Today was filled with totally unnecessary drama concerning the school and my teaching methods.
Apparently they're starting a new policy where students can complain directly to the chairman (aka the head honcho) if they are unhappy with their classes.
Well... I had ONE (keep in mind, I have 200) student complain about my class and they made Max (head of the foreign teachers) come talk to me and tell me that they would be monitoring one of my classes to see how I was teaching. Well, I should have known that they are too lazy for that, so Max comes by my last class of the day and says he instead needs to survey my students. Never mind the fact that I was in the middle of having them do dialogues. I leave early and he asks them how I'm doing.
Their response: Great! She speaks a little too fast, and sometimes we have a hard time understanding. She is very nice.
So now they're not going to sit in on my class. Everything is fine.
Can I just say how RIDICULOUS it was for this to even have happened in the first place?!
A. It's only the third week into school. And apparently I got 'rave' reviews the first week. The only thing that's changed is, oh, I started making the students do actual work.
B. The student not only didn't complain to me first, they didn't complain to Max, or even the next guy up from Max. They went straight to the top.
C. They didn't even tell me what the complaint was. So I have no clue.
D. I don't think they realize that I have about 3 different levels of students in my class. Some of very low, beginner level, some are intermediate, and some are very good speakers. Which is a HUGE problem, because there is only one of me and thirty of them and I don't have time to get them all to the same level. For some of the smarter kids they may get bored, but I have to cater to the majority, and the majority of the students are still at the beginner level.
E. A lot of my students are lazy and shy. It is like pulling teeth to get them to speak. Max says they just need one on one encouragement, but I don't have time to give them all individual attention. I'm not here to make them feel good about themselves, I'm here to provide them with the information and they are the ones who are supposed to actually take that information and run with it. GAH!!!! I can not spend the entire class fluffing their egos.
F. Do these sound like college kids to you? Honestly, I think they gave me high schoolers and lied about it.
I'm already getting tired of this place, and you're crazy if you think I'm going to be re-signing my contract once it's up.
No more Mrs. Nice Teacher.
No more watching tv shows at the beginning of class (which we watched the Apprentice because it pertains to their major; business).
No more nice power point presentations.
No more using the book as an aid to write their dialogues.
If they're going to act like high school kids, they're going to be treated like high school kids.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Ingrates
Posted by
Jiexi
at
5:16 PM
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6 comments:
BOOYAH! why don't you have vocab review every day and start with the words: ingrates, unprofessionalism and individual accountability. that should take them all month. dui bu qi, wo peng you. gai si de xue sheng!
Don't let one student ruin an entire experience.Remember that the vast majority were very complimentary. You should teach with high expectations. You never know which student is going to get the most out of the experience. So, just keep doing your best and you will be amazed by the results.
Love Mom
Do they ever transfer students? Maybe this student needs to take a hike. You must be doing a fantastic job if all are satisfied but one. Keep your spirits up. I think you are very brave for taking this on in the first place.
Love you very much, Nana
Super giant hugs! I can understand your frustration. It sucks when one or two students complain and you a) don't know exactly what they said and b) are immediately scolded and assumed to be in the wrong.
OMG, WHY DON'T CHINESE STUDENTS TALK EVER??? (I actually know the answer to that question but it is still SO frustrating.) I had SUCH trouble with that when I was teaching! Unless the class was super tiny, I could almost NEVER elicit anything from them. (I even had trouble eliciting when I was teaching just a single student, which was equally frustrating.) I can totally sympathize with you! Isn't it just the WORST feeling, standing up there smiling like a huge idiot, waiting for somebody to say SOMETHING? Gah, so frustrating. I'm actually having similar problems right now in the English class where I've been a substitute. It's so hard to get the students to speak out loud in class, or volunteer to read things from the book, or anything where they have to speak in the group. It's weird, because they're advanced students. I don't know. They talk when I pair them up, and talk extremely well when I walk by and talk to them in small groups, so I don't really get it.
Also, when I was in China, I found that a lot of the students seemed younger than they were. I taught high school students, and they acted like middle school students. So their immaturity might just be a cultural thing.
I hope things get a bit less frustrating for you. Personally, I'm happy that you're teaching English these days, because it's so nice to have a friend who is also an English teacher, so we can share stories! (And, of course, bitch together, hehe.)
Think back to your first college classes when a little Chinese? person stood at the front of your class and prattled on trying to get you to speak Chinese. Did you jump into it from day one or did you shyly hold back hoping that someone with a little bit more experience than you would go first? Perhaps that is what is happening to some of your students who are not as communicative as you would like. Give it time and they will change, with your good teaching and with time they will overcome their apprehension and get an understanding of English. Not everyone will reach the same level, nor will they all progress at the same rate - with the size of classes that you have been given that is impossible.
Did you do any basic statistics in your educational career because if you did you will remember that if you take a big enough sample any results will lie under a bell curve with roughly 80% under the main part of the curve, 10% under the bottom part and 10% under the top. And that is what you have got - some dumbos, a bunch of average students and some future leaders. You just have to live with it, enjoy the highs, learn from the lows and let the rest of it wash over you.
Try Googling "Nil Carborundum Illegitimi" if you don't already know the expression.
Now go and enjoy your well earned break.
Love
Grandma and Grandpa
xxxx
ps we went to Looe today and bought a bunch of postcards of places in the West Country, we will send them on for you to use.
Have lots of fun on your trip! I'm So jealous :) By the way the wedding is this weekend I hope all goes well and I don't trip and fall or something crazy like that. I miss you and let me just say.... I can SO relate to this blog. My kids are the same, and they are four! Yeah for teachers and boooooo to complainers
Tess
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