2009 September

That would be 40 hours or more working time

September 27, 2009 7 Comments

kim teaching It looks like I am going to get another five groups in addition to the five groups assigned to me last week. That means 10 hours teaching time each week. Not bad. And compared to the 20 hours per week I got back in China, 10 hours should be like a walk in the park.

But it is not.

Those 10 hours of teaching mean an additional 30 hours (or more) for preparation (remember: we are BIG on props). So although 10 hours is not a full load yet, I think I have more than I can handle for now. I’ll see how I get by with these 10 groups and if I change my mind in the future, I’ll accept more. But… I don’t think I will.

More loads mean more money but a one has to be careful because more teaching loads could result to a poor quality of teaching. I know most teachers strive to give the best to their pupils but teachers are also humans, they have their limits too and for me a teaching time of 10 hours per week is my limit.

Filed Under: teacher's life Tagged With: teacher, teaching

thoughts after the first week of school

September 19, 2009 7 Comments

In China, WHITE English native speakers are always preferred, WHITE non-native speakers come next, then non-white teachers (native speakers or not) come last. Filipino teachers and other non-white teachers are usually the ones dispatched to teach in far flung places where no white English native speakers would like to go. White teachers are also paid more. In short, your color is also important in getting a decent teaching job in China. This prejudice had somehow left a complex in me that when I got a teaching job here in Austria, I doubted whether I would be accepted by my pupils’ parents or not.

Native speakers are also preferred here in Austria but they don’t care about your color. Prominent language schools like Berlitz and Goethe Institute hire native speakers regardless of their race. I think that is about fair.

The learning center where I work at is however, special. Sure, they would be happy if you’re a native speaker but you should also meet the other requirement. Fluency in English and the ability to teach well are given more importance than simply having English as mother tongue.

she-teaches Honestly speaking I was terrified that the parents won’t like me because I am not an English native speaker and I didn’t learn how to speak English in recognized English speaking countries (like all of my co-teachers).

As a rule, the learning center where I work at conducts trial lessons where in parents can observe a particular teacher teach their children. If they like the lesson (and the teacher) they will enroll their kids. If they’re still interested but don’t like the teacher, they will request for another trial lesson with a different teacher.

I’ve been doing trial lessons all week in addition to regular lessons and I am glad that the parents are happy with the way I teach. Not one moment in all of my trails lessons did I feel that the parents are disappointed because I am a non-native speaker or because I am brown. Two mothers even asked me if I also do private tutoring.

So far, the parents I met are quite nice. And my pupils? My pupils are just so cute! I made hundreds of mental pictures of their curious faces looking at me while their tiny bodies imitate all my moves. All things considered, I enjoyed the first week of the school even if it was really stressful and right now… I am sincerely looking forward to the second week.

Filed Under: teacher's life, teacher's thoughts Tagged With: native english speacker, teacher, teaching

first day of school

September 14, 2009 4 Comments

Most of the states here in Austria started the school year a week earlier but in Styria (where I live and work) today is the official opening day of schools. The learning center where I work (not a regular school) is open since last week but only to accommodate parents and new pupils who would like to enroll to our courses. Today is the start of our regular lessons.

At the moment, I am assigned to handle 5 groups. Two groups of children ages 2-3, one group of children ages 4-5, another group of children ages 5-6, and one group of children ages 9-10. I haven’t met them all yet but the ones I did are just so sweet and cute.

So five different lesson plans each week. Not a lot… BUT… you see… the learning center where I work for is BIG ON PROPS. Lesson planning is easy but preparing the props could be time consuming and frustrating because you know that you’re not going to be paid for the hours you spend on making props. Of course there are available teaching materials in the learning center I could use but most of them don’t work for me. Maybe someday I’d learn how to work with those available props but right now, I’ll stick with my own props.

This morning, I prepared a simple game for one of my classes to help them revise vocabularies they’ve learned last semester. I spent hours in the internet looking for appropriate props but I ended up making my own “Picture Bingo” because although there are a lot of printable bingo games in the internet, I haven’t found the perfect one.

I had scanned the children’s workbook then used the images to make bingo cards using Microsoft Excel. Right after printing the bingo cards, I laminated them so they’ll survive a few lessons. That was a lot of work for one simple classroom game.

My co-teachers told me that the first year is the most difficult but right after that, I’ll be okay. I think so too. Right now, I see to it that every teaching/learning material I make or buy is reusable so I don’t have to spend time making them again in the future.

Filed Under: teacher's life, teaching materials Tagged With: classroom games, picture bingo, props, teaching materials, teaching props

to my fellow teacher bloggers

September 7, 2009 16 Comments

Hello and welcome!

You probably got here through a link I left on your blog but if not, you are absolutely still welcome to my blog.

This blog is about my life as a teacher and since this blog is very new, I would like to exchange links with you, my fellow teacher bloggers. Reason to this is because I want to create a list of blogs that I can visit and read.

I was once visiting one of the blogs I found and courteously asked the author (through a comment) if it’s ok to exchange links with her. She said her blog has a high PR and she only exchanges links with blogs having high PRs too so since my blog has no PR yet, she would have to decline my offer. I don’t blame her because she has her reasons but I think she is missing on a lot of things.

If you don’t know about PR (Page Rank), here a quick explanation: it’s a rank that shows how much Google value your website/blog. If you don’t care about that then it’s good. It means, you only blog because you like blogging.

Blogrolling is a great way to create a circle of blogs that are related to your blog. Now, if your blog is about teaching or education (no matter if you have a high PR or not), please add me to your blogroll and I’ll add you to my blogroll too.

Why?

In this way it would be easier for me to visit your site and vice versa. I would like that through reading and commenting on each other’s blog, we are able to exchange ideas, give tips, share information, share our experiences as teachers , and probably develop friendship.

If you agree with me, please leave a comment on this post and leave your name and URL. I’ll link you up as “Teacher Name” as soon as I read your comment.

Thanks!

Filed Under: teacher's life, teacher's thoughts Tagged With: blogging teachers, teachers, teachers online, teachers' blogs

my classroom

September 3, 2009 4 Comments

I had the chance to visit the learning center yesterday to talk to my head teacher about the rules of the learning center and to prepare some teaching props. I also got the chance to look around the place and I have to say that the place needs an extensive cleaning. I will go there sometime next week to do some more preparations and to decorate my classroom.

she-teaches-classroom As you can see on the photo, my classroom does not look like a regular classroom. Me and my pupils (including their parents) will be sitting down in a circle on the carpet. One of the principles of the learning center is to make the classroom favorable to learning but somehow different from that of a regular classroom.

I’ve been reading some teachers’ blogs and most of them talk about the start of the school year already and I somehow envy them because I am really eager to start teaching (I haven’t been teaching for more than two years). The beginning of the semester here is on September 14^th so I still have to wait until then. For now I can focus on making my lesson plans, my teaching materials, and some decorations for my classroom walls.

Filed Under: teacher's thoughts, teaching space Tagged With: classroom