I wanted to get our big blog entry out there about how we spent our Halloween and how our job is going so far, but the weekend came and went and now the new school week snuck up on us. I have just found out, however, that my classes are cancelled for the rest of the morning because apparently Ovaltine has come to the school and is giving a presentation. So I decided to take this unexpected break to get some thoughts down. Also you'll have to excuse any absent-minded stream-of-consciousness writing because I just had my arguably worst worst class of the week (my first grade class B which means not my A class which means havoc and phone-stealing, crying children, shouting, running, and possibly 5 students actually trying to learn) and am thoroughly wiped out and discombobulated. Oh yes, and I'm typing this on my iPhone.
Now that we're actually creating lesson plans, there are some things I learned from the Oxford Seminars course (and from my few instances of teaching or mentoring students in the past) that I have had the opportunity to put into practice (if there is anyone from Oxford Seminars reading this, maybe this can help, though it probably mostly applies to Thailand or Southeast Asia only).
Any classroom management strategies I've read about simply don't work. They just don't. There are preliminary procedures, like establishing rules on the first day and sticking to them. Having a level system in which kids get a mark for each time they act up, which eventually results in a penalty or punishment of some sort (did anyone else have those color cards in elementary school, where they start the day at blue, and then one penalty goes to green, then orange, then red?). I can't do any "establishing" rules because for most farang (foreign) teachers, and especially for Jules and I, we entered the school year during the second semester. Additionally, we only teach every class for one hour once a week. We are just the one hour foreign teacher break the kids get, so we're not to be taken seriously. This takes some pressure off of us, but also prevents us from having any continous lesson plans, or really reviewing something we've taught them the week before. It's like we're just the P.E. class: every class takes it, but nobody really takes it seriously. Then there are rewards and punishments. I can't punish the kids because for one, I can't speak Thai, so nothing I can say to them will make sense. The best I can do is yell at them, which I don't think solves anything. Besides which, raising your voice is nothing when you are in a place that practices corporal punishment. As long as I don't have a stick in my hand, it doesn't matter. So my final plea of trying to get these first graders under control, is to just reward the good with "good job!"s and smiles and nods of approval, while I ignore the three students who are following me around trying to steal my phone and notebook. The funny thing is, outside of class, these kids love me. They run to say hi to me and give me hugs. But in class, they couldn't care less if I existed at all.
Additional things I learned from Oxford Seminars that DON'T work:
Checks for Understanding. For those that didn't take Julia and my "Learn how to teach English in 100 hours" course (and for those that aren't or haven't been a teacher), checks for understanding happen after you explain directions for the next activity. You ask the class specific questions like, "What do you do after I give you a piece of paper?" and they answer (ex: "Write your name!"), thus demonstrating that they understand what they need to do. Well, to sum up how it works here: Nope. It doesn't. The kids don't understand when you're asking a question. Besides the fact that they don't fully understand English intonations (like your voice going up at the end of a sentence to indicate a question), they just can't grasp that you want them to answer you, not repeat after you. No matter how slow, or how simply I speak, I can't get them to understand that I'm checking that they know what to do.
Some things I learned from Oxford Seminars that DO work:
Repetition. The kids in Thailand, and especially in the younger grades, are all about repeating what you say. This isn't all that great because they don't think for themselves or try to think outside the box; they will just repeat and copy whatever you say. Still, on the bright side, as a native English teacher, I can try to teach them proper pronunciation and intonation. Since Thai is a tonal language, they're all about mimicing it with the exact rhythm and ups and downs of my voice. I will say a word or sentence by pointing at myself, then get them to repeat or answer by cupping my ear.
Demonstrating conversation. When I draw a face on the board with a speech bubble and write "A" above it, then another face and write "B" (like a cartoon), the students immediately understand that this is a conversation. I'll write "A" saying, "Hello! How are you?" and "B" responds with, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" Then I'll pair up the students and say one is "A" and the other is "B" and I'll point to the board, and they'll instantly know. I gesture that I want them to practice, and they do! It actually works great, and I can get them to have many conversations with this simple template. I can get them to think for themselves a little bit if I leave a blank too. For example, we went over emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, tired) and then in the conversation, one of the students has to fill in the blank, "I'm _____."
As you can hopefully see, I'm learning what it's like to come in with certain goals, ideas, and activities and just seeing if they work. All of teaching is trial and error. I finally understand what it's like to hone your lesson plan and find out what works for what level until you have it down to a T. I understand how a teacher can get more and more comfortable after their first year of teaching. Of course I knew teaching was a long-term investment. Besides Kindergarteners, you can't see kids immediately learning before your eyes. The benefits that come from being a teacher involve years of work. Of course I knew that. But the long-term investment thing applies to almost every aspect of the job. Improvement in the students, improvement in my ability to teach, gaining experience, forming long-lasting relationships with staff, co-workers, and students, etc. ALL OF TEACHING is LONG-TERM.
That being said, this job is simultaneously easy and the most challenging thing for me. In some ways, I feel like I'm a natural. I can come up with a lesson plan and think of new ways to approach it on the spot when it's not working. I am easily enthusastic, I'm good at laughing at myself and letting/encouraging the students to laughwith at me (like when I accidentally use the wrong side of the eraser, and all of my third graders start laughing, I can't help but turn around and laugh with them). I'm terrible at classroom management. I don't know if that's just here in Thailand, or if I just need to get better with it. And I need to improve upon almost every lesson plan I come up with. It's fulfilling work, definitely, but it's exhausting. Most of the pressure to do well is from within. It's my goals I have for the students to learn, and if I can't get them to learn what I set out to teach them, I'm the only one who feels like I've failed.
Now that my jumbled thoughts are finally winding down, I'd like to thank you, whoever reads this blog, for letting me use it as a place to record my random thoughts and feelings. Having such a public diary can be the most embarassing thing. In 10 years, wherever I am, I may be laughing at how naive and silly I was as I reread these entries. But for now, let's laugh together. I don't want to take life too seriously. I want to enjoy it.
And one more thing, for those of you who might know more about my life, Alexi-day is coming up (November 16th). It will have been two years since my beloved best friend, Alexi Deauzat, has passed away. Let's celebrate her memory together. Eat a peppermint, wear a skeleton key necklace, listen to the White Stripes. Fill yourself with laughter, speak in a shrill voice, and every once in a while, just squeal, "eeeee!"
Much love,
Aire
Now that we're actually creating lesson plans, there are some things I learned from the Oxford Seminars course (and from my few instances of teaching or mentoring students in the past) that I have had the opportunity to put into practice (if there is anyone from Oxford Seminars reading this, maybe this can help, though it probably mostly applies to Thailand or Southeast Asia only).
Any classroom management strategies I've read about simply don't work. They just don't. There are preliminary procedures, like establishing rules on the first day and sticking to them. Having a level system in which kids get a mark for each time they act up, which eventually results in a penalty or punishment of some sort (did anyone else have those color cards in elementary school, where they start the day at blue, and then one penalty goes to green, then orange, then red?). I can't do any "establishing" rules because for most farang (foreign) teachers, and especially for Jules and I, we entered the school year during the second semester. Additionally, we only teach every class for one hour once a week. We are just the one hour foreign teacher break the kids get, so we're not to be taken seriously. This takes some pressure off of us, but also prevents us from having any continous lesson plans, or really reviewing something we've taught them the week before. It's like we're just the P.E. class: every class takes it, but nobody really takes it seriously. Then there are rewards and punishments. I can't punish the kids because for one, I can't speak Thai, so nothing I can say to them will make sense. The best I can do is yell at them, which I don't think solves anything. Besides which, raising your voice is nothing when you are in a place that practices corporal punishment. As long as I don't have a stick in my hand, it doesn't matter. So my final plea of trying to get these first graders under control, is to just reward the good with "good job!"s and smiles and nods of approval, while I ignore the three students who are following me around trying to steal my phone and notebook. The funny thing is, outside of class, these kids love me. They run to say hi to me and give me hugs. But in class, they couldn't care less if I existed at all.
Additional things I learned from Oxford Seminars that DON'T work:
Checks for Understanding. For those that didn't take Julia and my "Learn how to teach English in 100 hours" course (and for those that aren't or haven't been a teacher), checks for understanding happen after you explain directions for the next activity. You ask the class specific questions like, "What do you do after I give you a piece of paper?" and they answer (ex: "Write your name!"), thus demonstrating that they understand what they need to do. Well, to sum up how it works here: Nope. It doesn't. The kids don't understand when you're asking a question. Besides the fact that they don't fully understand English intonations (like your voice going up at the end of a sentence to indicate a question), they just can't grasp that you want them to answer you, not repeat after you. No matter how slow, or how simply I speak, I can't get them to understand that I'm checking that they know what to do.
Some things I learned from Oxford Seminars that DO work:
Repetition. The kids in Thailand, and especially in the younger grades, are all about repeating what you say. This isn't all that great because they don't think for themselves or try to think outside the box; they will just repeat and copy whatever you say. Still, on the bright side, as a native English teacher, I can try to teach them proper pronunciation and intonation. Since Thai is a tonal language, they're all about mimicing it with the exact rhythm and ups and downs of my voice. I will say a word or sentence by pointing at myself, then get them to repeat or answer by cupping my ear.
Demonstrating conversation. When I draw a face on the board with a speech bubble and write "A" above it, then another face and write "B" (like a cartoon), the students immediately understand that this is a conversation. I'll write "A" saying, "Hello! How are you?" and "B" responds with, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" Then I'll pair up the students and say one is "A" and the other is "B" and I'll point to the board, and they'll instantly know. I gesture that I want them to practice, and they do! It actually works great, and I can get them to have many conversations with this simple template. I can get them to think for themselves a little bit if I leave a blank too. For example, we went over emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, tired) and then in the conversation, one of the students has to fill in the blank, "I'm _____."
As you can hopefully see, I'm learning what it's like to come in with certain goals, ideas, and activities and just seeing if they work. All of teaching is trial and error. I finally understand what it's like to hone your lesson plan and find out what works for what level until you have it down to a T. I understand how a teacher can get more and more comfortable after their first year of teaching. Of course I knew teaching was a long-term investment. Besides Kindergarteners, you can't see kids immediately learning before your eyes. The benefits that come from being a teacher involve years of work. Of course I knew that. But the long-term investment thing applies to almost every aspect of the job. Improvement in the students, improvement in my ability to teach, gaining experience, forming long-lasting relationships with staff, co-workers, and students, etc. ALL OF TEACHING is LONG-TERM.
That being said, this job is simultaneously easy and the most challenging thing for me. In some ways, I feel like I'm a natural. I can come up with a lesson plan and think of new ways to approach it on the spot when it's not working. I am easily enthusastic, I'm good at laughing at myself and letting/encouraging the students to laugh
Now that my jumbled thoughts are finally winding down, I'd like to thank you, whoever reads this blog, for letting me use it as a place to record my random thoughts and feelings. Having such a public diary can be the most embarassing thing. In 10 years, wherever I am, I may be laughing at how naive and silly I was as I reread these entries. But for now, let's laugh together. I don't want to take life too seriously. I want to enjoy it.
And one more thing, for those of you who might know more about my life, Alexi-day is coming up (November 16th). It will have been two years since my beloved best friend, Alexi Deauzat, has passed away. Let's celebrate her memory together. Eat a peppermint, wear a skeleton key necklace, listen to the White Stripes. Fill yourself with laughter, speak in a shrill voice, and every once in a while, just squeal, "eeeee!"
Much love,
Aire
Another WONDERFUL entry. You have already learned something many people never do, don't take yourself too seriously, laugh, be flexible (especially with children). Many fellow teachers say they never want to teach below 5th grade, and I was always the opposite, nothing over 4th if at all possible, thank you. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward (very trite but very true). Another trite saying, some teachers have 25 years of experience, some, one year 25 times. I will celebrate Alexi day for sure, even at my conference. LOVE YOU, mom
ReplyDeleteYeah wow, this was a really interesting entry. I think that, despite having tough kids to deal with, you sound like a great teacher. The fact that you can see things in a breakdown like this - what's good, what can be improved, what can't be helped - is extremely insightful and will only help you toward becoming an even better teacher!
ReplyDeleteThinking of you on Alexi Day.