This website has been pretty spare with updates lately. If I can’t convince myself to write about my personal life or my artwork, I can certainly write some updates about work.
Basically, most of what I do this semester is Oral Communication. It’s so boring. I do the same thing again and again with a few different teachers. I don’t dislike this, but it’s not personally interesting or fulfilling. It makes work feel like a brain drain, which I don’t mind exactly (nevermind that I miss teaching 3rd-year students with my own lesson plan..). I am seeing a lot of students but I’m not necessarily getting to know them, unless they walk up to me. I’m trying to write down the names of those kids if they are interesting (I love them all but I won’t remember every baseball boy and dance club girl’s name).
I visited a 1st year grammar class and a 2nd year grammar class, and both were totally normal and relaxing and just like American school back home. It was really nice. I stood in the front in the beginning for one class to do a warmup, but for this visit I mostly sat near the back and was occasionally asked for input from the teacher. The students weren’t distracted by me any more than they distract each other in a normal class. This is really fun for me, because I see the teacher explaining concepts to the students, and them trying to understand them. Some students listen, some don’t, some try and some don’t, and some learn faster than others but the class progresses.
I am getting into a better rhythm at my visit school, planning classes ahead of time, but, somehow, every day is still stressful. I am having trouble getting on the same page as my JTE’s. Things will get better once we are only repeating lessons. Also, I need to be better about making photocopies, two days in advance. I basically don’t have time to do it in the morning like I did last year. At my visit school, classes start 20 minutes earlier than my home school, which adds to the stress. So I will get better….
Okay class-time now!