{"id":27443,"date":"2019-11-04T17:32:34","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T14:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zaednovchas.bg\/?p=27443"},"modified":"2019-11-04T17:32:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-04T14:32:34","slug":"working-9-to-5-in-the-village-of-razhena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zaednovchas.bg\/en\/working-9-to-5-in-the-village-of-razhena\/","title":{"rendered":"Working 9 to 5 in the Village of Razhena"},"content":{"rendered":"

What it\u2019s like to teach in a small village and what students need as seen through the eyes of the young teacher Yoanna Dimitrova <\/i><\/h3>\n
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Yoanna during her training in Teach For Bulgaria\u2019s Summer Institute<\/span><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re also looking for a rewarding career and you\u2019re ready to accept the challenge of becoming a teacher, apply <\/i><\/b>here<\/i><\/b><\/a> by November 15.<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Every workday morning at 9:20 Yoanna is in a hurry to get to the bus station in Kazanlak in order to catch the bus to the village of Razhena. She usually makes it to school by 10-ish to say good morning to her colleagues. Then she makes final adjustments to her plan for the day – she checks what her students have to do for homework, prints out worksheets, goes through the attendance sheet and school records\u2026 At around 1 p.m. she has lunch and plays games with her students at a place they have chosen together. They currently play mostly basketball to prepare for an upcoming competition. Yoana makes sure to incorporate a few trust-building games which her students play with their eyes shut. At the end they all gather to talk about winning, losing, and what it means to be successful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After this physical exercise session Yoanna and her students go back to the classroom. They go over the classroom rules and the goal of the lesson Yoanna has planned for them. It is important for the young teacher that her students know exactly what they will be doing that day and why it matters. If they seem tired, she includes more energizers throughout the day and she makes sure to plan activities which allow them to communicate and collaborate. They take a short break and move on to doing their homework for the next day. Then it\u2019s time to read! Yoanna usually brings children\u2019s books for her students to choose from, but they sometimes read from their textbooks as well. The after-school activities end with another session of games in the schoolyard. Then Yoanna and her students, who live in Kazanlak, catch the bus at 4:30 p.m. The teacher enjoys the time she spends with her students on the bus because it gives her the opportunity to get to know them better, learn more about their interests, and if someone has misbehaved throughout the day, she can talk to them and find out what has been bothering them. Back home Yoanna starts planning her lessons for the following day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what a day in the life of Yoanna Dimitrova looks like. She works as an after school program teacher for middle school students at Primary School \u201cSt. Cyril and St. Methodius\u201d in the mountain village of Razhena located in the region of Stara Zagora. This is also her second year as a participant in Teach For Bulgaria\u2019s leadership and professional development program.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Village Where Everybody Knows Your Name<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Yoanna is also one of the teachers selected to participate in this year\u2019s recruitment campaign for new program participants<\/span><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTeaching in a small village such as Razhena is actually quite nice – the region is beautiful, so I can have my classes in the school yard or take my students hiking; the village is peaceful and quiet, and I normally meet everyone on my way to work in the morning,\u201d says the 29-year-old Yoanna.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoanna also shares that people know each other in Razhena, village life can be quite boring, there aren\u2019t many cultural or other types of group activities, so everyone gets excited whenever there is a school event or initiative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The fact that the village is so small helps Yoanna do her job better. Some of her students live in Razhena and some of them live in Kazanlak – the nearby town, so it isn\u2019t a problem for her to do home visits whenever there is something important to discuss. Getting the parents involved in their children\u2019s education is a crucial aspect of Yoanna\u2019s job. Kalinka Bogdanova, Gergana Bachevska-Peneva, and Yoanna, all three of whom teach at the same school and are part of Teach For Bulgaria\u2019s program, organized a treasure hunt last school year. The goal of the event was to get students, teachers, and parents to work together and build a relationship of trust (you can watch a short video about the event here). <\/span><\/p>\n

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