1. About 12: Well for what it is worth I almost walked out of school today and I have told my head. I am very unhappy or very cross something like that and that we will discuss it later. Why mainly jealousy to be honest. Having told you she does not teach any of the Bilimkana children suddenly she was in the year one class teaching them English and I thinking what the hell is going on here, are they unhappy with what I am doing and have not told me. And this was the rub, it is so easy for my head they listen to her,and they loved it, not that they do not like my class, but it was just so much easier for her. But I was also puzzled by what she was teaching them. Why A B C, not something that I have focused on this term (there are lots of things I could should be improving, but we are basically following the book which does not teach ABC it builds on it). She then came into the class I had and started explaining that this term she will teach each of my classes to review their learning. This is probably a good idea, but it would therefore be useful is she reviewed what I was actually teaching them. What is the policy here re such things? I have also only just started building some revision in for this group so know that in some ways the evidence for what they have learned may be limited if she takes the book stuff, as it will need reinforcement and support. But if she then were to ask the children to recite the bit they learned for Walking Through the Jungle then they may be able to. |Or if she was to assess the skills they are developing in terms of supporting their own learning she would see some students have good practice and others need support to develop these skills.
P.s ironically my plan for today's class is to sit with all the girls individually and go over their books with them to see where they are up to and what they need to try and finish before I move on next week. ( I did this and I must say it did paint a depressing picture about how much they had retained, but a useful picture too. I am half way through my time here, so time to build in some revision definitely.) However, next week I will how the boys who have been romping through the book have been doing, and whether they have retained any of it.
About 3.30 So I was the problem today after my initial rant see above, I was just crap at teaching. Class one do for me. Any suggestions? They are about 10, can read, quite well some of them, do the written work, but talk over me, each other, if I try games they are wild, they have bags of potential Family and Friends a bit babyish in some ways, but potentially useful and we do use some other books too but I do not know how to cope with the incessant noise and them not listening and therefore not learning from each other.
I actually stopped teaching the class 10 minutes before the end of class. I had had it. But it is a real problem, if I am not a good enough teacher then what am I doing here. I actually really love being here in Kyrgyzstan, it is a lovely place. I cannot recommend it enough for a holiday, but I am supposed to be working here, so how to cope with my time left here and benefit the kids?
To compensate for all this moaning I attach some more pictures of our lovely winter, today it is very warm, I actually sat out side in the lovely new wooden swing with tea and bread and jam when I got back to the Ashu. I loved the guest house in Senegal I love the guest house here, just a great chillin' place, wish it was mine, either of them, though the guest house in Senegal was very hard work for the owner and scarcely made money, whereas this place is sorted money wise and energy wise as the owners can employ excellent staff to do the day to day work. I can hear English speaking guests have just arrived, not sure I feel like being sociable though, so wonder if I can just stay in my room and then disappear off to Bishkek tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment