4ever Discovering

After almost 10 weeks of teaching in Taipei, I figured it was about time I let everyone know how it is going!  I know you’ve all read about our amazing travels so far and the food we’ve been eating every week, but let’s cut to the chase here; we came here to teach!  (I know, sometimes I even forget that).  Sometimes I find that I get so caught up in planning my next adventure, I forget about my main focus here: to educate young minds.

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Before I came to Taiwan, my idea of teaching in Asia was pretty simple; I assumed that every student would be well behaved and academic focused because that is the culture.  Boy was I wrong.  Here’s a tip for anyone planning on coming to teach in Taiwan; prepare for your every day, elementary school chaos.  I am teaching grades 2 and 3, so naturally the students are hyper at a young age.  I can live with that.  What’s tough is that these young children are energetic enough as it is, let alone in front of a teacher who they can’t understand.  For all I know, they don’t even know what ‘quiet’ means.  Maybe they think I am giving them permission to run around the class or take a nap?  This is when I realize that I should have taken some beginner Chinese classes before I left Canada.  But hey, life is one big learning opportunity!  There is always next time.

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My students have finished their first unit called “Amazing Me” and have begun the second one, “My Family”.  I found that most of the kids did really well, especially with their written work; however, there is still a long way to go.  This was a great first unit to teach because I was able to learn about my students and they could learn a little about me as well.  In a nutshell, the students love Pokemon.  I don’t know how many times in a day I am asked “Miss L, how do you spell Pokemon Go?”  It works both ways though; I’m sure all of my students now know about the Blue Jays and my love for baseball.

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 The final project they made was a booklet called, “All About Me”, where I asked them to bring in baby pictures of themselves so we can see how they have changed over the years.  I just finished marking them all and I am so happy with the final products!  They look awesome and you can tell they put a lot of work into making them.  Next up, I get to learn all about their families which will be another fun topic to teach.  I hope that these topics will spark a lot of English conversation in the class because I still don’t know what these kids are saying half of the time!

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Within the next upcoming weeks, I will be introducing iPads in the classroom for the students to use during our activity centres.  Sounds really exciting, right?  The students certainly think so.  I, on the other hand, have my doubts.  After 10 weeks, I have been able to get to know the students pretty well; we see each other every day and I’ve seen some of the kids at their high and low points.  With that being said, when I see that they cannot even hold a piece of paper with losing it or a ruler without breaking it, I think it is safe to say that giving them an iPad to hold might cause a few problems.  Every day the students come into class and ask “Miss L, are we using iPads today?”  And sadly, every day I have to break the bad news to them.  I swear we will use them one day, but until then, pen and paper works just as well.

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After my first couple of months as a teacher, I have come to realize that every teacher I have ever had throughout my life deserves more credit.  You never know what it is like to stand in front of 30 young minds and try to teach them in a way where everyone can understand and have an equal amount of instructional time.  It’s tough; I give every teacher out there props for that.  I can see how some students slide under the radar in class; sometimes teachers just don’t have enough time in the day to meet every student’s learning needs.  It’s heartbreaking.  I’ve also learned that some students just need someone on their side for once; someone who isn’t going to put the blame on them.  I have promised myself that I will give every student the benefit of the doubt and will never jump to conclusions.  Everyone deserves that chance, especially when we don’t always know what their home life is like behind closed doors.

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As much as the students drive me up the wall some days, I love going to school each day.  I love waking up knowing that I am helping these kids better their future and education by being here.  Of course there are struggles and difficulties, but what job doesn’t have that?  As weird as it sounds, I find that my stress at school is somewhat rewarding because I know it is caused from caring and wanting the best for my students.  Some days I find that I am constantly punishing my students and they must hate coming to class every day.  Then, I see them in the hallway 20 minutes later and they are running towards me with smiles on their faces yelling “Miss L, Miss L!”  I can’t help but smile back, no matter how mad I was before.

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 I am constantly thinking of ways how I can make every student achieve, whether they want to or not.  Some days I feel defeated, but then I have those days where a parent writes to me saying that their child LOVES English now and can’t wait to come every day.  Those are the days that make everything worthwhile because I know I am making a difference in some way.  I have wanted to be a teacher since grade 1, and now I finally feel like everything I have worked so hard for has paid off and I am doing what I love to do.  Every day is filled with a new learning opportunity and lesson to be learned.  We have the power to make each day special; we just need to find it within ourselves to do so.