Back in middle school - most people's worst nightmare, my ridiculous reality

When recollecting on childhood and adolescence, the time most people seem to want to forget is that utterly awkward time - somewhere between the ages of 12-15 - that most closely coincides with middle school. Ahhhhh. Middle school. Braces, puberty, pimples, rejection, dejection and all other topics that evoke discomfort and chuckles.

This is my to-be reality here in Athens, Greece.

Did I sign-up for this? Not exactly. But turns out, it might just be the funniest teaching fellow assignment possible - and not just because of the students, but rather the teachers.

School has not started yet, but the middle school teachers are already in what looks like full swing to me. Smartboards (an interactive digital "chalkboard" / educational tool) have been introduced to Athens College and the teachers have been asked to incorporate these futuristic boards into their curriculums. Now let's just take a moment to evaluate that request. The Athens College middle school teachers, some 20 women and 1 man between the ages of 28 - 70 (most on the senior citizen end of the spectrum), very much set in their pedagogical methods and madness, are being asked to use a chalkboard that functions like a computer monitor and then more. You can even write on the thing with a "virtual pen". Most of these women don't even use computers or email to communicate amongst themselves. In fact, I was told that these teachers use memos delivered by an internal mailman (or Greek messenger as I like to call him) to communicate outside of class.

Tuesday morning was my first meeting with my new colleagues. It was a Smartboard tutorial meeting.

Now add a lot estrogen, literary allusions and argumentative personalities to this Smartboard tutorial and you get the Greek version of a town hall health care reform debate. Or My Big, Fat Greek Meeting.

Woah.

My fellowship director was right about her assessment of this group of teachers- sparks were flying.

In short, I can only describe the meeting as extremely animated. Analogies of horse and buggy is to car as chalkboard is to Smartboard were being fervently thrown out.

Lots of gesticulating.

Escalating, emotional arguments.

The Smartboard sponsored teacher of these teachers even became impatient and told the teachers to shut-up in so many words. My jaw dropped.

I thought that the woman down the aisle from me was going into child labor.

Another older lady a few rows ahead just put her head down- too much information, why change everything she has ever known about teaching now for this silly machine? Some of the greatest cornerstones of Western thought have come from her country, should she trust or even bother with this Canadian-born machine?

Middle school, round two.

School starts on Monday, updates to follow.