And at that, I am speechless (or in this case, writeless?).
This past Friday was the last day of our first term of school. As to be expected, this meant dealing with rather hyper students for the past few days but who could blame them. Heck, I was equally excited! I get two weeks off in the middle of October - how awesome is that?! That said, I am sure once the spring terms roll around, I will be crying a little bit because I have one term that is - gulp - 13 weeks long. Ugh...
I figure this is a great time for me to reflect on what life has been like in the classroom for me. My day is shorter than it is at home but often feels longer. Though school starts at 9 instead of 7:15, I go pretty much all day until 3:00 when the kids go home. I still have a great lunch break, mind you, but in the US I'd be done by 1:00 so this longer teaching day was a bit of a challenge to get used to.
I rather enjoy teaching multiple subjects. Math and science are still my two fall back subjects as far as my teaching comfort zone goes but I am slowly learning to embrace the other 13 subjects I teach as well. Actually, I'm not sure it is 13 more...let's see: Math, reading, writing, comprehension, handwriting, problem solving, mental math, science, RME (religious and moral education), topic, art, drama, PE, spelling, and health. Yup, that's all 15 (I think). Right now I'm really getting into Art. I am not at all skilled in art as many of you can attest but am having fun trying to teach my kids about topics such as negative space and how to shade in spheres.
Challenges so far: 1. Keeping my crazy class focused when doing quiet work especially during reading and math when there are multiple groups at work. Very hard for me. Suggestions welcome. 2. Finding ways to make my teaching dynamic. With 15 subjects to cover in a week, I'm struggling just trying to find the resources for my lessons. Amazing learning experiences are definitely not on the menu just yet. 3. Grading - or the lack thereof. I mark the kids' work but I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it correctly. Luckily, my fellow teachers have been very generous with their time by showing me what they do for grading.
The grass is always greener, right? At MEH, I was often frustrated with how often we were expected to contact parents but here I am equally frustrated that parent contact is not commonly used. It is so much easier to have a student behave and do work when the parent is also on board. At MEH, we meet so much that it is often hard to find time to get work done in your classroom. However, I find myself wishing there were more meetings to help me get my bearings. My point is that there is no perfect system. Both schools are wonderful and frustrating at the same time as I imagine most schools to be. There is no perfect formula for how a school can function. Learning to create an effective classroom environment in any school environment is the lesson I'm taking away from this experience so far.
I needed a shock to the system, so to speak, in my career and this is definitely getting the job done. So many people have asked, "It's not that different, is it?" Teaching is teaching no matter where you are so that part of my job isn't that different. But the kids are so different. The curriculum is so different. The expectations, the resources, etc. are all so different. So, Yes, it is very different teaching over here and I know I am going to be that much of a better teacher when I get back to the States. As for right now, I am very much still in "new teacher" mode. And this new teacher is looking forward to her first break. Yay!!
