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Published: September 3rd 2009
School is back in session, and I'm optimistic about the year to come. They moved my classes around a bit, so I'm not teaching grade five, as I expected to be. they've also added an extra class to my workload (and a substantial salary raise.) based on my performance last year. I'm teaching four grade two classes, and one grade three class. Two of my grade two classes consist of students that I taught last year in grade one, and two of the grade two classes are mostly new to me, though I've had a few of the kids in Sunday class. My boss's son is one of my new students! My grade three co-teacher is one of the Chinese English teachers who shared an office with me last year, and one of the ones that I talked to the most, and got on with the best. I'm really happy to be teaching with her. She's the kind of person who I can respect wholly as a teacher, and also talk to like a friend. One of the best things about working with her is that the two of us have quite different teaching styles, but we can discuss our classes, and come up with lesson plans that incorporate the best of both styles.
There are now more than 400 students at the school who I have either taught in the past, or who I am currently teaching. Walking from one end of the hallway to another is an adventure, because my I have kids everywhere who want to tell me about their summer, or hug me, or get a high five, or pretend to turn me into a snake (the English text books that we use center around a story of a magician, who travels around the earth, space, and time in a time machine, and using magic to change people into animals and such is centrel to the plot-line. As such, "1-2-3 SHAZAM YOU ARE A RABBIT! is part of the basic vocabulary that the kids know, and they love to use it!), or play rock paper scissors. The effect is nothing if not overwhelming. I feel like someone ought to make a video game based on trying to pass by hordes of children in order to get from one class to another. Oh, I also have around 150 new names to learn.
Oddly, giving me the extra class has actually decreased my workload. the basic rule is that the younger the kids are, the easier the task of grading their workbooks is. Year two workbooks are a snap to grade, and year three still takes less than my grade four workbooks did last year. Even putting all four classes together, the decrease in grading time basically makes up for the extra class time, and class time is much more fun than grading time. The only wrench in that formula is that my grade 3 co-teacher and I decided we would have the students write mini essays for my class, which I'll have to mark. Mini essays tend to be fairly interesting though, and the topics we're giving the children to write on are all related to their lives, so I think it's also a good way for me to get to know my students better.
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Nyree
non-member comment
Great news!
Gosh, how PLEASING! Mazz and I are just so pleased that you're happy and doing so well! (She's packing to go back to college today) It really looks like you've found a niche that fits you beautifully, hon.