Instead of teaching, I told stories.
Anything to keep them quiet and in their seats.
They thought I was teaching.
I thought I was teaching.
I was learning
i read this book a few years back when i was working at MRSM Balik Pulau as
an English Language Teacher.
[ Gasp! yes i am a teacher ]
I love it so much that i am reading it again.
Saw it in the library at my office.
I quickly grabbed it and now it will be my companion for the next few days.
Who wouldn't after reading these lines:-
"On the first day of my teaching career,
I was almost fired for eating the sandwich of a high school boy.
On the second day I was almost fired for mentioning the possibility of friendship with a sheep.
Otherwise, there was nothing remarkable
about my thirty years in high school classrooms of New York City.
I often doubted if I should be there at all.
At the end I wondered how i lasted that long. "
Pg1
Kids watch, scrutinize,judge. They know body language, tone of voice, demeanor in general….Watch out for Miss Boyd, they’ll say. Homework, man, homework, and she corrects it. Corrects it. She ain’t married so she’s got nothing else to do. Always try to get married teachers with kids. They don’t have time for sitting around with papers and books. Pg12
You’re with them, day in, day out, and you’ll never know, Mac, what that does to your mind. Teenage forever..They keep you on your toes. They keep you fresh. You’ll never grow old, but the danger is you might have the mind of an adolescent forever. That’s a real problem, Mac. You get used to talking to those kids on their level...Day after day in the classroom means you’re in another world Mac. Pg 32-33.
I agree with this.
It does make one feel fresh and 'advanced' than others - being a teacher.
I enjoyed my years teaching.
I had fun.Loads of them.
I was able to analyze characters - a hobby of mine.
I had no problems in getting along with my students.
Maybe because I would go down/up to their level.
Why should I make my life suffer by being so strict ?
I learned a lot from them actually.
More than they learned from me.
Yes, my teaching techniques were out of the box and some senior teachers were not keen of the changes I made.
But i know my students had fun and they learned what needed to be learned.
I not only taught English.
I thought them about life too.
I did share some stories with them,
like how to cope with weird friends and how to get over break-ups.
Some of their problems were foreign to me.
Like having parents who hate one another - divorce.
What i did was,
I read articles and ask around.
They needed help.
So, i helped them.
Basically i recommend this book for teachers out there.
Pg1
Kids watch, scrutinize,judge. They know body language, tone of voice, demeanor in general….Watch out for Miss Boyd, they’ll say. Homework, man, homework, and she corrects it. Corrects it. She ain’t married so she’s got nothing else to do. Always try to get married teachers with kids. They don’t have time for sitting around with papers and books. Pg12
You’re with them, day in, day out, and you’ll never know, Mac, what that does to your mind. Teenage forever..They keep you on your toes. They keep you fresh. You’ll never grow old, but the danger is you might have the mind of an adolescent forever. That’s a real problem, Mac. You get used to talking to those kids on their level...Day after day in the classroom means you’re in another world Mac. Pg 32-33.
I agree with this.
It does make one feel fresh and 'advanced' than others - being a teacher.
I enjoyed my years teaching.
I had fun.Loads of them.
I was able to analyze characters - a hobby of mine.
I had no problems in getting along with my students.
Maybe because I would go down/up to their level.
Why should I make my life suffer by being so strict ?
I learned a lot from them actually.
More than they learned from me.
Yes, my teaching techniques were out of the box and some senior teachers were not keen of the changes I made.
But i know my students had fun and they learned what needed to be learned.
I not only taught English.
I thought them about life too.
I did share some stories with them,
like how to cope with weird friends and how to get over break-ups.
Some of their problems were foreign to me.
Like having parents who hate one another - divorce.
What i did was,
I read articles and ask around.
They needed help.
So, i helped them.
Basically i recommend this book for teachers out there.
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