DATE: Thursday, May 15, 1997                TAG: 9705130184

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   90 lines

STUDENT/TEACHER FRIENDLINESS FOREIGN TO CZECHS

Four educators from the Czech Republic recently concluded a week-long stay in Norfolk that included visits to four of the city's public schools. At the end of their visit, they were most impressed by the vastness of this country and the relaxed, informal atmosphere they found in our schools.

All four teach at the Akademiche Gymnasium, a 550-student school that is equivalent to an American high school, located in central Prague. While in Norfolk, they visited Oceanair and Mary Calcott Elementary Schools, Lake Taylor High School, and Willard Model School at Lakewood.

When the visitors arrived at Willard on May 8, part of the fifth grade chorus welcomed them with a Czech folk song. George Michek, a computer science and physics teacher who sings in a chorus in Prague, joined in, stepping into the ranks of the children and raising his voice in song.

``The vastness,'' said computer teacher Jana Pechova, ``is amazing. This country is so big. And I was surprised that students are very friendly to the principal. It isn't that our students fear the teachers, but we have a barrier between students and teachers.''

``The relationship between students and teachers is surprising,'' echoed Michek. ``Also, there is much greater traffic. And people are not only white. You have all colors. I know it only from the cinema. My whole life I have dreamed of visiting the U.S.A. I can't believe that it's true that I'm here.''

Of the four, only Pechova had been to the U.S. before.

``We're excited,'' said Lillian Brinkley, principal at Willard, as her guests arrived. ``We've had visitors like this before. We enjoy sharing what we do in our school and country. They've gained good ideas, things they'd like to do, especially with technology. It's a great exchange. There are commonalities, and some differences, too.''

The visitors toured classrooms and other areas of each school they visited. At Willard, these included stops in the parent technician's room and the music room, where French and Czech teacher Jana Strosova tried her hand at playing an Orff instrument, similar to a xylophone.

Said Strosova: ``It's very nice. It's beautiful for my teaching experience.''

Strosova explained that, in her school, there are four grades, with three or four classes in each grade. Ninety percent of her students, she said, go on to college.

``Americans,'' she added, ``are a very friendly people.''

Each of the four commented on the many changes that have taken place in their own country since and the fall of Communism in 1989. Michek spoke of it as a revolution. Czechoslovakia has splintered into two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and his nation has begun to move toward a Western-style market economy.

Michek taught for 11 years before succumbing to political pressure under the old regime to go to work in a science institute, a computer center. He also was a member of the medical faculty at a university before returning to teaching two years ago.

The school has recently purchased IBM-compatible personal computers, made in Taiwan and Korea, he explained. Today they use Hewlett Packard and Epson printers, made in the West. Before, according to Michek, they used computers made by a state-owned company, but ``they didn't work very well.''

Now they are on the Internet.

The visit had its origins in a program started by Old Dominion University that brought several Czech educators to Norfolk in the mid-'90s. While here, that first group met some of their counterparts from Norfolk's public schools, resulting in a visit to Prague by a group from Norfolk in 1995.

In 1996, seven educators from Prague visited Norfolk and a contingent of educators from Norfolk was invited to Prague to attend the 440th anniversary of the Akademiche Gymnasium.

This year's group arrived at Dulles on Friday, May 2, where they were met by Ann Rolbin, coordinator of foreign languages for Norfolk Public Schools, and Pete Sykes, principal at Mary Calcott, who drove them to Norfolk.

During their visit, Michek stayed at Sykes' home. Rolbin hosted Mirka Cichrova, a teacher of German and Czech. Cichrova spoke little English so the two women usually communicated in German. Pechova and Strosova stayed with John Saunders, the principal at Oceanair.

``I like the friendly atmosphere, the happy atmosphere,'' said Cichrova, in Czech, which Pechova translated. ``I was surprised to find two teachers in special education classes here, and that handicapped children are among the others. We have special schools for them. And I was surprised that students don't have to study languages.''

``America,'' she concluded, ``is such a big country.''

The group toured Norfolk and visited Waterside, traveled to Williamsburg, , toured the Norfolk Naval Base and and the Chrysler Museum and visited Nauticus.

The group left Norfolk last Friday for Washington,[sic] After a day of sightseeing in the nation's capital, they took a night flight to New York and then on to Prague. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DAWSON MILLS

Czech educators Mirka Cichrova, left, George Michek, Jana Pechova

and Jana Strosova study a children's atlas at Willard Model School.

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