Caroling

This morning for 1st period devotions, I brought in my guitar and had the students sing along to some Christmas carols...some sacred, some not. I wasn't expecting much sound out of them at 8:30 AM, but they were quite enthusiastic. After one song, they suggested that we go and serenade another classroom (which we did). Let me just say that rarely do I hear such a rousing rendition of "Frosty the Snowman".

Back in the Day

I had the following conversation with my guitar student (5th grade) today, at the end of his lesson:

Him: I might have already asked you this, but do you watch WWE (wrestling)?
Me: I think I might have seen a little, a long time ago.
Him: Like back in 19-something?
Me: Yes, back in 19-something.
Him: Everybody had mullets back then.

Playing Games

So, here's a little game one of my friends sent me this week. The physics is pretty accurate; so much so that I'm planning to have my students play it in class later this week. Check out the video here; if you like the game, you can download a simplified version here. (You don't need a Tablet PC to play, either.)

Thanksgiving

Since I've been teaching over here, I have kind of a thanksgiving tradition just before break: I have my students fill up the marker board with as many things as they can think of that they're thankful for. Usually it's pretty interesting to see what they write...

Give Up Your Seat

In Vienna, like most cities, the public transportation has a few seats reserved for pregnant and nursing mothers, the blind, and the elderly--with a 4-circled sticker indicating which ones. However, some clever soul printed out and slapped on a 5th circle--you can see them every once in a while on the trams. Look closely...

Learning Is Fun

What are we working on in class these days? I'm glad you asked that. I'll tell you. In freshman science, we've been talking about molecules and chemical reactions recently--so we made rock candy (crystals) in connection with our study. This student's came out better than any one that I've ever seen--it probably weighed about a half-pound. Mmm, sugar.

In addition, since chemical reactions also include oxidization (i.e. fire), we're watching a fascinating NOVA video about a serial arsonist. You can read more about the bizarre case of fireman John Orr here--truth really is stranger than fiction.

Breath Mints

On Thursday, my juniors were taking a math test. They were just starting, so it was getting pretty quiet when the following conversation ensued:
STUDENT: "Mr. Elwell, are we allowed to have breath mints in here?"
ME: "Yeah, that's fine, I don't care."
STUDENT: "OK."
[then a pause]
"Does anyone have any breath mints?"

Well, I thought it was funny, anyway. For another funny (but unrelated) video of some of our students, click here. It's yet another advertisement for the school's "Senior Store".

9.8

As a teacher, I make a continuous effort not to "[Take] Fun And Excitement Out of Science", as an article in The Onion once put it. So last week, in our quest to calculate an experimental value for gravity, we dropped stuff off the roof. Some of the students used Nalgene bottles, which, as you may know, are nearly unbreakable and have a lifetime warranty. I say nearly because one of the bottles didn't survive the fall. You can check out a picture of that mishap here.

Commercial

Some of my students are taking a videography class here at VCS (under the direction of my esteemed colleague and roommate Mr. Klein) and here are the fruits of their labors. Check out this video if you want to see just how funny and talented our students are. It's an advertisement for our Senior Store, which is the snackbar where students and teachers can buy American goodies. As a student once put it, "VCS is a place where everyone talks about American food, even people who have never been to America."

2 Versus 10

On our first day of meetings this school year, our director read us a story from Numbers 13 and 14. For those of you not intimately familiar with the exact timeline of the 4th book of Moses (that would include me) it's the story of how the Israelites, perched on the edge of the promised land of Canaan, wisely sent 12 spies through the land to scope it out. When the spies returned, they told of a land full of abundant produce...but also containing men who appeared like giants to them. Ten of the spies claimed that they felt like grasshoppers in their presence. Only Joshua and Caleb proclaimed that it was a good land, which, despite obstacles, they could conquer with God's help. (The sad part of the story is that the Israelites listened to the cowardly report of the 10, rather than Joshua and Caleb...and the people were forced to wander for 40 years as a result.)

So our director's challenge to us was to be like the 2 spies, not like the 10. As those two said, it was a good land, and with the Lord's help, they could achieve victory. In the same way, our school is an awesome opportunity, provided by God, to make a difference in kids' lives, but it's not without its own obstacles. We have kids' language barriers to overcome; attitude problems to overcome; home issues including who knows what; and a host of other things. But the spies weren't sinful in bringing back a truthful report; it was their choice to focus on the difficulties that brought them down. That story is a good challenge for me, to focus on God to solve the problems I have here, and to depend on Him to accomplish what he wants me to do. I thought it was a good note to start the year on.

I realize that I'm saying this next bit quite early, but...so far it looks like it will be an amazing year. My students are great; if you want to check out some class pictures and see how incredibly diverse they are, click here.

Summer Flashback #1

When I was in the States this summer, I spent a week or so visiting out east. While I was in Maine with my old college roommate, he mentioned a house he knew of which sounded so fascinating I demanded that we go and visit it the next day. We called the occupants (who were acquaintances of his) and invited ourselves over; we even got dinner thrown in.

The family, whose name I don’t remember, was running an orphanage in the Bahamas but was forced to return to the States. They didn’t have a house, but a rancher in Florida donated an abandoned metal grain silo to their cause. They took it apart piece by piece, loaded it onto a flatbed and drove it north, and then reassembled it on a new foundation in a remote part of Maine. The result: a 5-story silo house. It’s about 50 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. Most of the levels were one big room, and there’s a shaft in the center for an elevator (still waiting to be installed). They even built a wood deck of sorts on the roof. The entire house was a fascinating experiment in being resourceful with very limited resources. I think my favorite touch was the red, heart-shaped hot tub in the master bath, which they picked up quite cheap from a bankrupt motel.

Check out a few more pictures here.

Schoolyear's Eve

Well, tonight's the last night of summer. The students were around school this morning for registration, which always adds a nice jolt of energy to the last-minute preparation...school's way more fun when there are actually students around.

Just a quick addition to what I wrote last time--in all the business with the flight change, I ended up leaving my Austrian cell phone on the plane. So, I had to get a different one, with a new phone number (but my Skype and land-line numbers remain unchanged). If you don't have my new number and want it, e-mail me.

Gotta go to bed so I can wake up and teach kids.

Good News Bad News

Good news: the right engine on the 767 worked.
Bad news: the left engine didn't.

Thus began my trip back to teach for a third year in Vienna. We were flying over Lake Michigan when the captain announced that we had to make an "unscheduled landing" back in Chicago. We started turning around, and landed about an hour after we took off. The announcement was a little creepy, I must admit. But the landing was without event. So I ended up getting back to Vienna on Sunday, a day late, after my flight was rescheduled with British Airways (instead of Austrian Airlines).

We had staff meetings all this week, and I met a lot of the new teachers. (The school usually turns over about 30% of its staff every year; this year we have 12 new staff members). Yesterday I finally buckled down and started planning lessons and decorating my classroom a bit. In addition to my usual 9th grade physical science, 11th/12th grade physics, and 11th/12th grade precalculus, I get to teach my favorite subject in the world, freshman geometry. Anyone else who was once in Mr. Samide's geometry class at Wheaton North knows at least one good reason why I became a teacher.

I'm anticipating having the dream (nightmare, rather) that I usually have in August about this time: I'm at school, my classes are about to start for the first day, and I have absolutely no idea what my lesson will be. Thankfully, that doesn't generally happen in real life.

The students start school on Thursday...

F.A.Q.

Q: So, what country are you living in again? Australia?
A: Austria.

Q: G’day, mate! Let’s put another shrimp on the “barbie”.
A: I said, AUStria.

Q: Where are your students from?

A: All over. About a third are from the Americas, about a third from Europe, and about a third are from Asia and Africa.

Q: What language do they speak over there, anyway?

A: German. But many people speak English; if you ask an Austrian on the street if they speak English they'll usually say (even if they are fluent) "a little".

Q: What language do you teach in?

A: All of our students learn in English (except in German (or Spanish) class. That means, thankfully, that I don't need to know the German name for the law of conservation of momentum (der Drehimpulserhaltungssatz).

Q: Do you wear, like, Lederhosen and stuff?

A: No.

Q: How big is your school?

A: This year we have about 200 students (K-12), and our staff (including teachers, admin, support staff and part timers) is about 60 people.

Q: What subjects are you teaching?

A: This year, I have freshman science, pre-calculus, physics, and that most noble of all subjects, geometry.

Q: Are your students awesome?

A: Yes.

Q: How are you paid/compensated?

A: Since the school started, the teachers (and administration) have been supported by God's provision through the generosity of family, friends, and churches back home.

Q: What is the mission of the school?

A: From our mission statement: to glorify God by providing high quality academic programs, in the English language, for our international student population. See our website (below) for more info.

Q: That sounds great. I’d like to be a part of it. How can I help?

A: There are many ways. I always need prayer. Let me know if you'd like to receive email (or snailmail) updates on prayer requests and other things. Also, I'd never turn down some encouraging mail or a package containing delicious goodies. I love to have visitors and introduce them to the school and my life here. And, if you are interested in giving to me (or the school), please email me.

Q: How can I contact you, anyway?

A: If you need my phone/address, please email me -- chadelwell [AT] yahoo.com.

Q: Why did you write your email address in that weird way?

A: So that I won't get any more spam than I do already.

Q: What Christian/missions organization are you working with?

A: Resourcing Christian Education, International--they're dedicated to providing missionary teachers for international schools.

Q: Does the school have a website?

A: Yup--take a look: http://www.viennachristianschool.org/. RCE has a website, too: http://rce-international.org/

Q: Are all of your students Christians?

A: Our school was started 20 years ago just for missionary kids (even now, we have quite a few of them). Now, any student is welcome to attend; we have Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, and some other faiths represented in our student body.

Q: Is it true that you have the first 100 digits of π memorized?

A: Yup.

Q: Do they have Dunkin’ Donuts in Vienna?

A: Sadly, no. The nearest ones are in Germany (yes, I have been to many of them). No Taco Bell, either.