Education For The Educator

This week I began teaching. I have five classes to teach, two adult classes and three kids classes. My adults are shy and the biggest struggle that we all have with them is to get them to open up. I let them know that my classroom is a safe enviorment and this is where we make mistakes. I feel like I have such good intentions but my teaching style still hasn't developed into a natural habit. I sat in on the other teachers classes last week and they were all so good, well most of them anyway. The kids classes that I'm teaching are ages 10,11,13, and 14. The children are divided up by age level and skill level. For instance my 10 & 11 yr olds are in "English Time" and they are put into different level such as 1 or 2. I have an English Time 1 and an English Time 2. My ET1 class is a nightmare, well actually its just two little girls, my class size is about eight or ten on average. I gave a spelling test today but they refused to take it. I told them that they had to take the test if they wanted to participate in game day but they just planted themselves. I even gave them the opportunity to go outside and play but they refused to do anything I asked.

My other classes are fairly well behaved and I can always put on my bear voice to scare them into submission but these two little girls just wont budge!! This job is fun when it works out and you're able to make that connection with the kids or adults but with every job there are complications. Just imagine when I'm trying to enforce discipline on these little rascals and they're just whining and snarling at me and neither one of us can truly express why the other is upset. This experience will only make me a better canidate for an educator in my home country or another one but, the biggest lesson to be learned is COMMUNICATION! Patience with communication in our fellow man is they biggest thing I have learned here thus far. There is something for me to learn every day and I have always felt that way, being in a foreign culture only intensifies these lessons. Farewell for now readers, stay tuned for my next entry....