Job Swap to Be Learning Experience

By MONSY ALVARADO, STAFF WRITER

HACKENSACK – One teaches in a city school that has more than 1,850 students, who speak several different languages at home, including Spanish, Arabic and Albanian. Computers with Internet access are also found in many classrooms.

The other has taught in a rural community in Africa for 12 years, where the 830-member student body speaks Sotho, a Bantu language, at home. And the school recently constructed its first computer lab and library.

This month, history teachers Darren Petersen of Hackensack High School and Hendretia Marwick from Clocolan, South Africa, began a one-year job swap as part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.

The aim of the 60-year-old program is to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries through educational exchange.

"One of my goals is to provide my students with a global perspective," said Petersen, who along with his wife, Karen, traveled to South Africa on Jan. 6.

For Marwick, who arrived two weeks ago to New Jersey, the focus is on comparing teaching methods and learning new ones. The mother of three grown children is working toward her Ph.D.

"I’ve been told that with American children long lectures don’t always work, so I have to tell the history and make it interesting," she said.

Marwick said she would also like to begin partnerships with schools in the United States to

collect pencils, pens, and other items that will help poor children in her school district. Clocolan is a small town located in the Free State Province of South Africa.

"We have shelves in the library that have been put in, but there are not many books," she said.

Petersen and Marwick were among 800 applicants this year for the program. Since it began, the exchange program, which is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, has enrolled nearly 23,000 teachers and administrators nationwide, who have taught in several parts of the world including Argentina, Italy, and India.

Petersen, who grew up in Emerson, said he always wanted to study abroad. For years, he said, he searched colleges and missionary programs that would take him there, but could not find the right one. The exchange program appealed to him because he still gets to keep his job and travel.

Petersen, who teach history and tourism classes in Clocolan, said he is excited about teaching children who speak Sotho at home.

"The language is so different, that I’m sure I’m going to struggle … but it will be good in a lot of ways."

After more than a week of teaching in South Africa, Petersen said in an e-mail that he has to cope with a shortage of books and so he uses photocopies often. He teaches 32 classes a week, which is more than the 25 he teaches in Hackensack.

Last week Petersen taught his new students about Martin Luther King Jr. and then asked them to write about their dreams.

"Karen and I were so moved by many of the wonderful aspirations to improve their life, their family life, and their faith life," Petersen writes. "Life is simple here and hope is so important for a better future."

Marwick was asked to join the exchange after receiving an excellence in secondary education award by the Free State Department of Education in 2005. Initially she was hesitant about participating, but she talked it over with her husband.

Marwick, who will live here until December, toured Hackensack High School and was struck by the school’s size, but also by the lack of uniforms, which all children at her school in South Africa wear.

"The shirts are beautifully ironed," she said, referring to her students back home. "I have great respect for the children at my school. They are well-behaved and disciplined. I told them I’m going to miss them dearly."

Petersen gave Marwick a one-day crash course in Hackensack explaining the school’s grading system, seating charts, homerooms and morning announcements. After only one day, she was already tailoring her lessons to the students’ reaction, reminding herself not to lecture for too long.

"It’s an exciting opportunity for Darren, and it should be interesting for us," said Schools Superintendent Joseph Montesano, a Hackensack High School graduate who was taught shop one year by a teacher visiting from Scotland. "With Hackensack’s history of embracing diversity, getting someone from a different part of the world is exciting."

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E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com

(SIDEBAR, page L03)

Fast facts

History teachers Darren Petersen and Hendretia Marwick are switching places for a year as part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. Marwick will teach at Hackensack High School, where Petersen teaches world history to ninth-graders. Petersen will teach history to different grades at Clocolan High School in South Africa. Below are some fast facts about the two schools:

Hackensack H.S.

Number of students: 1,855 students in Grades 9-12

Population: 33% African-American, 37% Latino, 30% other

Teachers: 192 teachers and paraprofessionals

Class sizes: 21

Language courses: French, Spanish, Italian

Uniforms: Being looked into by school district

Clocolan H.S.

Number of students: About 830 students in Grades 8-12

Population: All black, serving Sotho students

Teachers: 30

Class sizes: 35 to 48 students

Language courses: Afrikaans, Sotho and English

Uniforms: All students wear uniforms

(c) 2007 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.