Grade 9

This morning I observed one of my 4th year students doing her practicum in a ninth grade class. This school holds grades 5-9. It's the oldest school in Prizren. The building is beautiful, but the inside is like a rickety old house. The floor is soft in spots and creaky in others. When it was first built, it was a hospital.



Because there aren't enough schools to accommodate all the students, schools run in shifts: the first shift is from 7am-1pm and the second shift is 1-7pm. Teachers either teach during the morning or afternoon, and there is absolutely no locked or personal storage space for anything. Teachers pack all of their materials to-and-from home. Up on the second floor of the school, there's a balcony that doubles as the map storage room.



The interior of the classroom I visited was a bit shocking: graffiti is everywhere, students crammed themselves three to tables meant for two students (except for this student; I'm not sure why no one sat by her). However, everyone had a book (although because a new version came out this year, some of the class have the older book and some have the newer book) and everyone had a chair. In fact, there were even extra chairs.

Students talked throughout the lesson. There was nothing quiet about the chatter, either. I didn't think anyone was paying attention to the teacher, but I did see a handful of students actually looking at their books.

The walls were so dirty. It's like there's no respect for the classroom or for learning.

I'm glad that I don't have to face this everyday (especially at 7am!).

UPDATE: The name of this school is Lidhja e Prizrenit, aka the League of Prizren Elementary School.