Some of the skills that have become more developed this semester has been my ability to roll with the punches, to stay on my toes at all times. That’s a needed trait when it comes to teaching especially when you don’t always understand all the details for upcoming events. That’s what happened last Wednesday when I showed up for my early morning English class - a class that I solo teach. I had been informed the day before that I wouldn’t be able to teach in the library as usual due to the school hosting a small lecture. Instead, I would be teaching in the workshop computer room right across from the library. This small change didn’t really impact my lesson plan as the room still had a projector, internet, and a black board. However, showing up to school early for my class (thank god I was early) I found that the workshop I was supposed to teach in was now filled with everything that originally came from the library that the teachers and students put in there to “clean” the library out. It was my version of spring cleaning, moving the mess to a place you can’t see or don’t use rather than cleaning it. So with five minutes before the class was set to start I started asking the directors where I could have class. The Art class was mentioned. Great! I get there and there are absolutely no seats because they have all been moved to the library. After playing what felt like pingpong going to different room options the end result was teaching 30 students in a room meant for half of them. The students were sitting on top of each other pretty much.
The morning classes are always my hardest classes to prepare because I have no limitations. Any topic, any material is available. As a result, some of the classes are hit or miss. I had blank stares during some of the lessons. Movies seems to be a better topic. I was able to teach both the 8th and 9th graders some of the different genres and how to identify them. I took it a step forward and was able to get my hands on the script for the Incredibles and had them answer a couple questions on what they thought the characters looked like and were etc. and then had them guess the movie it came from from a group of trailers we watched. Being a solo class has its perks because when a class isn’t participating, isn’t interested, or confused I can change whatever activity I had planned. It affects no one, but myself. Whereas in regular classes I get less freedom to listen and respond to the students. I do typically change the pace I go through the material, but not drastic changes that I can do in my morning class.
After morning class on Wednesdays I have no break before a 7th grade English class. I have just enough time to drop off materials I used for the morning class and to pick up materials for the next class. When I got to the classroom to load my PowerPoint teaching the new vocabulary, Sarah, a student that is typically very shy, told me that class was cancelled. I was perplexed. I thought I must have misunderstood her Chinese or she was joking. Lo and behold, I asked my LET and sure enough class was effectively canceled. In replace of English class the students were learning about stretching and massage. I really have no idea why or the takeaways the school hoped the students got from the lecture. I went back to the office and prepared lessons for other classes. Following lunch, however, I was given an update. The 7th grade class from earlier wasn’t cancelled, but moved. It was moved to the 6th period, a period my co-teacher already had another class. By now you are probably starting to connect the dots, I was going to be teaching the entire 45 minute class solo having only prepared for a 20 minute activity. To challenge me even more, the “small lecture” held at the school was actually a conference of the Board of Education from Taitung and Taoyuan. So while I would teach this class, Board of Education officials would be roaming the hallways and school observing teachers. If that’s not pressure, I don’t know what is.
I wasn’t too worried about developing a longer lesson plan. Having taught for a year and a half I could think of more activities and games to teach vocabulary. I was worried about the temperament of the students. Some days the students are on their best behaviors and are my favorite students, while other times they are acting up and bouncing off the walls. Guess what attitude I walked in on? You guessed it… a super energetic group of 7th graders greeted me. The first half of class went very well. While Board of Education officials walked past I was playing an organized version of teachers says, pairing a vocab word with an action. With 20 minutes left however, two students decided they were done. They would try to speak over me, messed with the computer screen (a touch screen which altered my PowerPoint), and broke a fly swatter used in the game. The homeroom teacher came by the last 5 minutes and caught the tail end of class. When the bell rang I couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. I have never been as upset in the classroom as that day because not only did I dedicate a lot of time developing and changing the lesson plan so it was going to be a very fun class for them, but they took advantage of me being the only teacher with officials in the school. Luckily, the homeroom teacher spoke to them and the class the day after anything I said or whenever I reprimanded either one of them for not raising their hand etc. they would respond “Sorry teacher.”
It’s interesting how fast a group attitude can change. One second something is going well and the next they are uninterested and looking for another outlook. Just when I think I have got this teacher and classroom management thing down, the students throw a curveball. On days like this I try to remember that although I won’t be a teacher in the future, that instances like these, albeit hard in the moment will make me a better candidate. I can listen to an audience and judge a response. Students testing me is the equivalence of my movie ideas being shot down or testy actors on set in the future. This is all just practice in managing people and effectively communicating. When I put it into perspective it helps me not to get too distraught and move to the next class with a clean slate.
Friday offered just that. Friday classes were cancelled (I know cancelled again), but this time with prior warning. It was a field trip!! I was assigned to accompany the 7th graders (I don’t know why it’s always the 7th graders I’m with) as they go to different sites. Field trips don’t happen too often so I think the administration was trying to squeeze in as much as they could. First we went to the Beinan Township Administration and Representative office. The students learned about the importance of voting and the role the Representatives elected play in how the community is run. The students loved sitting in the Representatives’ chairs in their debate room. Each chair was comfy, could swivel, and had a microphone. The students also learned about the clerical work and data about the population of Beinan Township. It was interesting to see all the numbers involving the percentage of aboriginal population in Beinan Township and where they were primarily located.
Our second stop was supposed to be at a helicopter hanger. However, an incident involving an Indonesian boat off the coast of Taitung prevented us from being able to go meet with the search and rescue crew. Instead of seeing helicopters we went to Tie Hua, the art village in town, and let the children walk around. Within 5 minutes of leaving the bus a group of 7th graders bought so much food from a stall even though it was right before lunch. The bright side of Tie Hua was that it also has a small art museum incorporating what some people say is trash into artwork.
Lunch was much anticipated for the children as we all got to go to McDonalds. Living near school I don’t think many of my students get to eat out as much at least not at western places. McDonalds also has fairly high prices here too. I got the smallest meal I could, a cheeseburger and fries, and it cost the equivalent of eating at a high end, homemade meal of curry or even pizza at a western restaurant. Other than the price, McDonalds in Taiwan has some small changes on the menu too. For one, there are no M&M McFlurries. There is only Oreo McFlurries served in Taiwan. There are also a lot more chicken sandwiches offered and fried chicken options. More than half of my students opted to order two chicken wings that come in a little sleeve bone and all. The fruit offered isn’t apple either. They have bags of guava here, a fruit I am constantly buying because I realized I love it. There are also some changes in terms of salads and other dishes the include more Asian elements, mostly a lot more seaweed included in the meals. There are even soups on the menu including a corn soup that many of the students voluntarily bought. Another striking difference I observed was the ratio of ketchup to fry. One large fry only equates to getting one small ketchup packet. Even when you ask they don’t give you more. It’s just an interesting habit that I have noticed because usually at home they put a handful of ketchups in the bag. Either way the students were all hyped up on caffeine and sugar when we left McDonalds.
Following McDonalds our field trip brought us to the Oceanside Park, a beach in Taitung that is mainly rocks and too wavy to get in the water. The students split in two with the boys getting to climb over the big boulders and clean the beach closer to the water while the girls cleaned the grassy “more safe” area of the beach. This small show of sexism irked me greatly especially when anytime the girls got too close to the boulders they would get told to get off. Despite not getting close to the water, I had a lot of fun with the girls. I like actually attempting to talk to my students in topics that interest them rather than topics about school. I can even speak more Chinese than I can at school with them as well.
Alice and Sarah ask each time I have my camera at school to take pictures without fail. It's to the point where I am considering having an entire morning class on photography.
The last stop of the day was an elderly home. The elderly were all diagnosed with dementia and most were tied into their wheelchairs. The woman who brought us up in the elevator reminded us to quickly enter the floor because if the door is left open too long or if the patients aren’t tied, sometimes they take off running. It was painful to see these people left in their wheelchairs with very little control over the lives. Even after one of the people stated she didn’t want to watch the performance she was told she had to. The students performed Twinkle, twinkle little star on the ukulele which could’ve been very pretty to hear, but the students are still practicing and their strumming sounds more forced than melodic. After putting the ukuleles away, the students then performed their two dances from Sports Day. I don’t think the elderly had ever heard that kind of music before. It was music typically reserved for clubs and young people dancing. Some of the elderly were even bopping their heads along to the music.
The kids then broke off into groups and played different games with the older people. It was actually impressive to see how much their attitudes changed when they were worked with the elderly. The boys became so gentle and attentive, even encouraging at some points. With what started as the students dragging their feet going into the elderly home, ended with smiles and laughter as they tried to balance Noah’s ark while putting animals on it or fling paper rings over flamingos. I think everyone involved would say that the visit had a positive effect on everyone involved. I think bringing young people around the elderly certainly helps both parties and builds a stronger community.
Like with any job, being a Fulbright Teaching Assistant has its ups and downs. Being able to overcome the challenges will make the successes even greater. I think the opportunity to be here has taught me so much more about my skill set than I had known. I think the first step in improving oneself is to learn one's own faults as painful as that sometimes is to then build upon one’s own strengths. Bad classes are just that learning experiences - no where close to life or death that it sometimes feels like when managing 15-30 junior high students. It’s always easier to see the good after the fact and despite the stress and uncertainty, Fulbright definitely has given me an unparalleled opportunity.
Comentários