From March 7th:
I'm having a hell of a time getting online
these days, but I should hopefully have a real connection Sunday or
Monday. I can't wait!
Yesterday was the first day I actually
thought went well. I played a word linking game (bag, giraffe, eagle,
etc.) with all five classes since we didn't have books ready yet, and
the kids loved it. One class was so impressed with the board full of
words they came up with that half of
them got out their phones and took pictures of the board. Another class
wanted to have each person take a turn in order, and while it was a
good idea, I hit a snag: four boys were working together to make sure
that the next girl got an 'X' word every time. The rest of the class
soon cried foul, though I wasn't very successful at disrupting them.
Still, I have some idea for next time.
I also got my medical
check done yesterday (a short interview, chest x-ray, blood and urine
samples, hearing and vision check,) as well as getting a temporary,
pre-paid phone (a smart phone will have to wait until I get my alien
registration card in a few weeks.) The medical check took all morning,
and we grabbed some surprisingly expensive McDonald's from a drive-thru
on our way back to work. (McDonald's is considered a pricy restaurant
here - Baron told us a story about a kid who was thrilled to have it for
the first time because his family's finances were too tight to afford
it.) I'll have to go back next week to get the results, and then I can
get my alien registration card a couple weeks after that.
Today
was a tougher than yesterday because I still didn't have books for most
of my classes and I couldn't rely exclusively on games again. My 1st
grade class got photocopies of the first story and immediately declared
it too easy, blazing through it in about 15 seconds flat ("It is Mom.
It is Alex. It is Dad", etc.) I did start to train them to raise their
hands when they want to answer, and I refused to pick anyone until
everyone was quiet and in their seats, so Hangman went well. I had to
separate a few kids who weren't paying attention, but I at least felt
comfortable doing so.
My other classes went okay, but I have a
class of 14 for science and writing four times a week that I know is
going to be major trouble. The worst is a kid with serious authority
issues who was the ringleader of the 'X' gang mentioned above. I gave
them an assignment to write about music and he flat out refused, saying
he doesn't like music because it's boring. The class has been begging
me to let them play a freezing game (like red-light-green-light,) and I
refused to let them play until everyone wrote something and shared it
with the class. The main troublemaker dragged his feet long enough that
we ran out of time anyway, and thankfully I don't have them tomorrow.
About half the class is pretty good and a few are real standouts, but
they're really chatty and they stick with their friends like glue. I
may have to do assigned seating or break them up some other way to cut
down on the incessant chatter that my glowers can't curb.
I
just want to be Mr. Nice Guy Teacher and I don't like conflict and
confrontation, so the discipline is (so far) the hardest part of the
job. I know the kids are testing their boundaries with me, and Baron
tells me to treat them just like American kids, but I don't know the
right responses yet. At least I feel like I'm starting to get the hang
of it, and my best classes are the ones I have for two hours each on
Friday (instead of my 2-1-1-1-1 schedule the rest of the week). I still
can't wait for the weekend!
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