Key takeaways:
- Four teachers from Peace River School Division had classes over Zoom.
- Vikki Presakarchuk teaches drama to students across Ukraine via Zoom.
Every Wednesday at 6 a.m., northern Alberta professor Vikki Presakarchuk opens Zoom to introduce drama to students in war-torn Ukraine.
Presakarchuk is one of four Peace River School Division professors volunteering time to deliver Ukrainian students’ lectures online.
“It is a difficult experience,” she told CBC’s Edmonton AM on Thursday.
“We have a lot of joy. We do a lot of activities. The hard part arrives just being aware of the problem they are in right while doing these classes.”
Presakarchuk has led four sessions since April 6, usually for approximately 30 students ranging in age from nine to 17. Since the Russian attack started in late February, some have been displaced from their houses.
The lessons concentrate on happy and positive discussions, she stated.
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She and the other volunteering teachers were given guidelines on what to have in their lessons and what not to have — no mentions, for instance, of planes or collapsing buildings.
She said the students want tongue-twisters and role-playing activities.
She stated the students have varying English abilities, adding that older students speak better English than their younger counterparts. The students have a Ukrainian professor coordinator who assists with the lectures.
Presakarchuk takes notes from courses she teaches at Paul Rowe Junior/Senior High School in Manning, 100 kilometers north of Peace River, Alta, when preparing lectures for her Ukrainian students.
Presakarchuk, the school’s assistant principal, said classes learned from teaching her students online in the COVID-19 outbreak have helped deliver lessons through Zoom to students in Ukraine.
Peace River School Division learned regarding the chance to help Ukrainian students from David Faulkner, a retired principal with the division who now stays in Nunavut.
Source – cbc.ca
