Life as a High School Teacher
Adolescent Antic of the week: goes to Daniel, who didn't want to stand in the "Big Booty" circle. (Oh yes, my friends, I have been teaching them "Big Booty." Go Madrigal Dinner!) So, he sat on a chair that he had placed on top of a desk, assumingly to stand out. Being the very-tall 13-year-old that he is, he certainly towered over everyone for a whole 3 seconds.
In the past week (or, more accurately, 4 days), I have come to a grim realization - high school students are pretty much the same anywhere. They deal with the same awkward issues, they come to class with the same "what am I doing here?" look on their faces, they all simultaneously want you to go to hell and teach them something really cool.
As a sub, it's even worse. They have already assumed that you don't really have anything invested in them; they are absolutely sure that you could care less about being there except for the fact that you are getting paid to do it; and they are pretty sure that they can get away with anything they want because, hey, it's not like you're going to be coming back to torture them.
Students here have the added bonus of being told what to learn instead of being told to think about what they are learning. Every time I ask them why, they give me the same squinty, bewildered, because-that's-what-you-just-told-me look. Maybe I'm new, but it takes a while to break a classroom out of the automatic "Yes" every time you ask them a question. But I gotta hand it to these kids, they pick up quickly, especially considering that they are picking things up in a second language that is VERY different from their own.
I must admit, I get very excited when the eyes get larger, the light comes on, and a hint of a smile peeks out from their normal indifferent expressions as they come to understand something that they find interesting.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to unlearn the many test runs of 1:30-2 hour classes and condense everything into 30 minutes...
In the past week (or, more accurately, 4 days), I have come to a grim realization - high school students are pretty much the same anywhere. They deal with the same awkward issues, they come to class with the same "what am I doing here?" look on their faces, they all simultaneously want you to go to hell and teach them something really cool.
As a sub, it's even worse. They have already assumed that you don't really have anything invested in them; they are absolutely sure that you could care less about being there except for the fact that you are getting paid to do it; and they are pretty sure that they can get away with anything they want because, hey, it's not like you're going to be coming back to torture them.
Students here have the added bonus of being told what to learn instead of being told to think about what they are learning. Every time I ask them why, they give me the same squinty, bewildered, because-that's-what-you-just-told-me look. Maybe I'm new, but it takes a while to break a classroom out of the automatic "Yes" every time you ask them a question. But I gotta hand it to these kids, they pick up quickly, especially considering that they are picking things up in a second language that is VERY different from their own.
I must admit, I get very excited when the eyes get larger, the light comes on, and a hint of a smile peeks out from their normal indifferent expressions as they come to understand something that they find interesting.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to unlearn the many test runs of 1:30-2 hour classes and condense everything into 30 minutes...
posted by Vivi at 9:56 AM
2 Comments:
Please clue those of us who have never been a part of a Madrigal what is the "big booty"
You are making a difference in someone's life. What a fantastic way to live.
MOM.
Hi ViVi,
Just want to say Hi, OK
Ong Ngoai
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