THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605080084
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
A FEW of the Czech educators shed tears of gladness when they arrived at Willard Model School last week to observe an American elementary school in action.
Students lined the hallway and greeted them with a folk song from the visitors' Moravian homeland. Some of the children played flutes.
``The kids sang it in English, but they (the visitors) knew right away from the melody what it was, and they sang along in Czech,'' said Willard principal Lillian M. Brinkley. ``Some of them just cried.''
Later, second-graders pulled the visitors into a carefree Irish jig, all of them clapping hands, giggling and swirling their partners.
For six of the seven teachers from the former Soviet satellite, their weeklong Norfolk visit was their first to the United States.
Besides scoring a harmonious hit in international relations, the Willard children also revealed a lot about this country's education system.
``Your students are much more open; our students don't know how to express themselves, to debate, to express their opinions,'' said German teacher Elke Rusinova, who spoke through interpreter Ann Rolbin, coordinator of foreign languages for Norfolk schools.
``This silence has been before and it remains,'' Rusinova said, referring to the condition of schools since the ouster of the communist regime in the 1989 ``Velvet Revolution.'' ``We're trying to teach them to break the silence, to express themselves.''
The group toured several Norfolk schools, including Lake Taylor High, Ruffner Middle and Stuart Gifted Center, hoping to take home lessons about how American schools operate. After years of rigid communist rule, Czech teachers, once required to conform to the party line in classrooms, finally have freedom to create their own curriculum, they said.
``If you weren't in the communist party, you couldn't work,'' said Irena Burinova, who teaches English in a Prague ``grammar'' school, which prepares students for university studies.
``It was very strict. It was awful, really,'' Burinova said. ``Now, the new young teachers are not affected by the communist philosophy, and we have new books, new materials, new facilities and new possibilities.''
Last week's visit grew out of a relationship started in February 1995 when eight Czech educators spent four weeks in the country on a federal grant awarded to Old Dominion University. The grant, from the U.S. Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was made available to help former communist countries in Eastern Europe learn about democracy.
Last September, a group of Norfolk educators visited Prague, staying with Czech families and paying their own way, Rolbin said. The Czech educators who visited last week paid their way and resided with local educators.
The next step, they said, would be to exchange students.
``Our students would like to make a contact with your schools; they'd like to have friends in all the world,'' said Jana Pechova, who teaches computer technology.
``Because our kids tend to take everything for granted, it's a wonderful experience for them to see another country and appreciate what they have,'' Rolbin said.
Pechova said she was impressed with the availability of computers at Willard, and she marveled at Ruffner's technology. Most students in the Czech Republic aren't exposed to computers until they are 14, unless they are lucky enough to have one at home, Pechova said.
Education in the Czech Republic is compulsory for nine years, between ages 6 and 15. When they reach 14 or 15, students must pass exams to continue their education. Those planning to attend a university hope to enroll in grammar schools; those who don't pass the grammar school entrance exam have an option to attend technical schools or enter apprentice programs.
At Willard, the visitors were amazed at the colorful display of student artwork and posters in the hallways. ``Our corridors are boring - plain,'' Burinova said.
They also were struck by the presence of disabled students. They watched in interest as profoundly handicapped students in wheelchairs were pushed down the hall at Willard by fellow students.
``I admire that about your schools,'' Burinova said.
Disabled students in the Czech Republic have just recently been allowed in regular schools, Burinova said. But physical barriers such as stairs remain a problem. Burinova said architects are now beginning to design buildings to accommodate disabled students.
The Czech teachers were fascinated by how Willard teachers integrated subjects across the curriculum. In one second-grade class, they talked to students who had worked in groups to grow plants, a project that involved writing down observations and measuring the growth in inches and centimeters.
``What we can see here at your schools,'' Burinova said, ``is that you have teachers who work for the pupils.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
Teacher Irena Burinova of Czechoslovakia chats with 8-year-old
second-grader Chanelle Cornish at Willard Model Elementary School.
by CNB