Getting back to the real matter in hand here, work/school: call it what you will. My first couple of months have been a delight, not like ‘work’ at all. I was thrown in the deep end a little as my school was very short staffed upon my arrival, so I walked straight in to a full teaching schedule, but I’d like to think I’ve risen to the challenge, being keen to prove what I can do, in the knowledge my workload here could never be as gruelling as last year. I’ve gotten my head around the different books, abilities, pronunciation challenges and paperwork and love having more of a structured working week.
I really like my classes, as with my classes last year in ‘Nam, they’re a good bunch. We get on; they even understand my jokes and give back a bit of banter! I’ve have set down my ground rules and introduced all manner of activities to spice up lesson time. Building good rapport with my students has been effortless and I feel more relaxed than ever when in the classroom. Come to think of it, I feel more relaxed in this school generally.
Unlike last year, the majority of my learners are higher level teenagers, and it’s surprised me how much I’m enjoying working with them. I have 3 classes of 3-6 year olds, who vary in ability and cheekiness, but they’re a good challenge and I’ve tamed them a lot in two months, they seem to respond well to my routines and appreciate me clowning around. They’re a little more outgoing than I’m used to, which I like and it will certainly give me scope to do more creative, free thinking activities, which is something my learners struggled with last year. It’s surprising really, I’ve come from one communist country to another, but here Shanghainese students appear more worldly wise.
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Small Star 'graduation' ceremony
Happy days and more to come.
A xx
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