School Days

Alright everyone, I apologize for not getting around to posting again for a while. I've kept on putting it off, and now we're here three weeks later. With this one, lets talk about my new job as a teacher. Gonna be a lot of text in this one, as I haven't brought a camera into classes yet (Not sure what the policy is on taking pictures with students). Promise there will be more pictures in the post next week. (Sneak Preview: We'll be talking about what I've done for fun in Taiwan, including a beach, a pool party, the nightlife, and a camping trip)

Just a quick breakdown of how my classes usually work:

Most classes I'll have between 1.5 - 2 hours (depending on the skill level and the type of class). The 2 hour classes are either a bit more advanced and focus more on reading, or in some cases, I have the extra time to teach science and math as well (Not sure if my grades in high school chemistry qualify me to teach anybody science...). Also should note that my name around school isn't "Mr. Cleveland" or even "Mr. C", but rather "Teacher Brett". Found that a bit funny when I first got here. 

My Students and Classes

So far, I've taught just about every age student at my school, and dealt with quite a variance in the English skill levels between all my classes. Even within classes, there's always a few kids that English seems to come naturally to, and others who really struggle. Finding a balance to keep everyone in the class engaged is a bit of a challenge.

The youngest class I've taught so far has been 4-5 year old kids that have little to no experience with English. Like any kids their age, keeping their attention for more than a few minutes at a time is a challenge, and there are a couple trouble makers. The communication barrier makes it feel like I'm talking to a wall at times. But, the feeling I get when I see a kid having fun with learning English or when "the light-bulb goes on" for a new concept makes it all worthwhile. Classes consist of teaching letters and their sounds, numbers, reading time, play time, and even some singing and dancing. Everyone got a good picture of me singing and dancing in front of class? Ok....moving on. 

Age isn't even necessarily an indicator of a students English level. I've had a class with students that are about 8 or 9 years old and they have a better grasp than some of my classes that are years older. Best part is that these kids are getting to an age where they are quite witty when using their English. Perfect example: last week, during a creative writing assignment about a typhoon, I had one student finish his paper with "My house was fine, but Teacher Brett flew away". Definitely had a good laugh with the kid as I was reading it. This is also one of the classes where I'm teaching Science and Math, so it's fun to see how each student is more excited / more proficient during different subjects in class. 

Then there are my classes that are maybe a bit less advanced for their age. With these classes I only teach for 1.5 hours and then a Chinese teacher takes them through the rest of the class. Within these classes, I'd say that the skill gap between students is pretty tangible compared to some of my other classes. However, there are some really enjoyable students. I can really notice the ones that are trying hard to learn and improve, and the few that seem disinterested or just scared to be speaking another language. 

Finally, I have a couple middle school classes that I'd say are fairly advanced for their ages. Again with these classes, the best part is that the students are quite witty when using their English. There's an opportunity to have higher level conversations and interactions with the kids, and also to joke around a bit. 

With one of these classes, there's already a running joke with the kids about my sub-par drawing skills. Any time I get out my marker and go to the whiteboard to illustrate something, the giggles soon follow. In the same class, we did a creative writing assignment yesterday about "art". I was hoping to get the students talking about what they like about art/famous artists and art/is it important/etc., and many students did quite well with the prompt. I had two students--two boys--who insisted that basketball is an art, and wrote their paper making their case. As completely off topic as it was, I thought it was cool to see the creativity and ability to make connections. 

In the other middle school class, the kids are even a bit more advanced, and focus heavily on reading and writing. This class is held on Saturday mornings, so at times, getting the students to engage is like pulling teeth. However when we hit a topic they find interesting or break into a group activity, you can really see that they're sharp kids with a good sense of humor. On a selfish note, I find a lot of the material we cover in this class to be interesting so it's fun to teach. So far we've covered stuff like Machu Picchu and the Inca, endangered languages, and animals that inspire technology innovation. 

Other Thoughts

Truth is, being a teacher is a lot of work, and I'm not even full time. Between lesson planning and correcting homework/quizzes/tests, there is always something more that I could be working on. Managing a classroom of diverse personalities is still a skill I'm working on and trying to improve. On the flip side of that, I do see the rewards of being a teacher. It truly is a great feeling when a student grasps a new idea that you've been teaching. Like anything, you've gotta take the good with the bad. 

One last thing that I'll say about teaching. I know in recent years back in the states there's been quite a bit of debate about the merits of teachers and how easy/difficult the job is. One month on the job in no way qualifies me to say this, but anyone that thinks teaching is easy and doesn't appreciate their community's teachers is--pardon my french--full of shit. Gotta give a big shout out to my Mom and my Aunt Susan because I know both of you are great teachers, and have a lot more stressful of a job than I ever will here in Taiwan. And to any other teacher that may be out there reading this, thank you! 

That's it for this edition of Peripatetic Brett. Tune-in next week for some fun in the Taiwan sun.

Cheers, all!