I haven’t updated this blog for more than a month and based on how things look like at the moment, posts will be scarce for the following months.
Remember when I told you that I have 10 groups each week? Well, that changed on the second week of this month. I now have 15 groups. One of my colleagues is at an early stage of pregnancy and because she is experiencing some difficulties, her doctor advised her not to work. Her classes are now divided between me and another teacher.
I think, 15 groups a week is not a big problem. I can handle all of these groups smoothly if they were of the same program (level) but they aren’t. These 15 groups are scattered in five different programs. I could, of course, still do 15 groups in five different programs easily if the groups in each program were in the same lesson. So it would be like preparing 5 lesson plans and 5 set of props each week but then again, that is not the case. The groups in each program are not in the same lesson. Some are in just in second lesson of Unit 2, others are in another lesson in another unit, and etc. In short, I always have to prepare 15 lessons plans and 15 sets of props each week.
Our learning center badly needs new teachers but the problem is; the next teacher training course will only be in the summer of this year so even if there were applicants now, they won’t be able to teach until the first school semester (September 2010). By right, I could refuse to accept the additional classes but I don’t have the heart to do that to my head teacher. If I won’t accept these classes, there’s no choice for the learning center but to let these classes go.
I am now in my third week of this unbelievable stressful work load and surprisingly, I am able to cope with it. By “cope” I mean, I am able to prepare my lesson plans and deliver them properly, I am able to prepare the props needed in each lesson, I am never late, and I am never absent from any of my classes. But my “coping” doesn’t extend to housework and blogging. Gosh! Our flat looks like a bomb just detonated in it and I can’t even begin to think of the pile of clothes waiting to be ironed! I could go on and on about how I am lacking time for other things but this blog is supposed to be about the joy of teaching and not the woes of a housewife or the frustrations of a blogger so I will stop now.
I do love to teach even if it means that I have to stay up all night preparing props and lesson plans but sometimes I wish that things were a little bit less taxing.
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