Assisted Lessons

One thing about Moldovan schools that is different from American schools is that if a parent/grandparent/guardian so choses they can show up at school one day and attend classes with their child. This isn't a right that many people exercise very often but it does happen. In general it is more common with the younger classes, it has so far only been females, and in general the adults observing the classes tend to sit quietly in the back of the room and only give a face when they aren't excited by the direction in which the lesson is going. Although they don't always sit quietly. Sometimes they might get a little vocal and ask why don't you call on their son cause he has his hand raised or why did you give him a 8 and the other boy a 9?

I like the idea of parents being more involved with their students education but from what I can tell the parents that are involved with their student's education are usually the ones who have students who already do well in school. It tends to be the ones who have parents that aren't interested and don't pay attention who would benefit more from having their parents visit the school and talking to the teacher. But in either case it's experiences such as these that I love. Things that I know I would have never experienced if I only taught in America all my life. The same as teaching a 2nd grade class followed by a 12th grade or being interrupted from teaching my lesson because all the students are too busy looking out the window at the horse and cart filled with coal that the groundskeeper is shoveling into the furnace. I actually kind of worry about how my first year teaching in an American school will go since I know it will take me a long time to acclimate myself to the American school system again, but I feel like one thing I have learned in Moldova is to always be ready for anything and never take anything for granted. Things can always change at a moments notice and you never quite know what you will face next. And I might regret saying it later but I really doubt I'll ever find myself in such extraordinary situations in America that I have found myself in while teaching in Moldova.