Over the past two years, some of you may have wondered, "what exactly is he doing over there?". Well, you're not the only one, as I've asked myself this question many times. However, the PC requires us to write a document known as the "DOS", or Description of Service. This document proves to be useful for two reasons, 1) It allows others, especially potential employers, to understand what we've done during our PC experience and 2) It helps us to nicely summarize things, put them in perspective, and gives us a sense of accomplishment. This second point is very important, as PCVs all have their moments when they're not sure if they've accomplished anything at all.So sit back, relax and enjoy my DOS. I apologize for the formatting errors, as it is a cut and paste job gone awry. By the way, I've had to use the abbreviation "PC" for you know what because I'm still technically hiding from them. That will end on June 2nd.
PC Volunteer Description of Service - Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Country: Romania
Name: Richard Scott Fenwick
CONTEXT
Richard Scott Fenwick’s experience as a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (“TEFL”) PC Volunteer (“PCV”) in Romania was diverse, challenging, and rewarding. He had the opportunity to teach in two different schools in two distinct regions of Romania. In terms of age and skill levels, school conditions, and the socio-economic status of the communities he served, each situation was unique and allowed Scott to develop a comprehensive understanding of the Romanian school system and an appreciation for the regional diversity of Romania. Additionally, Scott came to understand how forty years of communism and dictatorship handicapped Romanian society. He experienced, first-hand, the problems Romanian schools had in attempting to modernize an archaic and irrelevant system and distance themselves from the past.
Scott’s service in Romania took place during a time of political, social, and economic transition. During the first year and a half of his service, Romania worked hard to reform itself in order to conform to the standards that came with European Union (“EU”) accession, battling widespread corruption, skepticism, and apathy in all sectors of society. Pockets of rapid change could be seen across the country in the realms of business, transport, infrastructure, and education. However, many institutions and regions of the country struggled to meet EU standards both before and after accession in January 2007, as political turmoil and parliamentary gridlock stunted the country’s progress and development.
SELECTION AND TRAINING
Following a competitive application process stressing applicant skill, adaptability, and cross-cultural sensitivity, Scott began PC training on May 26th, 2005, in Braşov, Romania. During an intensive 10-week Pre-Service Training (“PST”) program, Scott lived with a Romanian host family in Codlea, located approximately 16 kilometers northwest of Braşov in Transylvania. Training included approximately 250 hours of formal Romanian language training, as well as lectures and discussions on political development, cultural, economic and historical issues related to Romania and other post-communist Eastern European states. Scott received technical training in the TEFL field, which included a three-week classroom teaching practicum with Romanian students. He received formal observation and feedback during this phase of PST. Training on safety and security issues was also an integral part of the PST program.
Scott’s stay with his Romanian host family was one of the most rewarding aspects of his PST experience. He lived with a middle-aged married couple that spoke no English. This initial impediment proved to be advantageous to Scott, as it obliged him to learn the Romanian language and facilitated precipitous cultural assimilation. The host family was kind, generous, and patient, without a doubt the integral factor in his transition into Romanian society.
Following successful completion of the PST program, Scott was sworn in as a PCV on August 5, 2005, as a member of the 20th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Romania. Scott also participated in three additional In-Service Training workshops throughout the duration of his service, further developing his language, technical, and cross-cultural skills.
SITE ASSIGNMENTS
Scott’s first assignment was a position as an English and Social Studies Teacher at Calistrat Hogaş National College in Piatra Neamţ, Moldavia. Piatra Neamţ is a county seat and one of the wealthiest and most developed cities in the region of Moldavia. It is renowned for its historical significance and cultural tradition, especially in theatre and the arts. Hogaş is a high school with high academic standards and, at the time, was considered to have the best high school English program in Neamţ County (pop. approx. 560,000).
During the 2005-2006 academic year Scott taught English conversation classes to 9th, 10th and 11th graders, whose academic profile was philology and humanities. Scott also taught English-intensive social studies classes to bilingual 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders. Topics covered were British and American geography and history (9th and 10th grade) and American culture and civilization (11th and 12th grade). Scott’s workload was rigorous, as he taught over 270 students a week and had to lesson plan for a diverse array of subjects and English-speaking skill levels.
Scott’s relationships with his Host Country National (HCN) colleagues were, for the most part, professional and productive. While he did encounter some resistance to his presence at the school (primarily due to certain individuals’ negative opinions of America and their own personal insecurities), overall he felt respected and accepted as a part of the faculty. In particular, he developed a close professional collaboration with two HCN English teachers, which lead to the diversification and enhancement of their classroom activities and teaching methods. By virtue of their daily interactions with a native speaker, both on a professional and personal basis, their command of the English language improved as well.
The biggest challenge that Scott faced during his first year of service in Piatra Neamţ related to living conditions. He lived in a small studio apartment located on the school campus and inside of a building that housed classrooms. The school was not in a residential area and Scott lived alone on campus. The isolation created by this situation hindered the development of his language skills and limited his chances to meet people and integrate into the community. Thus, after much thought and debate, he made the difficult decision to transfer sites following the 2005-2006 academic year, accepting an opportunity to return to Codlea, teach there, and live with his original host family.
The second year of PC service presented its own unique set of challenges and rewards for Scott. Codlea is a post-industrial town (pop. approx. 18,000) with high unemployment and social problems that result from a sizable Roma population and the departure of a large portion of the able-bodied workforce to western countries, thus resulting in the absence of one or both parents for many of the young people in the community. During the 2006-2007 academic year Scott served as an English teacher at General School #2 and taught English to approximately 180 6th, 7th and 8th graders, one class of which consisted of children with special needs.
The conditions and overall atmosphere of his year at General School #2, as well as outside of the workplace, were a vast departure from what he experienced in Piatra Neamţ; a veritable one hundred and eighty degree turn. The socio-economic status and academic abilities of Scott’s students ran the gamut from middle-class and motivated to learn to extremely impoverished and learning disabled. His students were of junior-high age and the school lacked an effective disciplinary system. These factors hindered Scott’s ability to teach effectively from time to time, but overall he was successful in improving their English grammar and conversational skills. He used a variety of methods and activities, refused to stick to the textbook, and implemented strict classroom management techniques.
Scott’s relationships with his HCN colleagues at General School #2 were difficult and challenging. Alcoholism, apathy, and an unwillingness to change and adapt to EU standards were present amongst the faculty. The school director had an “old mentality” and operated in an authoritarian and non-productive manner, which led to poor leadership. Most of the faculty did not understand what Scott’s purpose as a PCV was at the school and made no real effort to understand or accept the fact that it was his duty to bring a different approach into the classroom and incorporate new and different methods into the English teaching curriculum. However, Scott’s HCN counterpart, the Vice Director, was a progressive, open-minded individual and gave him the support he needed to effectively carry out his obligations as a PCV. She acted as a mediator and attempted to facilitate understanding of his presence at the school. In addition, Scott developed a working relationship with two English teachers and was able to introduce them to new techniques and methods, as well as provide them with material resources for their classrooms.
The flipside to Scott’s problematic work experience during his second year of service was the drastic improvement of his living conditions and social assimilation. Scott returned to live in his original host family’s house and benefited greatly from the sense of feeling like a part of the community. His language abilities surged, as he again was obliged to speak Romanian at all times while at home with his host family and neighbors. His understanding of Romanian culture and society deepened as he traveled, cooked, conversed with, and lived his life with Romanians, not alone. Essentially, he was accepted as part of the family.
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
During his first year of service at Calistrat Hogaş, Scott’s English conversation classes provided an opportunity for 9th, 10th and 11th graders to engage in a variety of speaking, reading, and writing activities. His students became more comfortable speaking English in front of a group and had an opportunity to express themselves in an open and non-judgmental forum, something uncommon in the Romanian school system. Students participated in discussions about Romania, U.S. culture and civilization, teen issues, women’s issues, etc. Overall, Scott witnessed an improvement in his students’ speaking, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills.
The highlight of Scott’s experience with his English conversation classes were his unit plans on George Orwell’s 1984 (11th grade) and Animal Farm (10th grade). Students read, answered comprehension questions, and watched the film versions of each novel. Discussions revolved not only around the text itself literally, but drew comparisons between the fictional worlds of these books and the real worlds of the past in Eastern Europe. His students gained a better understanding of the society and conditions that existed in Romania before the 1989 revolution and improved their comprehension of communism and totalitarianism as political and social systems. Many of them personally expressed these feelings to Scott, unsolicited.
Scott’s social studies classes at Hogaş gave bilingual students an opportunity to study U.K. and U.S. geography and history, as well as U.S. culture and civilization with a native English speaker. All students were able to further develop their English conversation and writing skills as a result of their classroom experience with Scott. 9th graders studied U.K. and U.S. physical and cultural geography, as well as economic and environmental issues facing both nations. 10th graders studied the cultural, political, and economic histories of the U.K. and the U.S. in a lecture format. 11th and 12th graders studied U.S. culture and civilization, essentially sociology classes in which they discussed current social, political, and economic issues in America. Some examples of topics covered were: immigration, family, education, civil rights, poverty, and gun control. Students watched the film “Bowling for Columbine” and, as an aside, participated in a lesson unit regarding Romania and its accession to the EU. Both were valuable learning experiences for the students and for Scott.
Aside from his primary duties, Scott was also involved in various secondary projects. He facilitated large donations of English language books and periodicals to the Neamţ County Foreign Languages Library, a section with over 2000 users. He assisted students with preparation for Cambridge English certification examinations and assisted some with applications to U.S. colleges and universities. He, along with a colleague, facilitated a pen-pal project with Romanian and American students. 5th graders exchanged letters, photos, music and maps. Both the Romanian teacher and the American teacher conducted lessons on the U.S. and Romania, respectively. Again, working with a colleague, Scott helped to create a club entitled “History Evenings”, in which he and a Romanian history teacher presented an American DVD lecture series to bilingual high school students entitled “Interpreting the 20th Century: the Struggle for Democracy”. Students participated in open discussion forums following the video lectures and experienced an intellectually stimulating collegiate-like learning atmosphere.
Scott’s English conversation classes with 6th, 7th and 8th graders during his second year of service at School #2 in Codlea were focused primarily on grammar, comprehension, and writing skills. Students participated in activities that allowed them to improve their English, and at the same time express themselves creatively, a rarity in Romanian junior-high schools.
The best example of Scott’s incorporation of creative activities in the classroom was when Scott’s students created their own personal “Coat of Arms”. This project allowed them to think creatively, albeit within a given framework of rules. They were able to express themselves as individuals through art and writing. Each drew and colored his or her personal Coat of Arms design on a large piece of thick, high-quality design paper. Each then wrote an essay in English about what they created and why. They then made individual presentations to their classmates in English. The students’ work was displayed on the empty walls of an entire hallway in the school. An area that was previously bare and drab came to life with design and color.
In addition to his contributions in the classroom, and as part of a larger PC initiative, Scott facilitated an essay contest for approximately 40 students, who competed on a local and national level against their peers. Scott also made possible a large donation of materials (including DVDs, a speaker system, Microsoft Encarta software, and over 200 English language books and periodicals) to the school’s small English resource center. Scott’s proudest achievement outside of the classroom was his creation and maintenance of an English library project, thus putting the resource materials to work. Approximately one hundred 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders read approximately 350 English books during the school year.
PC CONTRIBUTIONS
During his service Scott had the privilege of assisting the PC Romania (“PCRO”) staff by contributing his skills and experience as a PCV to the PST programs for subsequent groups of PC Trainees (“PCTs”). He served as a member of the Volunteer Safety and Security Committee, assisting the PCRO Safety & Security Director with developing training materials for PCTs and PCVs.
In June 2006, Scott spent two weeks at the PST training site in Ploieşti, acting as a Resource Volunteer for PC Romania Group 21 TEFL trainees. Activities included observing trainees during the teaching practicum experience and giving feedback on methods, lesson planning, and classroom management techniques. Scott also assisted the PCRO TEFL Program Managers with trainee evaluation and site placement decisions.
In April 2007, Scott returned to Ploieşti to participate in the PST for PC Romania Group 22. He, along with the PCRO Safety and Security Director, gave presentations to Group 22 PCTs regarding a broad range of safety and security issues, as well as specific issues related to the site entry process. Scott also had the opportunity to work with the PCRO Chief Medical Officer and participate in a training session regarding mental health issues for PCVs.
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY INTERVIEW
On April 21, 2007, Scott completed his Language Proficiency Interview (“LPI”), a language assessment tool developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a linguistic academic organization. The LPI is similar in approach to the Foreign Service Institute exam used by the U.S. State Department. Scott received a rating of Advanced-Mid in Romanian.
