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