Saturday, April 6, 2013

What To Do? That Is Always The Question

So far this term has been going very well, much better than last term.  I believe because I have six months experience to back me up I am naturally more confident in teaching and doing things on the fly, but I also think I have discovered what works for me as a teacher and what doesn't.  This term I have a much lighter schedule, but of course sometimes things change, as they have in my case.  I do have more classes, I even had the airport class for awhile.  This class is an adult class taught at an actual airport, it takes off a good 3 hours of your working time, but also adults understand a lot more things such as jokes (most times depends on their level of course).  I was glad to have had the experience in teaching adults as it was my first time with these guys (and I mean all male classroom who have never had a female teacher before, it was scary!)

We've recently had a management change that has left our school without a Foreign Manager, so most of us teachers will have to take over his classes now.  Taking the classes is fine, but when it interferes with your lovely breaks it makes you a little irritated.  My school is a decent sized school, so we have two sections: one called C level classes which most of us teach and then the more expensive classes called A+ (these classes use more technology, have newer books, the teachers get microphones and the parents get to watch the classes through computer screens, change the class topic or sit in on the class if they wanted).  My manager taught some of these classes so now it falls to us to teach the ones he left behind.  I will be getting one of these classes called World Club.  The experience will be great for me, especially if I want to apply to another Aston school in the future, but its five weeks into the term and I haven't been trained for A+ classes. Usually an A+ teacher is paid more, but I won't be.  I will get a short training on the classes and how they work, but it's still scary for me.  The class that I will be teaching, I was told, that the parents sit in the class with their kids (they are about 10-13 years old) but they don't interrupt or tell you what to do (sometimes A+ parents will tell you how to teach the class) they just observe.  I also heard my class doesn't like to play games just do the lesson and practice speaking (each A+ class has a maximum of 8 students! I think mine only has 4 or 5).  I'm cool with no games, I'm much better at teaching than I am at playing games with kids.

Not only will I be teaching an extra class, but I will also be doing Open House every Saturday morning (only
30 minutes long).  The Open House doesn't bother me, the thing that bothers me is the fact that people will be watching: the kids, their parents, some Chinese staff and other Chinese management.  So basically, I will be judged every time.  Luckily, I know I look foreign so I already get points there (Hey! I take what I can get) and I speak very well (I get told this often by the CT's I work with, that they can understand me perfectly).  The only things I would have to work on is my games and making them seem super fun, which I am alright at, I'm not super crazy like some other teachers I have seen (I wish I could be that way).

I look at all these changes as something I can take with me for the future, especially when applying to teach somewhere else next term.  Each experience carries its own weight of knowledge and skill, so now I have the experience of teaching kids between the ages of 3-21 and adults between the ages of 25-35.  I have taught one-on-one classes, review classes, regular classes, upper level classes, Parent/Child classes, and promotions.  I have also done speeches for public schools.  Now I will gain experience with an A+ class and experience in doing Open Houses.  My resume is becoming amazing.

For awhile I was thinking about applying to Korea, but honestly it is very hard to apply to somewhere that has very strict rules about the application process when you are still in a foreign country and not your home country (I believe background checks should be made available to anyone at anytime via email and that should be considered legal and acceptable to companies).  So Korea is out of the picture for now, but maybe in the future after I go back home for a bit I can apply and it will be much easier since I will be back in the US or I can just visit there.  I believe I will stay in China for at least another 6 months to a year, but I definitely want to go somewhere else in China.  Maybe someplace close to the water (I prefer the cold weather to the humid heat).  If I teach with Aston again I would like it to be a new school, preferably with the Touch-Screen White Boards, so I can help improve upon the school.  I want to be apart of something and make changes, maybe I will apply to be a Senior Teacher or maybe even a Manager if the position is offered to me.  Or I could go with my friends to Qingdao and live with them and teach through another school... I don't know yet, but I will be deciding soon!