4ever Discovering
One Semester Down, The Rest of My Life To Go
Only How Many More Days Until I Can Officially Retire on a Beach?
Well, I finished my first semester of teaching a little sleep deprived, and with a little bit of my sanity left. It was quite the roller coaster ride, but I’m proud to say I am leaving the school doors feeling accomplished at the end of the week. We have earned our vacation, and I am beyond excited to leave for Hong Kong and celebrate Chinese New Year in China! This is my first real ‘big-girl’ job, so I finally understand the rewarding feeling of earning your vacation after a long haul. My classroom is clean, my report cards are printed, and my bag is packed to get out of here!
These last couple of months have been the busiest ones yet! Once you have the finish line in sight, you realize all of the things you still need to do before you lock your door for the holidays. With only a month left, I started to make a list of everything I still needed to do before I could think about travelling. Let me tell you, this list was not fun. It was crunch time, but I knew once I finished, the reward was worthwhile! After a busy Christmas holiday spent in the classroom, my students were already checked-out (just like me). We all knew we only had a few weeks left and were trying our best to stay focused in class. We had to play some catch-up; we still had one more unit to finish in a short period of time. My students like a challenge, so I knew they would be up to it!
Our first week back from our New Year holiday in January, all of the ESL teachers were busy preparing for an ‘Open House’ for the parents and principal. Being the first year of the program, many parents were curious to see what their children were learning. They also wanted to know what a typical lesson would look like in the ESL classroom (they knew it wasn’t comparable to their Chinese classes). To help put the parents at ease, our company decided to put on a little ‘show’ so everyone could see what we learn in class. This Open House required a lot of time and effort from both the teachers and the students. We lost a lot of class time trying to rehearse our song and dance, and pretend we were the perfect classroom….LOL. If only, if only.
With our grade 2’s, Emily and I had our classes sing a song about the foods they like and dislike. It worked out perfectly because our current unit was all about Healthy Foods. The students were assigned a specific food, and had to sing along with the YouTube video. (Here is the link if you’re interested in hearing the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frN3nvhIHUk). After watching some of the rehearsals, I was pretty nervous for the parents to watch. It wasn’t necessarily the best show I had ever seen, but when push came to shove, the kids pulled through and had a great final performance! I knew it would all work out; it was just the days leading up to the show that made me freak out a little.
For our grade 3’s, Emily and I were faced with a little more of a challenge. These classes seem to be a bigger handful than our others. To put it point blank, these kids like to talk. I was dreading seeing them misbehave in front of their parents, but they were the biggest surprise of all! The grade 3’s really buckled down and showed us what they are capable of. The dean liked the rehearsal so much, she wanted them to close the show and have everyone in the audience join in on their song. It was super cute; they sang a song about their families and how much they love each other. It was pretty heartwarming watching the final performance. (Here is the link if you want to hear the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_WQEw13TCo). After about 3 weeks of practicing, my students made me proud! They showed me that (sometimes) they really do care (or maybe because they wanted to look good in front of their parents). Either way, I’m glad they worked hard and put on a great show. Let’s just say I don’t want to hear those songs again for a longggg time.
Along with our performances, we also had to put on a 30 minute ‘mock’ lesson of our typical day in English class. The parents were invited to observe the class, which was a little nerve wracking for me and the students. I felt like I was back in my placement being evaluated by the prof. Not fun. The parents were watching through the windows, and some even came to stand at the back of the class because there was no room at the windows. It’s hard to really show them what class is like in 30 minutes, but we did our best to show them our daily routines. I even practiced with the students the day before so they knew exactly what to do (and always raise their hand to answer). The students were on their best behaviour for their parents; I don’t think I had ever seen the class so quiet! Almost every student was participating, and they were very respectful when their peers were sharing their answers. It was the perfect classroom; I thought I was dreaming!
You can imagine the amount of planning that went into this Open House. I was so relieved when it was over, and my report cards were submitted. It was like a thousand pound weight was lifted off of my shoulders. The students were awesome, and were ready to get right back into our last unit of the semester: My Healthy Body. We condensed this unit into about 2 weeks with all of the interruptions we were having with the Open House. We started with healthy vs. unhealthy foods, and the 5 food groups. The students made a little art project to help them understand these topics, and they turned out so cute! They had to choose one food from each food group they like to eat, and draw the food in their stomach. Emily and I made T-shirt templates, and the students drew their food on them to make it look like a stomach. I even hung them up on clothespins in the classroom to make them look real! The students didn’t really understand my joke about washing their shirts and hanging them to dry, but I still get a little chuckle out of it. That’s one downside about teaching ESL, the don’t usually understand my jokes.
Our next topic was all about physical activity and our healthy routines. I emphasized to the students how it is important to be active every day, and clean ourselves regularly. I know it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes you never know who needs the reminder. These kids spend so much time at school, I wouldn’t be surprised if they forgot to brush their teeth, or even sleep at night. As for the physical activity part, I had to clarify that walking around to play Pokemon Go technically counts as being active, but is not the best choice. They didn’t care. The final days were focused around creating a book about their daily healthy routines. Every student needed to include what physical activity they did, what healthy foods they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and what routines they do after they wake up and before they go to bed. It pretty much summed up their day, which helped them focus on sequencing words. We are really trying to get them to understand the words first, next, then, and last. This final book turned out great! Although some students will need to finish when they get back in February (they took an early vacation), I can really see the improvements from their first weeks in the classroom. So far, it has been a success!
After my first official semester of teaching, I know this is what I am meant to do. I love waking up, knowing that my students will come to class with a smile on their face, ready to learn. It is their success that keeps me going. If I didn’t feel like they were making any improvements, I would really question what I am doing. Of course I have days where I feel like that, but overall, the good outweighs the bad. After marking their final exams, I was beyond thrilled to see how many excelled. I guess sometimes they really do listen, who knew? With the new year quickly approaching, many students and parents have shown their gratitude by showering me with gifts. I have been eating so many sweets that the students have brought me, I needed to put them in the ESL office to stop myself. The students also know my birthday is coming up, so they have been bringing in little surprises this week. My favourite is a homemade stuffed bunny; it is made from socks, and it just adorable. The kids are always so happy to come to class, it is contagious. It will be sad to say goodbye to them at the end of year, but I know this is just the beginning. I have many years left of making these connections with my students and building the rapport to help them feel comfortable. Part of me wishes I can grow with them next year, but I know there is a new adventure awaiting me! I am looking forward to another successful semester ahead, and another 4 months to grow with my students. Happy Chinese New Year!