That would be Jugoslav Airlines... but we had pretty good full day before we left Istanbul and made our flight to Belgrade.
This was pure teacher stuff, but fascinating. We went to meet with a professor at Bosphorus University and a high school teacher. The University itself is incredible.. started as a US college in Istanbul in the mid 19th century and was well endowed by a number of wealthy Americans. In 1971 it became a Turkish run university but it maintains the tradition of all classes being taught in English. We were also told that all faculty must have their PhD's from foreign universities. Today it has expanded to six campuses and it is a very prestigious university to attend, with programs in engineering, social sciences, education, business, economics, and much more.
It's also gorgeous.. sitting high on hills on the European side of the Bosphorus.. we ate lunch with our hosts in Kennedy Lodge, once the residence of the University president, looking out at the gorgeous views.
But the business of our meeting was to learn about teaching and education and schools in modern Turkey. It was several hours of good discussion and I'll just fill in some bullet points:
-- both of our hosts felt that Turkey has challenges ahead. Currently most education is done by rote memorization and they want to see a movement to teaching more critical thinking skills
-- they are happy that most Turkish parents are respectful of education and teach their children to value it.
-- there is a big gap between private and public schools. Private schools pay better, but can cost around 30,000 Turkish Lira a year in tuition. Given that starting pay for teachers in the public/state schools is about 24,000 Turkish lira, you can see the gap!
-- teachers are respected pretty much, just not necessarily paid well. In comparison to other jobs requiring similar education, their pay is on the low side.
-- all public education in the country is standardized.. same books, same curriculum, same standards, same testing.
--teachers are employees of the Turkish government. Much like military personnel, they go where they are sent.. they do not have a choice of teaching assignments. To a degree their assignments, particularly early in their teaching careers, dependent on test scores.... plum jobs to those who score highest.
-- education sorts kids out... much testing and the tests determine if they will go to vocational schools or college; test scores even determine what one can major in. No appeals.
-- in Turkey it would be almost totally impossible for someone to do a career change and become a teacher later in life. There are age limits beyond which one cannot start a college program, etc..... not much changing!
-- there are beginning to be mild worries about discipline problems wtih students. Our hosts felt that tv and the rural to urban migrations were the causes... no longer were kids surrounded by extended family, they were not as supervised at home, etc.
-- homework starts in early years and is very heavy for all students.. hours per night
-- there are big gaps in between public and private schools in such things as having technology.. our young teacher teaches in a private school and has smart boards, lcd projectors, all kids have laptops, etc.. but it's a very different story in most public schools.
-- we asked how they handle delicate subjects, for instance the claims of the Armenian genocide (which is always referred to as the "so-called Armenian genocide). The young teacher said that it is now a little more openly dealt with but is still sensitive.
We also talked about changes in Turkey. Once again the issue of the headscarf came up and both of them said it was increasing rapidly. It is ILLEGAL for college students to wear the scarves in class.. but we saw many on campus and in the city. It is also illegal for women employees of any level of government to wear the scarf at work. It was suggested that the fundamentalist groups actively recruit on college campuses, make grants and aid available to those who need money, and basically are aggressively converting people to fundamentalism by paying them and making their lives easier. Interesting.
One thing our professor said really resonates with me. She said that as a Turkish woman, she values and appreciates her freedoms and rights.. that Ataturk was responsible for creating a modern state where women got the vote in 1930, as soon as the Republic was stabilized; before many other European women got enfranchised. She worries about losing those rights. Currently in Turkey there are few barriers for women.. there are more women in engineering schools than men; they are a large percentage of doctors, politicians,lawyers, judges, professors... not a majority, but a healthy sized minority.
There was much more, but that's enough for now.
Oh yeah.. we took cabs up and back... Istanbul is built, like Rome, on many hills and we had a plane to catch, so we decided to take cabs. It was exciting. It took 3 cabs to hold us all and apparently all Turkish cab drivers aspire to be NASCAR heroes.. they raced against each other. It was the experience of a lifetime.... up down, around, in lanes where there were no lanes, under buses, (well, maybe not, but it was darned close...) We all were gasping at the end. The taxi drivers were laughing a bit too much!
Then we collected the luggage at the hotel, got on a tour bus and headed for Istanbul Airport. Two security checks.. first, just to get in to the airport, and then again at the gate... both with x-rays, etc. But it was lighter than US security lately.. didn't have to take off shoes or abandon water bottles or anything of that sort. The checkers were very courteous and all was well.
We were on a smallish plane. The flight from Istanbul to Belgrade is about 1 hour and20 minutes... smooth and easy and they even fed us... a cheese and pickle sandwich. The label said cheese and cucumber, but I know a pickle when I bite into it. It was very good, too. No soda, but they had coffee, orange juice, and water as well as wine.
We are now staying two nights in Hotel Srbija.. very nice, 18 stories, with a convention of Swedish Harley riders with tattoos, we are told. They must have been out getting more tattoos, though, since they were nowhere to be seen when we checked in.
And so.. tomorrow we go touring and see the city thoroughly...I hear there are no cats like there are in Turkey, so I will close this with a kedi from Bosphorus University.. there were many.
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