Ever since my first day teaching, my students have said some pretty unpredictable, strange or just downright hilarious things. In class you learn to expected the unexpected, and I’ve found that a either snappy reaction to turn a comment on its head or good acting skills are my best friends in the classroom when put in a situation that leaves the classroom precariously on the edge of disorder. Funny, awkward or otherwise, these moments in class never cease to make me remember why I adore working with each and every one of my students (although sometimes the situation is not funny until afterwards) and having the chance to get to know them and their vibrant personalities.
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
In the 8th grade, the students were practicing expressing something that they did not think would happen but had indeed happened.
“Chen” raises his hand, and when called upon asks, “Does it have to be true?”
His teacher has known him since 5th grade, so she responds jokingly that they all “know he’s a liar anyways” and to “go ahead.”
“Chen” says, “I was not expecting it, but I think I’m gay.”
Gales of laughter shake the classroom. “Chen” looks pleased. Way 458 to disrupt class: falsely confess to being gay.
Deine,
N*
The adventures of an English teaching assistant working and living in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Showing posts with label Snarky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snarky. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Real Quotes by Real Students – She’s a Man!
12. April 2011
To give you an idea of real life in the classroom (and hopefully a laugh or two) I’d like to share these snippets of conversation with you. I’ve been keeping track of them, and I’ll post them from time to time. Of course, they are all anonymous for the protection of the innocent. Here we go.
Maybe you remember this from long, long ago, but on my first day, in my second class ever, this situation transpired:
In the 9th class we were working on the construction “used to” today. Each of the students was to write five sentences. The standout sentence was by a boy in the front row, we’ll call him "Max", who wants to be cool. He contrived to achieve this reputation with the following remark:
“When he was young, "Phillip" used to be a girl.”
The amazing thing, is that "Phillip" thought this was funny. This was a true test of my teacher poker face.
Deine,
N*
Saturday, October 2, 2010
First Day
3. September, 2010
Usually the first day of school is the day you find out how your classmates are doing, meet your new teachers and determine what you’ll need to do to be successful in the coming year. Today was the first time that the day was a little different. I still did all those things, but backwards. I met my new colleagues as well as many of my students. I even did exercises with many of the classes I was in. But right away I recognized that knowing exactly what I’d need to do to be successful was much less quantifiable than in previous years. I worked with different students on reading, pronunciation and grammar, but who knows if what I did made a difference. It was strange being at the front of the classroom even though I’ve taught a lot of times before. I think the first day is always a little disarming for me. Sitting on the other side of the equation was something I was incredibly good at, and I got the results to show it. Now I wasn't get that instant feedback, I had been puzzling over this conundrum throughout the afternoon, so you can imagine my relief when I checked my mail this evening and had a message from a teacher-turned-friend asking me how I was feeling about this exact issue. I still may not know the “right” way to proceed with each of my students, but knowing that I’m not alone in this perpetual (already) questioning of methods and ideas makes me feel a whole lot better. The best thing I can do is to try to be aware: aware of needs and sensitivities; aware of the things that make my students “tic”; aware of how I can make them open to me thus making myself accessible to them. All in all, ponderous undertones or not, it was a good day. Here are a couple of memorable moments before I close:
Seeing the eager faces and welcoming smiles of the fifth graders melted my insecurities. They’re new at the school too and fairly new to English on top of that. Most of them seemed thrilled to have someone to whom they could ask the few questions they’ve learned so far and were happy to be understood. They’re still at the age where they are a little more carefree with their emotions and because I could see that spark in them today, I already know they will bring light to my days here. In a way, they’re also a mirror to my situation. In our mutual first year, we’ll experience the largest noticeable amounts of growth in our respective roles. I’m sure each of my classes will be rewarding in its own way, but there is just something about being a part of students’ first experiences with a new challenge that is very special.
Memorable moment two is slightly snarkier. (Not on my part, haha.) In the 8th class we were working on the construction “used to” today. Each of the students was to write five sentences. The standout sentence was by a boy in the front row, we’ll call him Max, who wants to be cool. He contrived to achieve this reputation with the following remark: “When he was young, Phillip (that’s what we’ll call his friend) used to be a girl.” Of course, they both thought it was hilarious. What do you even say to that? Figuring the best way not to encourage it was to continue without being perturbed, H and I focused on the grammar mistake that occurred in the original sentence instead. Oh teenage boys. I’m sure I can look forward to many unexpected statements from students this year; it just comes with the territory.
Well, I’ve not had a lot of sleep since I’ve been here and the opportunity is presenting itself, so I’ll end this here where there’s (somewhat of) a stopping point.
Deine,
N*
Usually the first day of school is the day you find out how your classmates are doing, meet your new teachers and determine what you’ll need to do to be successful in the coming year. Today was the first time that the day was a little different. I still did all those things, but backwards. I met my new colleagues as well as many of my students. I even did exercises with many of the classes I was in. But right away I recognized that knowing exactly what I’d need to do to be successful was much less quantifiable than in previous years. I worked with different students on reading, pronunciation and grammar, but who knows if what I did made a difference. It was strange being at the front of the classroom even though I’ve taught a lot of times before. I think the first day is always a little disarming for me. Sitting on the other side of the equation was something I was incredibly good at, and I got the results to show it. Now I wasn't get that instant feedback, I had been puzzling over this conundrum throughout the afternoon, so you can imagine my relief when I checked my mail this evening and had a message from a teacher-turned-friend asking me how I was feeling about this exact issue. I still may not know the “right” way to proceed with each of my students, but knowing that I’m not alone in this perpetual (already) questioning of methods and ideas makes me feel a whole lot better. The best thing I can do is to try to be aware: aware of needs and sensitivities; aware of the things that make my students “tic”; aware of how I can make them open to me thus making myself accessible to them. All in all, ponderous undertones or not, it was a good day. Here are a couple of memorable moments before I close:
Seeing the eager faces and welcoming smiles of the fifth graders melted my insecurities. They’re new at the school too and fairly new to English on top of that. Most of them seemed thrilled to have someone to whom they could ask the few questions they’ve learned so far and were happy to be understood. They’re still at the age where they are a little more carefree with their emotions and because I could see that spark in them today, I already know they will bring light to my days here. In a way, they’re also a mirror to my situation. In our mutual first year, we’ll experience the largest noticeable amounts of growth in our respective roles. I’m sure each of my classes will be rewarding in its own way, but there is just something about being a part of students’ first experiences with a new challenge that is very special.
Memorable moment two is slightly snarkier. (Not on my part, haha.) In the 8th class we were working on the construction “used to” today. Each of the students was to write five sentences. The standout sentence was by a boy in the front row, we’ll call him Max, who wants to be cool. He contrived to achieve this reputation with the following remark: “When he was young, Phillip (that’s what we’ll call his friend) used to be a girl.” Of course, they both thought it was hilarious. What do you even say to that? Figuring the best way not to encourage it was to continue without being perturbed, H and I focused on the grammar mistake that occurred in the original sentence instead. Oh teenage boys. I’m sure I can look forward to many unexpected statements from students this year; it just comes with the territory.
Well, I’ve not had a lot of sleep since I’ve been here and the opportunity is presenting itself, so I’ll end this here where there’s (somewhat of) a stopping point.
Deine,
N*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)