I'd just had a Grade 2 class who were all but bouncing off the walls and I'd had to abandon my lesson plan completely to retain any semblance of order. The worst lesson of my week!
Afterwards, I walked into my second Grade 2 class several minutes early, and their previous teacher was still there, haranguing them for something or other (in Chinese, of course). Seemed a little harsh to be cutting into their break time with whatever it was, but maybe she just needed a minute. So I eat my mango outside and give her a few minutes instead of hanging out with the kids like I normally do during break time.
I come back 5 minutes in and she's STILL THERE. Seriously, they're seven years old. whatever's going on, give them a break! Come on, lady, what if they have to pee? Not to mention, this is starting to impact my lesson because the kids are gonna be all loopy and not have had time to blow off their steam. Eventually I walk into the front of the class, gradually coming closer to teachers' desk to get her to catch the hint. She doesn't. She yells at them for the ENTIRE break, and when the bell rings, she leaves. So I am standing there in front of these poor kids who just got the shit verbally beat outta them, and they are sitting quietly in their desks with their hands folded, just as they should be at the end of break time.
But they didn't GET a break! Besides ordinary sympathy which I'd think anyone would have (previous teacher excluded), I'm foreseeing a repeat of my earlier hellion class and I'm not liking the idea. I tell them all they can take 5 minutes' break now, if they need to use the washroom or do whatever. Once they get it, a few zip off right away, confirming my foresight. The rest remain in "ready to start class" position. I go around having "break time" myself, asking them silly questions and generally messing around, until a few of them catch on and mess about for a minute or two. By minute three, everyone is back in their seats, ready to go! I stand by my five minutes plan and resolutely fuck around until it's up. Then I begin class.
They are so stiff that I want to loosen them up a bit, but they are so quiet that it might be the perfect time for a story! I was going to do it at the end but this might be better. I tell a bang-up story so I decide this might accomplish both of my aims. Since I don't yet have a proper story corner with pillows and comfy goodness, I get them to bring their chairs to the back of the room and make a semicircle, which there is just enough room for. I sit on one of the back desks and bust out my ace in the hole, The Paper Bag Princess.
Now, if you are not lucky enough to have been born Canadian (it's okay, I still love you), you will not know the brilliance that is Robert Munsch. There is nothing I can do to salvage that emptiness in your childhood, so suffice it to say that he's the best kids' author ever, and The Paper Bag Princess is his most famous story.
Anyway, I bust out The Paper Bag Princess and the kids, already intrigued by the change in chair setup, are totally riveted. The TA (their Chinese English teacher, who sits in on my lessons "to translate", meaning she normally feels totally useless, I'm sure, since I don't want anyone speaking Chinese in my class), who is now more than ever superfluous, sneaks out and comes back with a camera. This may partly be because I am a crazy physical story-teller (blame a series of good drama teachers in junior high), but also because the kids are visibly way into it, leaning forward and waiting anxiously to find out what happens next, exclaiming in delight when they get to see the pictures.
After the story we play Going on a Bear Hunt, in which everyone is completely engaged and loves, and in our few minutes left we learn to play I Spy.
After the bell I am left with 30 smiling faces leaving my English class, and the Chinese teacher congratulating me on a wonderful lesson. I didn't need her to tell me how much the kids loved it; I could see for myself, but it was extra nice to get such a compliment from a more seasoned teacher. :)
I am an awesome teacher!!!
Wednesday 29 April 2009
Monday 27 April 2009
Leaving town
You're right, Lucky. It's been too long. So instead of waiting until I'm settled, or until I feel like I have something entertaining to write, or until I feel happy, I will just write now, and you'll get whatever you get.
I left the school in Yongzhou. The kids were great of course, but the FAO there, who also made herself the head of the school (it was supposed to be her son), was a nightmare. In a few words, she was a mannipulative control freak, and I am lucky to be nowhere near her anymore.
Dealing with her, and realizing just how wrong the situation was, was the reason I was so lucky to have Cherie, the other foreign teacher there. She helped me so much when she came. Cherie has taught for Company for 6 years and knows how the schools are supposed to be, and what to expect as a foreign teacher. If it wasn't for her, I don't know what I would have done. I think I either would have caved to everything (that's the way I was going in the beginning, not wanting to be too demanding or to seem intolerant) and had a lousy time of it, or I would have just left, and either way I would have just thought that's the way it was. Cherie helped me to pick my battles and to stand up for myself. I learned from her and from this experience that no matter where I am, even if I am in an unfamiliar situation, there are certain things which I still know and certain values on which I shouldn't have to compromise. And done correctly, that isn't intolerance, it's teaching people how to treat you. It's making your own life the way you expect it to be.
Cherie was valuable to me as a friend as well, if I even need to say so at this point. She is a lovely, funny, warm, generous and perceptive person, and I am lucky to have met her and to have spent so much time with her. Some of the best people I've met are those friends I've gained through my worst jobs (Brooke, Jan, I'm looking at you), and this is definitely a case of that. Cherie left Yongzhou at the end of the month (she was there only for the month as a favour to Company's Owner, since the school was beginning to get a reputation thanks to her, and he couldn't get a teacher there for love or money), and when she left, I went with her. We both went back to Yangshuo, Guangxi (where Company is based) and after a well-deserved vacation, she flew back to Canada.
I stayed in Yangshuo for a few weeks. Company had been apprised of all the goings-on and had tried their hand at fixing things, but when it didn't work out they welcomed me back and put me up in YS. This is one big reason I chose this contract in the first place--they will help a teacher out of a bad situation and in the meantime you have a safe place to stay and a few meals in your belly.
My first several days in YS were mostly spent sleeping (I couldn't sleep much in Yongzhou) and just recovering from the general badness. After that, it was a really nice time. Yangshuo is a great place to hang out for a bit, and Owner College (Company's school for adults) is there, so there were tons of young Chinese people around with whom I made friends. They could practice their English with me, and a few of them helped me to learn some more Chinese. I made a few especially good friends whom it was very hard to leave and with whom I'm still in touch.
During my YS stay, I took a weekend trip to LanShan (a rural town in Hunan province) to visit G, one of the teachers who was in my Orientation class. He and I'd become friends over email, at first due to our common miseries and then due to our common awesomeness. His wife, ZJ, is Chinese and basically speaks no English, so I was able to improve my Chinese a ton trying to get to know her :) My visit was really nice, and they agreed. It's always nice to have someone ask you to stay longer! G will go back to England soon, but one way or another I will visit with those guys again; they are good people.
In the meantime, I was going to start working at a new primary school Owner was going to open in YS. That ended up being a longer process than I could really afford (I was living in YS for free but not pulling a paycheque), so when a teacher left a school near Suzhou, I was still available, and Owner sent me there.
I did my research with B, the teacher trainer and teacher support, before agreeing to come here. And she was really helpful. She gave me the rundown of everything, and ultimately told me that this was quite a good opportunity for me as a teacher. So I took it.
I left the school in Yongzhou. The kids were great of course, but the FAO there, who also made herself the head of the school (it was supposed to be her son), was a nightmare. In a few words, she was a mannipulative control freak, and I am lucky to be nowhere near her anymore.
Dealing with her, and realizing just how wrong the situation was, was the reason I was so lucky to have Cherie, the other foreign teacher there. She helped me so much when she came. Cherie has taught for Company for 6 years and knows how the schools are supposed to be, and what to expect as a foreign teacher. If it wasn't for her, I don't know what I would have done. I think I either would have caved to everything (that's the way I was going in the beginning, not wanting to be too demanding or to seem intolerant) and had a lousy time of it, or I would have just left, and either way I would have just thought that's the way it was. Cherie helped me to pick my battles and to stand up for myself. I learned from her and from this experience that no matter where I am, even if I am in an unfamiliar situation, there are certain things which I still know and certain values on which I shouldn't have to compromise. And done correctly, that isn't intolerance, it's teaching people how to treat you. It's making your own life the way you expect it to be.
Cherie was valuable to me as a friend as well, if I even need to say so at this point. She is a lovely, funny, warm, generous and perceptive person, and I am lucky to have met her and to have spent so much time with her. Some of the best people I've met are those friends I've gained through my worst jobs (Brooke, Jan, I'm looking at you), and this is definitely a case of that. Cherie left Yongzhou at the end of the month (she was there only for the month as a favour to Company's Owner, since the school was beginning to get a reputation thanks to her, and he couldn't get a teacher there for love or money), and when she left, I went with her. We both went back to Yangshuo, Guangxi (where Company is based) and after a well-deserved vacation, she flew back to Canada.
I stayed in Yangshuo for a few weeks. Company had been apprised of all the goings-on and had tried their hand at fixing things, but when it didn't work out they welcomed me back and put me up in YS. This is one big reason I chose this contract in the first place--they will help a teacher out of a bad situation and in the meantime you have a safe place to stay and a few meals in your belly.
My first several days in YS were mostly spent sleeping (I couldn't sleep much in Yongzhou) and just recovering from the general badness. After that, it was a really nice time. Yangshuo is a great place to hang out for a bit, and Owner College (Company's school for adults) is there, so there were tons of young Chinese people around with whom I made friends. They could practice their English with me, and a few of them helped me to learn some more Chinese. I made a few especially good friends whom it was very hard to leave and with whom I'm still in touch.
During my YS stay, I took a weekend trip to LanShan (a rural town in Hunan province) to visit G, one of the teachers who was in my Orientation class. He and I'd become friends over email, at first due to our common miseries and then due to our common awesomeness. His wife, ZJ, is Chinese and basically speaks no English, so I was able to improve my Chinese a ton trying to get to know her :) My visit was really nice, and they agreed. It's always nice to have someone ask you to stay longer! G will go back to England soon, but one way or another I will visit with those guys again; they are good people.
In the meantime, I was going to start working at a new primary school Owner was going to open in YS. That ended up being a longer process than I could really afford (I was living in YS for free but not pulling a paycheque), so when a teacher left a school near Suzhou, I was still available, and Owner sent me there.
I did my research with B, the teacher trainer and teacher support, before agreeing to come here. And she was really helpful. She gave me the rundown of everything, and ultimately told me that this was quite a good opportunity for me as a teacher. So I took it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)