My 1st and 2nd Grader Classes Have Begun
February 14th, 2006 by MarkWell, I may not be blogging quite so much for the next year or two. I just started teaching a 1st grader class and a 2nd grader class today. Unlike my normal bŭxíbān classes, these new classes meet for an hour and a half a day, every weekday. It’s exciting, but with an extra 15 contact hours a week and the additional curriculum work, I’m going to be one busy, busy guy.
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February 14th, 2006 at 4:30 am
Congrats! I know you’re going to be working (even more) like a dog, but I still think this is a good thing. As long as you don’t get burnt out! I’m sure all the little tikes will be happy to have you as a teacher.
February 14th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
You’re getting compensated for the additional work, I hope?
Or are you one of those teachers that likes to be abused?
February 14th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Well… sort of. I’m not getting any extra pay for curriculum work (at the moment), the placement tests or the parents meetings, but I’m already paid far more than most ESL teachers are. The real benefit to taking on these new classes instead of opening more normal bŭxíbān classes is that I have COMPLETE control over the curriculum, as opposed to the 20%-30% influence I’m used to. That means some comprehension based drills (in which students must understand and act based on what I say, but not necessarily answer), more extensive reading, and a full-fledged cultural studies program. I’ve NEVER had so much freedom in my teaching before.
One of the best feelings you to be experienced in this life is to see kids you’ve taken from not knowing what “How are you?” means, to being avid Sherlock Holmes and Sci-Fi readers, to being able to make English speaking friends, to being able to get into the best high schools, and basically to having more opportunities in life. I’m not going to be a teacher forever. I feel a sense of urgency to help as many kids as possible, as much as possible, in the time that I am. If I can do a better job of teaching my kids than I ever have before, and deserve more of the credit for it than I ever have before, money really isn’t a big deal. Who teaches for the money any way? If I just wanted money, I’d be doing engineering work.
Uh… I guess the answer is yes. I’m one of those teachers who “likes to be abused”. Sigh… I never can seem to write a concise answer.