Scare Tactics - Thai Classes

---

School has been going well. I have 8 different classes M.(Mateum) 3/1-3/8. This means 9th grade (14-15 year olds). My two highest classes have only 38 students and are a breath of fresh air. The rest of my classes have about 55 students per class. This means that I have over 400 students that I am teaching in any given week. I haven’t been able to get a grasp on their names yet. They all have nicknames, of which, most are English origin and yet I still pronounce them all wrong. In my class I have a number of little girls named Beer, a boy named fighter. In one class I have 3 Nan’s. Usually this is pronounced with the “a” as in apple but in one class there is a Nan spelled the same but pronounced Naan. If you pronounce the tone wrong all the kids laugh. Eek! So I get laughed at a bit every time roll comes around.

The children are smart and eager for the most part. However, forget any misconception that the nice Asian countries have taught the kids to respect teachers so they are quiet and subdued. In my big classes we have a buzz that never goes away. You can not tell who is talking because they all are. Also, they don’t particularly respect the foreign teachers who leave on a regular basis. Trying to do oral presentations is a nightmare. My M. 3/4 class is supposedly THE class which drove the other teacher away. Apparently, one student pulled his pants down in class and another tried to light the desk on fire. My co-teacher, worried that another teacher would be driven away, has sat in my class for about half the time I have this class. She will sit with a long ruler on her lap and tap it lightly when things get a little loud. She will ask the students in Thai who has been misbehaving and they will raise there hands to get their punishment. They then will hold out their hands palm up and she will come and smack them on their palm.

This is obviously not my preferred method of punishment but I have very little recourse once she is in my class as I have to support her in front of the students. When this occurs the class goes still. However, I think their minds shut off as well. They are too afraid to answer me unless they repeat it as an entire class. I suppose this might be one of those trials I am failing where I am supposed to stand up and ask her not to do this in my class but it is difficult when it is all these children know to respect. Hopefully, it was mostly the first week scare tactics…

---