My Education in Turkish Education

(Justin) Many of you know that I now teach 2nd-4th grade English "Speaking and Listening" at one of the oldest and most well-known private K-12 schools in Turkey. This may end up being the toughest job I've ever had. My teaching experience is mostly with undergraduates, and while I've done some VBS and other summer activities with kids, I've not worked with young kids in a classroom setting. (And when I was in 2nd-4th grade I was the "mature" angel child that every teacher wanted as a student.)

A couple of the biggest differences between Turkish and American education that I've found most difficult so far (I'll post more later):
1. There is no "recess" hour where kids play on a playground. Instead, after each 40 minute lesson (and lunch) kids are allowed to run free in the hallways, yards, etc. for 10 minutes. This causes some tardiness, sweat, and blood that then has to be dealt with at the start of the next period. Last week, I had a student bust his head open on a door while running through the hallway. Dealing with him and his classmates' reactions were pretty much my entire lesson time. I'm thankful I can speak Turkish to get the help he needs or to at least try to calm the class down.

2. Teachers are required to do hall monitoring in all areas of the school before school and during the 10-minute recess periods and lunch. This means that on my duty days rather than prepping for my next 40 minute class, I have to run downstairs to keep kids from killing each other, then run back to class before the bell rings. I have to eat lunch quickly to get to my monitor position. I also have to make sure to get to school 30 minutes before the first bell rings to make sure the first students arrive okay (this will not be fun in the winter).


3. Special education is rare and offered only at specialized schools. Even if a student has a known learning disability or physical handicap, he will be with his class the entire day. Schools have psychologists on staff for consultation, but they are not special ed. teachers. Some students will have some remedial classes and tutoring in some subjects, particularly English, if they are not yet up to the school's standards. But students all receive the same lessons, so one has a wide range of student ability to teach to and it's hard. (In America, kids with speech or learning disabilities would be pulled out for at least some of their day in specialized small classes.) For example, I have some kids who I suspect are autistic, dyslexic, some with ADD or other disorders, and one who cannot see his book or the whiteboard unless his face is inches away from it. I have to give them the same lesson I give their classmates.

4. Grades are mostly arbitrary, primary students will at least receive a 3 (ie: C) in all subjects and no one is held back, he keeps going forward with his class. I heard some complaints about this from high school teachers during pre-year meetings, so I know it's similar all through 12th grade. It is perhaps worse in private schools because parents threaten to send their child to a competing school if he/she doesn't pass. There are exams and threats but at the end of the year...

5. Teachers typically get half or full-days off a week, depending on the schedule. That means a homeroom teacher gets to absolve responsibility for her class and go home at least once a week. Sometimes they go home if there is a foreign language or other non-homeroom class on the schedule the last couple hours of the day (even if school policy says otherwise). The kids are responsible for walking to another classroom if their schedule requires it and the homeroom teacher isn't there.


6. It's not uncommon to see 3rd-4th graders who only wear velcro or don't know how to tie their own shoes. I've tied a few shoes.

7. All schools begin every Monday with a flag-raising ceremony that features a singing of the national anthem. Primary students also say a vow to respect their elders and nation and such. Friday concludes with a similar ceremony. Since I have a class the last hour of Friday, I am responsible to walk them to the ceremony and lining them up (their homeroom teacher is long gone by then). It's the last hour on Friday so everyone is quite tired. I've memorized the Turkish national anthem so I can sing along. 

8. Our school sells junk food to all students at all hours of the day (while vending machines are common in U.S. high schools, they're not so common at lower grades). Little kids constantly have ice cream, candy, and snacks if their parents give them money. Combine that with the 10 minute free-for-all after every 40 minute class and you get a mess.

9. Most Westerners will tell you that there is little discipline in Turkish homes, so the parents expect the schools to instill discipline (this sounds like plenty of places in America, so I withhold judgment). Parents choose a private school like the one I'm at because discipline tends to be stricter than public schools (also sounds like the West to me). But I find discipline and classroom management to be the single most difficult thing I do.

I'm learning!