Hi guys! Hello from Khmelnytskyi’s Gymnasium No. 2!
I recently finished Pre-Service Training, took an oath to swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and hopped on a train to meet my new host family here in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.
I’m still getting settled in, but one of the first things my new counterpart, Oksana Ivanivna, did was introduce me to my new place of work: Gymnasium No. 2!
I haven’t started teaching yet, but Oksana was kind enough to meet up with me on a non-school day to give me a tour of the school. I got my own set of keys and space in the language teacher’s lounge!
I realize that the name “gymnasium” is confusing, so I’ll start with that. The word “gymnasium” originates from the Greek language. It was originally used to describe general training facilities: both physical and intellectual. Because of the way that language evolves, the word “gymnasium” is used to describe physical facilities in the United States, and intellectual facilities — i.e., primary and secondary educational schools — in several parts of Europe, Ukraine included.
Gymnasium No. 2 is a three-story building with several classrooms, a gym, a cafeteria, a library and a brand new sports field. It’s a secondary school, which is basically a combination middle-and-high school. There are about 1,080 students that attend Gymnasium No. 2 in grades 5 through 11. Ukrainian public school ends at grade 11, so students graduate from Gymnasium No. 2.
It’s on the north side of the city, and is located adjacent to a really pretty park, so it’s fairly quiet. It’s slightly off of a main road, so there are tons of productys, markets and shops nearby – although, that’s pretty typical for Ukraine. Everything here is so pedestrian-friendly.
Gymnasium No. 2 is also only about a 10-minute walk from my host family’s house.
Gymnasium No. 2 is considered a nice school by Ukraine’s standards, and it recently received a bit of a face lift via a fresh paint job, but, this is still a school that was built during the Soviet Union.
The student bathrooms have squat toilets, classrooms are cramped and the building itself is very utilitarian.
Gymnasium No. 2 is actually celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! More on that later, though.
I mentioned a little bit about what I signed up for when I first accepted my invitation to serve in the Peace Corps, but now that I’m here, it’s sinking in.
I’ve also learned way more about how Ukrainian schools work.
Ukrainian schools operate on what we’d call a block schedule. Students attend different classes every day. When I was in high school, I had first through seventh hour, and those classes were the same every day. That isn’t the case in Ukraine. Gymnasium No. 2 has six class hours, 45 minutes each. There’s a 20-minute break between classes because Ukrainian culture is very big on rest and breaks. Students have different classes each day. In the U.S., for example, we’ll have one general class, say “social studies,” that encompasses politics, geography, history, etc., right? That’s not the case here in Ukraine. Students take those classes all separately. So, while you’d have a geography unit in your social studies class in the U.S., here, you’ll have one 45-minute geography class once a week.
Ukrainian schools also have what are called “class teachers.” It’s kind of like the concept of “home room” in the United States, except a little more in-depth. My public high school didn’t have home room — students were expected to be responsible and keep track of their own schedules and move from class to class on their own. That isn’t the case here. Ukrainian schools are a lot more involved, so “class teachers” have a sort of “home room,” except it lasts throughout the entire day. That’s made easier by the fact that in Ukraine, students stay in the same classroom throughout the entire day (there are a few exceptions, such as gym class or computers class) and teachers rotate rooms.
So, as a class teacher, my counterpart Oksana is responsible for a sixth grade class. She spends her 20-minute breaks in that class’s classroom and accompanies that class on field trips. She takes that class to the cafeteria for lunch breaks, and is very close with the parents of those students. She also keeps this class until they graduate! So every year, she’s this class’s “class teacher.” Understandably, she gets to be very close with this specific set of students.
I’ll be one of 12 language teachers at the school — all are English teachers except for one, who teaches German. I’ll be co-teaching with four counterparts, and my students will be grades 5 through 9.
I’ve already received such a warm welcome from all the students, teachers, administrators and faculty members at Gymnasium No. 2!
My students have showered me with posters, cards, hugs and well-wishes, and faculty members have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. I’ve been gifted with a coffee mug, so much chocolate and endless offers to practice my Ukrainian.
The language teachers hosted a small celebration on the day of my arrival, complete with cake and coffee.
I’m already so overwhelmed — but in a good way! — by Gymnasium No. 2. Everyone’s been so wonderful to me, but I can already tell that some of the differences between Ukrainian schools and U.S. schools are going to take some serious getting used to.
I can’t wait to get to work, though. I already feel so at home here!
This post was originally published Jan. 21, 2021. Its timestamp has been updated to better reflect the timeline of my Peace Corps service.
