Assumptions
We all know that to assume makes an ass out of u and me, right?
In terms of the job here in Ukraine, assumptions are the biggest problem. Coming from perhaps twenty-four plus years of being either educated or working for an American education system I am pretty confident that I know how our education works. The wrong thing to do was to assume that teaching at a university in Ukraine would be in any way similar to teaching at one in America.
In America, students sign up for courses. The responsibility is on the student to make the right choices so they can fulfill their credit hours in the right places and so on. They have advisors who can guide them to make the appropriate selections and then the student will head down to the registrar's office or simply do it online. All of this takes place months in advance of the next semester and you have at least a draft (if not the actual) of what your fall semester will look like in March. The same is true for educators.
In Ukraine, I found out when I'd be teaching the Saturday morning before classes started. I was assured that I would not have a Monday 8:30am class, which relieved me so I could show up early, make copies of texts, and be ready. No such luck. I would teach Monday from first to fourth period with no breaks. This lack of foreknowledge is considered normal. Students also have no choice in making their class schedules and find themselves having classes on Saturday and Sunday. Because some students have jobs, they never attend any classes, as they meet when they are working, when they did not schedule themselves. They also only find out their schedules on the first day of classes and take all their classes together as a group depending upon their specialization.
During my second week of teaching I learned even more about assumptions as I went upstairs to meet my creative writing class and found myself all alone. I went downstairs wondering where they all could be and asked a colleague about what room my class was in, as maybe I was mistaken. He gave me a new room number and off I went. See, every week, every class, we will be assigned a different room. Sometimes without a blackboard as well. Of course the American in me finds this completely impractical and sadly was quite flustered by this, as at the time, I had no idea where one went to find out what rooms you would be in. Later I found the schedule and list that is printed out biweekly with the penciled in room numbers. I still have no real explanation of this constant room switching other than there are not enough rooms for everyone to teach. I think that it may also have to do with some rooms being down right cold and teachers and students having to share that burden.
Essentially what I have learned from these two things and the many other minor assumptions I have about work on a daily basis, is that I have to learn to predict these things, ask a lot of questions, put things on the table, ask why. Before, when I would ask questions, my counterpart would not give full details, since, similarily, to him the questions I had asked had obvious answers to him. I am working on changing this attitude for both of us, so that I can be a more effective and productive volunteer, and he.... well, I don't know what he will gain from this exchange!
Assumptions have also become a focal point for my culture classes, as I have learned how intrinsic these patterns and beliefs are to each of us and how they lead to misunderstandings that could be potentially harmful. I am trying my best to avoid those situations, although goodness only knows how successful or unsuccessful I have been!
In terms of the job here in Ukraine, assumptions are the biggest problem. Coming from perhaps twenty-four plus years of being either educated or working for an American education system I am pretty confident that I know how our education works. The wrong thing to do was to assume that teaching at a university in Ukraine would be in any way similar to teaching at one in America.
In America, students sign up for courses. The responsibility is on the student to make the right choices so they can fulfill their credit hours in the right places and so on. They have advisors who can guide them to make the appropriate selections and then the student will head down to the registrar's office or simply do it online. All of this takes place months in advance of the next semester and you have at least a draft (if not the actual) of what your fall semester will look like in March. The same is true for educators.
In Ukraine, I found out when I'd be teaching the Saturday morning before classes started. I was assured that I would not have a Monday 8:30am class, which relieved me so I could show up early, make copies of texts, and be ready. No such luck. I would teach Monday from first to fourth period with no breaks. This lack of foreknowledge is considered normal. Students also have no choice in making their class schedules and find themselves having classes on Saturday and Sunday. Because some students have jobs, they never attend any classes, as they meet when they are working, when they did not schedule themselves. They also only find out their schedules on the first day of classes and take all their classes together as a group depending upon their specialization.
During my second week of teaching I learned even more about assumptions as I went upstairs to meet my creative writing class and found myself all alone. I went downstairs wondering where they all could be and asked a colleague about what room my class was in, as maybe I was mistaken. He gave me a new room number and off I went. See, every week, every class, we will be assigned a different room. Sometimes without a blackboard as well. Of course the American in me finds this completely impractical and sadly was quite flustered by this, as at the time, I had no idea where one went to find out what rooms you would be in. Later I found the schedule and list that is printed out biweekly with the penciled in room numbers. I still have no real explanation of this constant room switching other than there are not enough rooms for everyone to teach. I think that it may also have to do with some rooms being down right cold and teachers and students having to share that burden.
Essentially what I have learned from these two things and the many other minor assumptions I have about work on a daily basis, is that I have to learn to predict these things, ask a lot of questions, put things on the table, ask why. Before, when I would ask questions, my counterpart would not give full details, since, similarily, to him the questions I had asked had obvious answers to him. I am working on changing this attitude for both of us, so that I can be a more effective and productive volunteer, and he.... well, I don't know what he will gain from this exchange!
Assumptions have also become a focal point for my culture classes, as I have learned how intrinsic these patterns and beliefs are to each of us and how they lead to misunderstandings that could be potentially harmful. I am trying my best to avoid those situations, although goodness only knows how successful or unsuccessful I have been!
posted by Molly | 5:08 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, it sounds like you're describing my life in Serbia. I was leaving class today at 10:00, walking along with some students on the way out.
"Are you going to another class now?" I asked.
"Not yet," they said. "We have our next class at 4 this afternoon, and then straight through until 8."
Which is to say, you're totally right about assumptions. I thought that "the beginning of the semester" meant "the time when all classes begin," and I was exasperated to learn in October that I was only teaching four hours a week. I didn't know that I would get six more hours in November/December, and two more in February!
The other thing I've found is that, sometimes I believe my foreign counterparts aren't answering clearly because they think things are "obvious," but other times they seem to think I'm judging their country harshly by my own standards, when I'm just asking questions out of ignorance. For instance, when I asked my counterpart why I had only four hours of classes, she said "No, I told you! Your classes will start later in the semester! Maybe we're not as organized as in the US, okay!"
Another thing I recently figured out was my department's attendance policy. You just get to "assume" that the only way to survive is to take everything as it comes ..
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