So far I have not really mentioned my job here in Chiayi City. I haven't done that because I'm not sure I have it all clear in my own head about the job. I don't even know where to begin. I'm not even sure I can explain the job wit
h any accuracy at all. I can give you the facts. I teach English as a second language to 557 students in 7th and 8th grade. I have between 18 and 20 classes per week. There are 38 students in each of the 7th grade classes (14) and 11 and 12 in the 8th grade classes. I am also supposed to have a class of Taiwanese English teachers on Friday afternoons, but frequently we have meetings instead. That isn't really a "class" as I am just supposed to talk to them so the
y can hear a "native" English speaker talk. That is sometimes difficult because I don't always have something to say and I am never e
ntirely certain that the teachers understand that I am simply one American who has been a teacher in the Midwest for over 15 years. I don't represent all teachers in America and probably am not even "typical" in the way I
think or in my values about education. Okay, okay.... if you are reading this blog you are probably laughing right not because you know me and you know that "probably" is a word I shouldn't have used in the previous sentence. I am not a typical Midwest Amerian teacher. When it comes right down to it, "typical" probably isn't a word that comes to mind when you think of me at all. But these people don't know that. To them, I represent America and I represent teachers in America. So... I take that responsibility very s
eriously and I take this job very seriously. What that all boils down to is that I am literally working my ass off trying to figure out what makes these kids tick and how to turn them into English speakers. At orientation, we were told not to expect miracles. If you recall, the name of this blog is "Why not?" And that should give you some idea of what my job is about. I get up in front of these 7th graders and "act out" their vocabulary. Try it sometime. Pick up a kid's book (early reader) and first act out the story. Then go back and act out the meaning of each of the "n
ew" words. Remember, all of these kids already have words for every thing you are trying to teach them. Different words. What you are telling them is excess... added baggage to store in their heads, so you have to make an impression to make it worthwhile to hold on to that added term. "Groan" was a great one! Imagine 38 preteen and early teen kids all groaning at the same time after watching your dramatic examples. They are all taking this very seriously, too, hanging on to ever word or utterance. Those groans were sincere! And the best part is this.... none of the teachers walking past the classroom think a second thought about all the groaning floating out the door and windows! Ah, well, you would have had to have been there.... but here's something you might enjoy .... nap time! That's right! Nap time. Honest.
I've been here in Taiwan since August 14 and I still haven't gotten over the "wonder" of nap time. Students nap. Teachers nap. Administration naps. Everyone naps. First time it happened I had been busy at the computer and oblivious to everything around me. I was working in the teachers' office. I got up, turned around, and was more than a little shocked t
o see all the teachers sacked out at their desks. Walking down the hall, peeking in the classrooms, my mouth dropped open to see all the students equally indisposed. Just last week during nap time a teacher informed me that we shouldn't run the copy machine while eve
ryone was sleeping... it might wake them. Hee-hee. Probably around January I will be knocking some zzzzz's about 12:45 in the afternoon myself. I don't know how well that will go over back in the states when I return though. Another thing that really surprised me was the fact that there are no janitors to clean. The students do the cleaning themselves and the school generally looks very nice. Only once can I remember seeing any litter in the school yard and the hallways are often spotless. With 3,000 stud
ents, that is a real accomplishment. Hey, I did a nice job of avoiding to directly mention my "philosophy" about education, didn't I? And I've given no comparison of Taiwanese education to American education either, have I? Not really. I guess the cards are still out on that one. But at the moment, I will have to simply say that it is muc
h easier to teach Taiwanese kids than it is to teach American kids.... at least from my Midwest school experience. That's a strange thing to say when I don't even speak the same language as the kids I am teaching..... but give us time. We will teach each other.
h any accuracy at all. I can give you the facts. I teach English as a second language to 557 students in 7th and 8th grade. I have between 18 and 20 classes per week. There are 38 students in each of the 7th grade classes (14) and 11 and 12 in the 8th grade classes. I am also supposed to have a class of Taiwanese English teachers on Friday afternoons, but frequently we have meetings instead. That isn't really a "class" as I am just supposed to talk to them so the
y can hear a "native" English speaker talk. That is sometimes difficult because I don't always have something to say and I am never entirely certain that the teachers understand that I am simply one American who has been a teacher in the Midwest for over 15 years. I don't represent all teachers in America and probably am not even "typical" in the way I
think or in my values about education. Okay, okay.... if you are reading this blog you are probably laughing right not because you know me and you know that "probably" is a word I shouldn't have used in the previous sentence. I am not a typical Midwest Amerian teacher. When it comes right down to it, "typical" probably isn't a word that comes to mind when you think of me at all. But these people don't know that. To them, I represent America and I represent teachers in America. So... I take that responsibility very s
eriously and I take this job very seriously. What that all boils down to is that I am literally working my ass off trying to figure out what makes these kids tick and how to turn them into English speakers. At orientation, we were told not to expect miracles. If you recall, the name of this blog is "Why not?" And that should give you some idea of what my job is about. I get up in front of these 7th graders and "act out" their vocabulary. Try it sometime. Pick up a kid's book (early reader) and first act out the story. Then go back and act out the meaning of each of the "n
ew" words. Remember, all of these kids already have words for every thing you are trying to teach them. Different words. What you are telling them is excess... added baggage to store in their heads, so you have to make an impression to make it worthwhile to hold on to that added term. "Groan" was a great one! Imagine 38 preteen and early teen kids all groaning at the same time after watching your dramatic examples. They are all taking this very seriously, too, hanging on to ever word or utterance. Those groans were sincere! And the best part is this.... none of the teachers walking past the classroom think a second thought about all the groaning floating out the door and windows! Ah, well, you would have had to have been there.... but here's something you might enjoy .... nap time! That's right! Nap time. Honest. 
I've been here in Taiwan since August 14 and I still haven't gotten over the "wonder" of nap time. Students nap. Teachers nap. Administration naps. Everyone naps. First time it happened I had been busy at the computer and oblivious to everything around me. I was working in the teachers' office. I got up, turned around, and was more than a little shocked t
o see all the teachers sacked out at their desks. Walking down the hall, peeking in the classrooms, my mouth dropped open to see all the students equally indisposed. Just last week during nap time a teacher informed me that we shouldn't run the copy machine while eve
ryone was sleeping... it might wake them. Hee-hee. Probably around January I will be knocking some zzzzz's about 12:45 in the afternoon myself. I don't know how well that will go over back in the states when I return though. Another thing that really surprised me was the fact that there are no janitors to clean. The students do the cleaning themselves and the school generally looks very nice. Only once can I remember seeing any litter in the school yard and the hallways are often spotless. With 3,000 stud
ents, that is a real accomplishment. Hey, I did a nice job of avoiding to directly mention my "philosophy" about education, didn't I? And I've given no comparison of Taiwanese education to American education either, have I? Not really. I guess the cards are still out on that one. But at the moment, I will have to simply say that it is much easier to teach Taiwanese kids than it is to teach American kids.... at least from my Midwest school experience. That's a strange thing to say when I don't even speak the same language as the kids I am teaching..... but give us time. We will teach each other.
1 comment:
What a wonderful experience this must be.
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