Teaching - Blog Posts
How much should I charge for teaching English to my pig farm coworkers?
And what other tips and advice might you guys have for a new ESL teacher
The (possibly) helpful details.
I taught English classes at my workplace. My students are coworkers and mostly collage graduates from Central America usually from Mexico. This past fall I had about 10-17 people show up. About half of the students are just beginning in English and the others are more or less at a conversational level. When I start teaching again I plan to meet once a week for so many weeks and then take couple of weeks break and repeat. When I started last it was a trial run for me and the students and the company. The classes are free for the students and I was paid my salary for an hour of my time. But now that I passed the trial run I am submitting an invoice like a independent contractor and would like to change for my prep time. Most information I see online is for people working in institutions which doesn't seem helpful to me.
Any help will be appreciated thanks in advance future friends and strangers
Me: You don’t have this project started, it’s due soon, please do it.
Student: Ugh. Leave me alone.
Me, a week later: The project was due, please turn it in. *Sends email and gives them a little list of all their missing assignments on a sticky note*
Student: Don’t worry about it
Me, another week later: *Gives them a zero*
Student: Why is my grade a 25?! Why didn’t you tell me all this was due
Me: ……………..
Just had a student say “miss, can I show you something?”
He then pulled out a picture of me from middle school. And another of me from high school, then pointed to me ex and asked who it was. I-
No one locks in like my students when admin walks into my room.
Admin will be right outside, in the doorway, and they’ll make frantic hand gestures at me like “cut the music!” And suddenly whatever they’re working on is the most interesting thing they’ve ever done. The room gets silent and they have an answer for every question I ask.
How it went trying to teach mini autistic me how to write:
Dad: that’s good, but you need to have space between the words.
Me: *confusedly starts adding stars to my sentences*
Dad: aha, no, not that kind of space
Me: the space needle?
Dad: no, like you need to put nothing between the words
Me: that’s what I’m doing!
Dad: *sweating* ah, but not that kind of nothing..
Someone I know is making moves.
👏👏👏 If you are following Groovy but not Edutopia, you are missing out! Reposted from @edutopia - #inspirationalquotes #teaching #teachers #teacher #teachersofinstagram #classroom #education #educators - #repost https://www.instagram.com/p/B79N9sDBLEu/?igshid=r8pp9n9eqj2o
Be Groovy Like: Rudolph! - Elaine (Groovy Founder) A Lesson in Believing in Your Kids, and Yourself. I’ve always loved the story of Rudolph… A little different can have many meanings. As educators we’ve all had the different kid, the chip on shoulder, the jokester, the odd ball, the one left out. Read more here, #OnTheBlog: https://www.groovylabinabox.com/groovy-like-rudolph-via-groovy-lab-in-a-box-stemforkids/ #Education #Teaching #Rudolph #GroovySparks https://www.instagram.com/p/B5hEgnogWYS/?igshid=afo3g3cueflg
It's time for another GROOVY giveaway! Enter to win a ONE-YEAR subscription to Groovy Lab in a Box: >>>Enter here: http://www.groovylabinabox.com/enter-to-win-a-groovy-one-year-subscription/
my mother taught me to crochet when i was young. she was left handed, so she taught me how in the bathroom mirror so her hands would be in the right position.
she learned to crochet from her grandmother, who was right handed. her grandma was the one that originally used the bathroom mirror to teach her granddaughter properly.
i find something poetic about that. here in this bathroom mirror, through generations, we adapt to our young who have a different way of learning and interacting with the world
It’s sad how much of what is taught in school is useless to over 99% of the population.
There are literally math concepts taught in high school and middle school that are only used in extremely specialized fields or that are even so outdated they aren’t used anymore!
Things I Wish Teachers Would Understand
I have a life outside of school. I may be going through health problems or mental health issues or family troubles or financial issues. Literally, I can name so many things and of course, you won't consider it because the only thing you notice is that how I've not done my homework or how I got low grades in my exams.
Grades don't define me. Or my efforts. Or my self-worth. Just because I get high grades doesn't mean I'm more smart or disciplined. And just because I get low grades doesn't mean I'm dumb or lazy.
Mental health issues are real. Really real. And they are hard to deal with.
Learning disabilities are also real. You can't just get out of it. Working hard doesn't fix it. It's a real issue.
Being an introvert is not bad. IT IS NOT BAD. Period. I do not have to speak more in class to prove that I'm paying attention. It just means that I do not want to speak. I'm fine with being quiet.
I can forget things. I can forget that assignment that was due, I can forget to do the homework. And I can definitely forget about the test.
The things you say matters. Even if it is sarcasm. Even if it is a dismissal. Sometimes, it makes me stay up late at night. Sometimes it just stays with me throughout the day. So, yes. You should speak a bit more carefully.
Grades don't show my full effort. Sometimes, I try so hard and I still don't get it right. And when you say that I should try harder? That does shatter a small part of me, not because you told me that, it just makes me feel that I'm the one who's damn stupid and that no matter how much effort I put in the work, it doesn't matter if the grades are not there.
As a student, I will of course prefer some subjects over the others. It is not a personal attack. And it is not an invitation for you to tell me something sarcastic about it.
Calling out a student on their mistakes in front of the whole class or our juniors or seniors or any other teachers is not okay. It's embarrassing to us and makes us feel bad.
Small praise does mean something. Honestly. I remember every good thing a teacher told me because I'll be honest, most don't say very nice things.
Please don't try to force things on us. Whether it be competitions, extracurriculars or anything really. It doesn't feel good.
And if there are some students who misbehave? That doesn't mean the whole class is bad. And no, collective punishments don't help.
I also appreciate when you try. Like, really. I respect you because you teach dozens of classes a day and still show up to our classes with neutral moods. You have a lot of patience for dealing with us.
I really appreciate your stories, advice and the small tips that you give about life now and then. It helps. And yes, I do remember.
I also feel that sometimes that both our expectations come crashing down. You expect us to do good. We expect you to be supportive and passionate. And it's okay to let go of your expectations sometimes.
And I know you have stresses too. You, too, have health problems, mental health issues and family issues, financial issues. I know you have the pressure of making everyone pass through the year and delivering good grades. And I have to say, I understand you. I really do.
I'm writing this because I've had so many teachers expect so much from me. And I'll be honest, that pressure broke me. Seriously broke me. I also respect teachers a lot, but it also doesn't mean I appreciate their behaviors or actions. You make up the world that we currently live in and I say this, not just as a student but as a person.
(P.S. This has been in my drafts from a long time. This was like peak exam + pressure + stress season, so don't mind the not so small rant. And no, I don't have a personal grudge against teachers.)
It's funny how most of us would rather read study and productivity tips/quotes than actually studying or doing work.
Study Tip - 2
Writing practice and i don't mean time management. By writing practice, I mean, no matter how well you know your content, if you can't put it in words appropriately then you won't get your grades.
Now, it's hard to remember every single thing so here's a technique...
What? When? Who? Why? How? What's the use?
The basic information for any topic would be the answer to these questions. I'll take an example, suppose you have to write a short note on computer.
The points would be:
What is it? An electronic device.
When was it invented? Between 1833 and 1871.
Who invented it? Charles Babbage
Why did they invent it? To perform calculations
How does it work? (Input-Process-Output)
What's the main use? Storing, receiving and processing data
The more questions you answer, the more points you get. This can be applied generally, if you take your textbook and observe how many points each topic has, many might answer to the above questions.
So when you're writing the exam and you don't know how to continue, just think about what questions you've missed and answer to them.
Note: Change questions according to the topic/ subject and do not change the main keywords.
Bonus: Write all the general questions related to each lesson at the starting of the lesson or your notes. So, while revising, you'll know your order.
Things I do instead of studying...
Scroll Tumblr
Watch study motivation
Read study motivation quotes
Think about studying
Worry about not studying
Lay in bed doing nothing
Daydream
Chat with friends
Have slight mental breakdowns because of studying
Wondering why i don't have time to study
I'm damn anxious about tomorrow's exam, like... i haven't even revised half the stuff...
Exam Prep At Night
My fourth exam is on Thursday so.... I can't take a rest T-T
(Don't mind the lighting, I'm sitting in the living room while everyone else is sleeping T-T)
I'm waiting for this exam to get done because then I'll be free for a week, not exactly free but I'll have time to breathe...
Tip: If you're bored and you're taking notes, just draw your notes. It enhances creativity and helps you remember better!
I better go xD
How do you actually use previous question papers?
Here's the thing, I've read a whole lot of things tips for this but none have worked for me, so this may not work for you either but, there's no harm in experimenting, right?
Get the question papers
Now, look through the papers...
You need not set a timer and practice these questions but instead, check for a pattern or any format.
Like, a question is being repeated for every damn test and you haven't studied it? It's likely that it will be asked for the next test.
You see questions from certain lessons being repeated only from the same section? Focus on it.
And for this, you don't even need like previous year papers, even the mock tests or suprise quizzes can be used to identify which lessons are important.
Search for a pattern, focus on it and shape it
Then, when you've mostly gone through all the papers, go through the questions which they've repeated like once or twice and be sure that you can answer any question from those papers you have. You can go through the rest of the material a little slower.
Mind this that all tips may not work for you and that is completely fine :)
For some reason, the day before the exam, our brains tend to forget every single thing we learnt... Like, did I study this or am I hallucinating? Like, I have vague memory of it but i don't actually know it T-T