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We are now three weeks down for the school year, and I'm starting to get a pretty clear picture of what life at PAS will be like. I had coffee with a coworker yesterday, and there are some ISSUES. None of them are real big deal-breakers yet. I'm not being asked to do anything immoral or illegal, as far as I can tell. There is a distinct lack of support in any sort of meaningful, codified way, especially for new teachers, so I think I'm going to end up running a de facto mentorship/support group as we figure stuff out. Obviously, all our students are ESL, with a wide level of proficiency within that (even within classes). There are ideological classes that are like business vs. school clashes that I'm going to try and keep fully out of (not my circus, not my monkeys is my mantra for that sort of shit).
I knew things would be Different, going into an East Asian high school (doesn't matter that the name American is in our school), but I hadn't really experienced its full force when I was at QSI because our curriculum and school philosophy there were so different, even from most American schools. I'll be honest, it's a bit of a rude awakening on my end. However, I do have a great deal of autonomy within my own classroom, so for now, I will put my energy there, where I can do some good.
I've been reflecting on my teaching style, and I think I need to really not be so gentle while still being kind. That is, I'm going to have to help these kiddos honestly face their skill deficits BUT I'm going to give as much targeted, specific feedback as possible. One of the kiddos wrote about her weakness for an assignment, and she said she wasn't confident because so many people (parents, teachers, head of school) would yell at her when she failed and tell her to try harder without providing any help as to HOW to improve. So my goal is going to be to gather examples, both good and bad, but share them in a way that gives students a clearer path to improvement besides telling them to "work harder." This is something I should do anyway, and I do, to an extent, but it's going to need to be my priority with this group. And I need to do this while maintaining good work-life boundaries.
If things don't get markedly worse, I can definitely make it through a two-year contract without much trouble. We'll see how it goes!
I knew things would be Different, going into an East Asian high school (doesn't matter that the name American is in our school), but I hadn't really experienced its full force when I was at QSI because our curriculum and school philosophy there were so different, even from most American schools. I'll be honest, it's a bit of a rude awakening on my end. However, I do have a great deal of autonomy within my own classroom, so for now, I will put my energy there, where I can do some good.
I've been reflecting on my teaching style, and I think I need to really not be so gentle while still being kind. That is, I'm going to have to help these kiddos honestly face their skill deficits BUT I'm going to give as much targeted, specific feedback as possible. One of the kiddos wrote about her weakness for an assignment, and she said she wasn't confident because so many people (parents, teachers, head of school) would yell at her when she failed and tell her to try harder without providing any help as to HOW to improve. So my goal is going to be to gather examples, both good and bad, but share them in a way that gives students a clearer path to improvement besides telling them to "work harder." This is something I should do anyway, and I do, to an extent, but it's going to need to be my priority with this group. And I need to do this while maintaining good work-life boundaries.
If things don't get markedly worse, I can definitely make it through a two-year contract without much trouble. We'll see how it goes!
