Description of Peace Corps Service

Jesse “Josef’ Bartels

Ukraine (October 2007 – December 2009)

After a competitive application process emphasizing professional skills, motivation, adaptability, cross-cultural understanding and medical fitness, Peace Corps invited Mr. Jesse “Josef” Bartels to serve as a TEFL Volunteer in Ukraine.

Pre-service training

On October 1^st, 2007, Mr. Bartels joined the 33^rd group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Ukraine. He entered an intensive 12-week community-based training program that included 200 hours of Ukrainian language training, 150 hours of technical training in TEFL methodologies and community development, 8 weeks of classroom teaching practice and 60 hours of cross-cultural studies (history, economy, cultural norms).

While a trainee, Mr. Bartels worked with the Kivshovata pubic school to organize and conduct a teacher training on communicative language learning techniques and methodology. To reinforce language and cross-cultural learning, Mr. Bartels lived with a Ukrainian family in the town of Kivshovata, Kyiv Region, throughout the 3-month training.

Assignment

U.S. Ambassador William B. Taylor swore in Mr. Bartels as a Peace Corps Volunteer on December 20^th, 2007 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Mr. Bartels was assigned to Velyki Mosty, a town of 5000 Ukrainian and Russian speakers in Western Ukraine.

The rich plains and forests of Ukraine have witnessed almost constant struggle between competing peoples since before recorded history. Ukraine ended 750 years of foreign domination by gaining independence from the USSR in 1991. Less than 20 years later, Ukraine is behaving like any young nation. The learning curve is steep as an adolescent government attempts to remove economic controls in an effort to emulate the economic success of Western Europe. Ukrainians, however, have a mature culture and language, traced back to the Kyiv Rus. Each exploiter and occupier has strengthened Ukrainians into a people unbreakable and proud, not of their government, not of their young unsteady nation, but of whom they are, their long heritage and what their country will become as its potential is fulfilled.

Many people in Ukraine realize that a greater openness must be reached in order to achieve success in the global community. Mr. Bartels’ work as a teacher provided many opportunities to share American culture and its approaches to problem solving, authority and creativity. His work was part of a nation-wide effort in Ukraine to reorient itself toward a free and open society.

Working under the Ministry of Education, Mr. Bartels worked as a full-time English Teacher at Velyki Mosty School Lyceum, which has 88 teachers and 900 students. This school specializes in the sciences and Mr. Bartels’ work was directly supervised by the assistant principle of social sciences. He introduced American teaching methods emphasizing the communicative method to English teachers, many of whom learned English using the translation method. While teaching between 16 and 18 hours of English classes each week (TEFL), Mr. Bartels also conducted 3 pedagogical seminars and distributed informational material on communicatory methodology. Teaching 2nd-10th grades, Mr. Bartels strived to create student centered atmosphere where English was truly used as a language, to transfer information and ignite curiosity. Mr. Bartels specialized in using ‘realia’, that is to say real tasks including radio listening, website design, text message and pen pals assignments that incorporated the real life experiences of children in Velyki Mosty. He received supervision and critical feedback from the TEFL Project Lead Specialists from Peace Corps, and from the pedagogical director at the regional level. In addition to English, Mr. Bartels taught computer technology as a classroom resource to co-teachers.

As an HIV prevention educator, Mr. Bartels designed, organized and implemented an HIV prevention project which included 2 trainings of trainers and 8 peer trainings that increased youth knowledge about the biology and transmission of HIV. These peer groups in turn trained 8 other student groups which showed increased knowledge and tolerance while demonstrating a decreased propensity toward risky behavior (measured by pre and post training questionnaires). Together with his counterpart, Mr. Bartels overcame social obstacles and taboos by focusing his trainings on abstinence and faithfulness before condom use. Through the trainings, pamphlets, exercises and posters, he worked to fight against stigmas and discrimination. Mr. Bartels used a President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) grant to bring a trainer from Kyiv in order to provide local educators with the expertise and comfort necessary to safeguard their communities.

Mr. Bartels’ after school activities included 3 academic clubs that each met for 2 hours every week. These included Health, Ecology and European Affairs. Each club created a project at the end of every school year. His ecology club concentrated on project design and management. Pupils then designed and implemented 4 community projects including trash pickups and tree plantings. Mr. Bartels facilitated a two-day tolerance training with the European Affairs club for 8^th-10^th grades. With his Health club he taught 7 lessons about tobacco, alcohol, obesity, nutrition, household chemicals and HIV/AIDS.

As a Co-Chair of the Peace Corps Ukraine Environmental Working Group, Mr. Bartels maintained, created, collected and provided information and project support throughout Ukraine. With support from the Environmental Working Group, Mr. Bartels organized and directed 2 overnight week long summer camps teaching pupils environmental awareness through a focus on local issues to help Ukrainian youth become active, informed, initiative taking leaders in their community. He was also the American volunteer director of the ‘Survivor’ camp, a sustainable ecological education project started by Peace Corps volunteers in 2005 which is now operated mainly by Ukrainian directors and staff.

Mr. Bartels’ language ability progressed quickly reaching Advanced High by July 2009. As a result of his work in school and his language ability, he was selected by Peace Corps staff to present a report to 200 University and School Directors and to the Minister of Education on the current state of English Education in Ukraine. He gave this seven minute speech in Ukrainian and received many compliments on his language ability.

Following careful needs assessment and student surveys, Mr. Bartels Created an English Resource Library. Using book donations from the USA, he established a title list of 200 books for pupils and teachers at all levels. He also created the catalog and organizational system by which checkouts will be monitored.

Pursuant to Section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 USC 2504(f), as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following his Peace Corps Volunteer Service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave, and other privileges based on length of Government service. That service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period of any service requirement for career appointment.

This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order 11103 of April 10, 1963, that Mr. Jesse Josef Bartels served successfully as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His service ended on December 2^nd, 2009. He is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order extends for a period of one year after termination of Volunteer service, except that the employing agency may extend the period for up to three years for a former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities that, in the view of the appointing agency, warrant extension of the period.

Then signatures and stamps

very official looking