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4ever Discovering
My first official months as "Miss B"
My monsters students are "growing more comfortable in the ESL classroom", Miss B however seems to have lost her mind.
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I finally decided to write a post about my first couples of month teaching. So, I guess you can say I’ve been slacking at writing this post but I have not been slacking in the classroom….
Some background: this is my first year as an official teacher. I am teaching grade 2 and grade 3. Their ages range from 8 to 12. I know I don't understand either but i got some kids telling me they just turned 9 and some kids telling me they are 12 years old in the same. Honestly, sometimes I forget how young these children are!
I feel like as a teacher I am constantly reflecting on my work and my lessons. Should I have done this? What if I started with this? Who needs more explanation? There are so many thoughts and choices running through my head everyday, something always gets forgotten. I go to bed with my brain exhausted and hopes to get everything done the next day. I think my catchphrase for the past 3 months is “There is always tomorrow”
For my second teaching unit, I covered the topic “My family and my Home”. I got the opportunity to learn all about their lives at home and what they do with their family. I taught them how all families are unique and some families are big, some families are small, some families only have one parent. I tried to emphasize that we should all love our families because they helps us enjoy life and will always be there for us. During this topic, I asked the students why your mother is important to you? Why is your father important to you? This was hard to teach to Grade 2 and 3s, especially ESL students. Actually, sometimes, this is a hard message for everyone, adults, teenagers, and kids, we forget how important people are in our lives. I approached this lesson with “What does your mother/father help you with? Most of the answers were “My mother helps me play Pokemon Go. (They are truly obsessed) My father helps me cook. My father/mother helps me with my homework. I even got “My father helps me stabilize my emotions”. Heavy topic for a 12 year old….
Side note: Being a teacher rocks because of all the silly answers you get; for example, this one student wrote “I like puzzy” on his exam. LOL
I felt like I was teaching something meaningful; a life lesson to appreciate what you have and appreciate what people do for you. During the first months, teaching here has been difficult. The students are not use to the routines and rules and some cannot handle the change and lash out. I had students screaming, running and even the occasional chair toss along with other objects…. I would leave school feeling defeated because I felt like I was constantly upset with their behaviours. What amazed me is 10 minutes later, I would see my students in the halls and they would have HUGE smiles on their faces saying “ MISS B. MISS B !!” and come and give me hugs and high fives. Like do you not remember me yelling at you two minutes ago. So, we start everyday fresh, it's a new day, if the students can smile at me after I yell at them, then I can smile at them and laugh with them after they are terrible one day. Yes, you have to make a yearly plan, a monthly plan and a weekly plan but the best teaching happens day by day. It’s the in the moment lessons that I love- even if it’s the simplest concept like how to close the door without harming yourself or how to share the classroom materials and even deeper topic like what makes your family special.
Everyday, I can see my students improving; some days more than others…. When the students who never participates raise their hand for the first time- it melts my heart. I don't think I could get that feeling in any other career! I am so thankful I got the opportunity to educate these young minds. Children are so amazing; each student is unique and requires something different but they all need your support :) Just try to take it easy on them,(I am saying this in my head more for myself), they are just silly kids, even where they are acting like d-e-v-i-l-s.
Sorry, I kind of geared off topic with teaching but we made these little hearts that say “My mother is important to me! With 5 sentences to describe her and then smiley faces that say “My father is important to me! With 5 sentences to describe him. One of my student lost their parent, so it was a sensitive topic, but it was a great way to make everyone understand that all families are different and love each and every member ! For our art project, we made a family tree; lots of the students’ grandparents only had Chinese names- so it was very cool to see the two cultures emerge together. Next week, we are doing our final project which will be a post card. It’s going to look super cool. (I hope)
I am grateful for all the teachers out there. We truly put so much time, effort, and thought into our students and classes. Even when the students are not behaving one day, give them a chance the next, they might surprise you. The good days make up for ALL the bad days… The little smiles, the hands waving in the classroom, and their voices when they call your name in the hallway are some of the many best parts of teaching.
Leave me a comment :)
If you have any must-do lessons plans for ESL learners; let me know!
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