So this is what being a teacher is all about…

Showing off my SECAP Sweater

So I started teaching my second module at SECAP Ambato last Monday with more wisdom, knowledge, and a module of teaching experience under my belt. I was ready and prepared to start my classes. The only problem was that when I showed up for the first day of classes, I had 3 students in my first class. This was drastically different from the beginning of the first module where the SECAP administration tried to put 40 people in my second class. What was the deal? And the same thing happened to my coworker and friend Krishna who was teaching two floors below me. When I approached the people in charge they told me that they hadn’t put any publicity in the newspaper because they didn’t want the same thing to happen again where I had 40 people in my class. I tried to understand this, however I had no students. If there is one thing that I have learned here in Ecuador is to be patient and flexible. I clearly was annoyed, but in this country the only thing you can do is breathe and go with the flow. So we didn’t start our classes. The following week we gave placement tests after SECAP advertised English classes in the newspaper and finally, we started our classes for (real this time) two weeks late. I had some of the same students and a couple of new faces. I was excited to start teaching.

The module started out pretty slow with students trickling in each day. I have been thinking a lot lately about how I can improve upon my teaching experience from last module and I have been giving it more time, invested in a book (thank you Azar), and asked the students what they wanted to learn. After almost 2 months of vacation it has been somewhat difficult getting back into the swing of things. I teach two basic II classes and teach them the same thing everyday. This is the reason why it amazes me how different my two classes can be. Last Thursday I put together what I thought was  killer lesson plan on Prepositions of location (on, in, between, behind, next to, etc.). 

My awesome SECAP drawing

I had expertly drawn a map of SECAP for my students and included some vocabulary. Then I had the bright idea to do a Scavenger Hunt with my students by hiding clues around the building. I spent hours writing the clues, making the cards for each team, and then placing the clues around SECAP. The only real problem was that I didn’t really think this process through. Scavenger hunts are intense, complicated, and confusing. As I was setting up the clues for my first class I realized the complexity of a scavenger hunt. I did get it set up for my students and they loved it. They sprinted all over SECAP, reading the clues that included prepositions of location and worked as a team. Despite the confusion with the hunt, my students had a great time.

The real SECAP Ambato

I expected for my second class to be just as excited as my first about my SECAP drawing and scavenger hunt. However, while I was teaching prepositions of location I kept hearing snickering and laughing. I ignored it at first, but then stopped what I was doing and asked, “what are you laughing at?” My students were laughing silently and one of them finally was brave enough to say, “teacher, pizza”. Needless to say I was not amused. I lectured my students for a while saying that it was disrespectful to be trying to order pizza during class. It just put a damper on my mood. I was excited for the scavenger hunt portion of the class. Between classes I had set up a grid for the different clues and locations for the scavenger hunt to avoid confusion. During the break I took the clues and my grid around and was trying to set everything up. Somehow, I confused myself even more. I was trying to get all the clues in the right places for 25-30 minutes before I decided to just give up all together. By this point I was so annoyed with my second class I sent them home. When I came back into the room and told them that we were done, they sat their stunned for a couple of minutes. They could tell I was annoyed and upset about the stupid scavenger hunt and pizza fiasco that was my class. Soon I started to hear my students make comments like, “Teacher, don’t worry be happy”, “it’s okay teacher”, “be calm teacher”.  When I get annoyed or upset I don’t yell or scream, it is more of a silent thing. Although my class crashed and burned, it made me appreciate the struggles teachers go through each day. To all my teachers out there, I just wanted to say thank you for all that you do and sorry for all the difficult students that you have to deal with. What a crazy and chaotic life you lead. I have a better understanding of what you do and know how difficult, but rewarding it can be.