After a three month summer holiday the young people go back to school. The exact date is never known – if it is too hot it will be later, if it is not then it is usually the first Monday in September.
Having children who are going to the local schools it has given me an insight into the culture difference. Children here either go to school in the mornings or in the afternoons. It depends on their grade (year) how many hours they have of teaching. This is why in Centar we try to offer the same programme in the morning and in the afternoon. Also the Croat children go to a
different school from the Muslim children. 
The curriculum is different between these two schools and they use different teaching books. All children, except those in first to fourth grade have to buy their books and each day carry those books to school in a rucksack. They have no locker facilities at school.
The teaching method in schools is also very different from English schools, and I would imagine those in the States too. They get taught a lesson and then they have to learn it off by heart word for word. 
There is no room for the child to think for themselves; what they get taught is how it is – no questions! The next time they have that lesson they could be asked questions about it and then they are given a grade. These grades go in a huge register and these are added up and an average taken to give an overall grade. Grades go from 5 (A) the best to 1 (E) the worst.
Parents can go and visit the teacher at a particular time each week to see how their child is progressing. They are expected to visit the teacher at least two or three times a term.
This schooling means that the young people coming to Centar experience a different type of learning when they come on the courses held here. When teaching English, computing, arts and crafts it is very hands on, games are played to give a better illustration of something and there is lots of interaction. In the English courses the hardest part for these young people is writing an essay. The question may ask: Continue this story using the first sentence ‘ I was driving in the car with my friends to a remote holiday cottage when the car broke down…’ or Write an essay explaining the differences between living in the town and living in the country. It is difficult for the young person to think of ideas of what to write. Writing an essay is rarely part of their schoolwork.
Teachers are generally quite strict. It is hard for a teacher to get a job and they experience times of not knowing if they are going to get paid, especially if the overall money in the country is getting low. On occasions they may strike: we have experienced a time when Sam had 4 out of 6 lessons each day as their pay was cut by 25%. Sam said one of those lessons she didn’t have was in the middle of the day so they were told just to sit in the class for that lesson and wait for the teacher to come for the following one. Fortunately this only lasted a few days.
So for the young people experiencing this type of schooling many feel they have no hope of getting a job when they leave. In Centar we try to encourage the young person to build on their God- given skills or gifts. They are all different and each person has their own skill. Sometimes they don’t know what it is; we pray that in Centar we can show each young person that they are unique, they are special and they all have something to offer. So in a weeks time Centar will reopen and we pray that God guides and leads us as we try to encourage them that they are the future and they all have something to offer themselves and this country.
