation club that is open to anyone. Every Tuesday at 4 PM in room 115. I also have a lunch table on Mondays in the cafeteria. “Language tables” are common at some U.S. universities, where you go to the cafeteria and there is a French table, Span- ish table, etc… The English language table is every Monday during the 5th lesson. You are welcome to join.l Which Czech city do you like the most? I know Prague the best because my family is there, so I think I like it the best. And obviously because it’s a centre of culture, art, music, history. How do you like Mlada Boleslav? It’s good so far. I like that it is close to a lot of beautiful nature, like Cesky Raj, and that it is close to bigger cities like Liberec and Prague. I’ve found some good cafes, and some nice running and bike trails. And so far, I like all the people I’ve met. But I‘m still very new here, so I don’t know too much. fejeton What are the biggest differences be- tween school system here and in the US? There are many differences. We don’t have entrance exams into most of our public schools – that is more for private schools. And our schools are structured differently. We have elementary school, middle school, high school, and college (university). We don’t have a maturita test at the end of high school. It’s hard to generalize about the system in the whole country. The edu- cation system is very decentralized and so it varies from state to state. Ö Making mi- stakes is a normal part of learning a language, and it’s al- ways better to say so- mething with mistakes than to say nothing at all. Year 2017 with all its responsi- bilities 24 ZÁŘÍ-ŘÍJEN 2019 There are also differences in the way you apply to university. It is very common to decide what to study only in your second year at university. This means you can take many different courses in your first year. My list was really funny; I took a course on Stalin’s gulags, macroeconomics, modern music history, French, computer science, political theory. After the first year, you de- cide what you want to study and you then have more requirements about the courses you must take. There is another big difference in the fact that children with disabilities don’t have a separate school system in the U.S. They study at mainstream schools in classes with everyone else, or they sometimes spend some of the day in a different classroom, but it’s still all in one school. I know “inkluze” is a debated topic in Czech educa- tion policy, so I am interested to learn more about the history of it here. What do you expect from this experi- ence? I hope to get to know as many of you as I can, and experience as much as I can! I hope to understand this country and cul- ture better. Of course, I also want to help you to improve your English, and to answer your weird questions about the United States . What do you think about the English level at this school? It’s a big school, so there is a big range of levels. In the beginning, I think many students have been scared to speak English in front of me, maybe because they are nervous to make mistakes. I think people are starting to feel more comfortable. Do you have any message for us stu- dents? Hmm. Learn English (laugh), don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Making mistakes is a normal part of learning a language, and it’s always better to say something with mis- takes than to say nothing at all. Don’t be scared to say hi to me in the halls, or to ask me any questions, or to come see me if you need extra help, or to ask me to lunch or coffee if you want to practice your English some more. Osud na cestách Štepán pavlíček, 7. o Každý z nás někdy začal plánovat nějaký relaxační, dobrodružný či rodinný výlet. Ve své mysli kdokoli vybuduje senzační plán, na který nikdo- a ani on sám nezapomene. Již přípravné práce vám překazí záhadná síla, která náhodou schová nejnutnější věci jako například: peněženku, klíče a mobilní telefon. Pokud i po této počáteční peripetii usednete do nějakého dopravního prostřed- ku a začnete se přibližovat ke své cílové destinaci, do vaší cesty se znovu zaplete Osud. Pokud jedete vlakem, náhodou vlak postihne zpoždění a někdy si Osud hraje s vlakem tak dlouho, že vlak radši ani ne- přijede do stanice a vy budete nuceni najít alternativu rychlejšího cestování, nebo jít po svých. Další oblíbenou hrou Osudu je náhlá změ- na počasí. Když si naplánujete túru, která obnáší pouze slabých 20 kilometrů přes hory, řeky, moře a bažiny, náhle zjistíte, že vaše tempo 4 km za hodinu v městském prostředí, neznamená nic oproti náročnému terénu. Aby toho nebylo málo, začne pršet a v tu ránu zazní památná věta: „Vždyť je to jen přeháňka!“. Ovšem z malé přeháňky se stane „monzunová“ bouře, která je navíc nejsilnější za 10 let. Další „oblíbenou“ kratochvílí je hraní růz- ných pochodových her. Když jsem byl na výletě se školou, hráli jsme hru Divočák. Šlo o to, aby se každý schoval, pokud někdo zakřičí „divočák“. Přišlo to, někdo zakřičel kódové heslo. Všichni jsme se rozeběhli po lese poskrývat. Někdo běžel a sjel ze srázu... NE! Takhle to naštěstí nebylo, ale považte, že takové riziko tu vždy je. Abych to shrnul, pokud chcete jet na výlet, vše si připravte, promyslete, nestresujte, na- plánujte a snažte si přiklonit štěstí, protože „Štěstí přeje připraveným“.l 25