What are the chances of that happening?

Time for some Maturita stories, although the regular collection of mistakes will follow after this week's exams ;-)

Last Monday, we were interviewing a student on the topic of 'Hobbies and Leisure'. He was given a sheet of pictures to help with the subject by his teacher, and as he was discussing the theme, he pointed at a picture of some footballers and said 'This is me!' And indeed, though it was only the back of him, it WAS him! What are the chances of such a thing happening?? Let's unpack this a little as to what was involved...

A few years ago, the teacher put some pictures together - she's not sure where she got this picture from, but certainly it was a local magazine or leaflet, as the student played for a non-league team, and no longer plays for them... The teacher could easily have used this picture for sports, but chose to put it in hobbies instead. 
The student comes to this school, and ends up in this teacher's class.
During the Maturita exam, he walks in and chooses THAT question - one out of 25 possibilities!! 
And he picks a theme that includes a picture of him on the worksheet... Cool, or what?

On a similar theme, we had another student whose brother passed last year, and who had the subject of 'Family life and home'...and what do you know, the brother came in and picked exactly the same question! And BOTH of them got a '1'!!! 

Ok, mathematicians...over to you!! What are the odds of either of those things happening?? ;-)

The journey to work

Over the years my wife & I have gone to work by bus, train, and over more recent years by car, for the sake of practicality. No, we are not Eco-Warriors, though we do have a healthy appreciation of nature and the countryside, but in the end, the car is the easiest and more convenient thing for us.
After a while, you settle in to a sort of routine, or a regular journey, and you not only see familiar landmarks, but also familiar people (who are still strangers to us). Some of them come and go...but they are just as much a landmark to us. This is a sample of our journey :-)

We leave home and go down the hill to the junction...sometimes we have to wait because of the 'rush hour' (not such a bad thing in VB), and so we sometimes have time to count the number of cars with just 1 person in them...(the record for us is seeing 8 cars in a row). Seems like a car-saving scheme could be a good idea over here?

Then we head out of town (yes, VB is a town, even though it still has the feel of a village! Indeed, we even have the official title of 'town' emblazoned on the rubbish bins!)...sometimes, even in the 50kmph zone, we are overtaken by sometime who clearly is rushing to a fire or being chased by the Mafia, but they are not so common.
We pull out onto the main road going towards Olomouc. Last year, we saw a van on fire near the big roundabout - we could even feel the heat from it as we drew nearer, though it was on the other side of the road. Roundabouts are relatively new inventions here, for us. We used to live in Basingstoke, which was also known as Doughnut City, because of it's preponderance of roundabouts :-) When I first came to CR in 1996, I only recall 1 roundabout...and that was in Plzen!

Then we turn off towards the back end of Hodolany...and this is where our 'landmarks' begin...

• Jogging woman - no longer jogging, so it seems, though she was quite regular last year and could be seen running along that stretch
  
• Froggy Car - a car which my wife says looks like a frog...green with bug eyes :-)
  
• Newspaper Man - usually pulling his trailer full of newspapers/leaflets under U Podjezdu, up or down the hill
  
• Brigada Bok - just coming up the hill from U Podjezdu, there is sometimes a guy waiting for a lift to his job, probably some casual work ;-)
• Woman with 2 kids - sometimes seen just after this...
• Sulky Student - coming along the road from Pasteurova, looking very miserable, in danger of tripping over his bottom lip (the result of too many sulks ;-) )
  
• Mr Director - a smartly dressed, slightly chubby guy, usually wearing a loud tie and looking like he means business

By now, we are usually turning the corner around Pasteurova, and this is my first chance in the competition that my wife & I play while driving - 'Spot the Student/Teacher versus Spot the Patient' - Petra has usually seen a patient or two by now, getting off the bus, or walking down by Pavlovicky, and on a good day, I might see some students going to Pasteurova, or even some teachers, or (if I'm really desperate for points!) Mrs Lerchova or Marta from the buffet kiosk :-) Then we continue looking for some more 'landmarks' which assure us that we are on the right track to work...

• Stripey Car - silver car with black stripe down its bonnet
• Mr Open Coat Man - a rotund guy who always walks with his coat open (even this morning when it was pouring down with rain!)
• Brigada Corner - just where we turn in to go to Petra's job, there has (in the past) been a regular meeting place for some casual workers

And there you have it :-) It keeps our minds active, and gives another dimension to the already invigorating activity of driving on Czech roads...which will probably be my next topic ;-) 

The deep breath before the plunge...

"It's so quiet..."
"Yes...it's the deep breath before the plunge..."

I am reminded of this scene from LOTR this morning...
This is the week before the battles of Maturita begin - and for me, it is so silent... At this time of the day, I should be teaching, but my seminar classes have finished (in some style, I hope, with fun & games & a motivational speech for some final words of encouragement). No 'suplovani' (substitution) for me. So, time to catch up with other work, tidy up my desk and files, maybe some e-mails...and to update my blog(s). 
I much prefer to be teaching. Some teachers are happy when it's like this, but strangely, not me ;-) 

However, I am looking forward to next week. Two weeks of examining. Two weeks of early starts and late finishes. There will be joy, there will be tears, there will be battles even among the teachers to decided the final marks.
Many will pass, but some will stumble and...

But remember, this is not the end of the world - it is just another step in life's journey. Your attitude to either success or failure is more important, especially the latter. 

And for many of you, the longest holiday of your life is waiting, just around the corner ;-)

I wish all of my students the very best of success in ALL exams, but ESPECIALLY in English.

Remember:

• take the initiative
• use that 15 or 20 minutes preparation time - that (in my opinion) is THE most important part of the exam, that is where it is won or lost...
• sit up straight, and look like you mean business
• look your teachers in the eye, but don't stare at them ;-)

• 
• don't shake your legs, or fiddle with your hair or jewelry
  
• don't click your pen or other such irritating or distracting habits
  
• don't come in with alcohol on your breath
  
• don't chew gum
  
• and switch off your mobile phone!! (you WILL fail if it goes off during the exams!)
  

See you soon ;-)

Mr E