So today was the first day of class at Anukoolnaree and what a day it was!
Zuri, Shelby and I headed to school at around 7:15. By the time we arrived, about an hour before school actually started, thousands of students milled about the campus and central field. For the first hour, various faculty and staff gave speeches, none of which I understood (obviously).
Shelby and I have found that our school is rather casual about most things, so we did not receive our actual teaching schedules until about an hour into this morning's festivities. After all the speeches were said and done, the students spent the morning registering and actual class did not start until after lunch. All the English teachers used this time to look at their schedules, figure out where the classes were located, and then we just hung out. Lunch finally rolled around and Shelby, Dorji (another English teacher from Bhutan) and I headed down to the canteen for lunch!
The canteen is a large open air structure in which there are at least 10 food stalls you can choose from, ranging from curry, to deep fried meats, to crepes, to ice-cream (all heavenly) and nothing costing more than $1. I chose a red curry with pumpkin and a fried egg and omggggggggggggg too delicious for this world. Any who, we finished lunch and it was finally time for me to teach my first class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Thai education system has a G.A.T.E. like option for the gifted and talented which is labeled with the acronym S.M.A.R.T. (I don't recall what each letter stands for/how elitist is that acronym haha). My first class ever was indeed an M1 (7th grade) "smart" class. I had a basic lesson plan in which I introduced myself, and asked them questions about themselves. I had budgeted the time in the lesson assuming they would have a lower level of English but this class blew me out of the water and I literally went through my entire lesson plan in 15 minutes...... So we played games for the rest of class and they loved that. As some of you may know, the rainy season is just beginning here in Thailand and a massive storm rolled through during one of our games which in turn created complete pandemonium! Students were running around, rain was pouring from the skies, thunder was rumbling, windows and doors were slamming. It was actually quite exciting. I think both the students and I could agree that it was a fun lesson overall (or maybe that's just me).
Next up was a standard M1 class, and their level of English was at the level I expected. We had been warned that in a class this size (50 students), there will be a constant buzz in the air, constant chatter, and sure enough there was. Although the students did not grasp all of the lesson, I think they understood the basic concepts. It is amazing how much energy and enthusiasm is required in these classes, I was going all out!
For the last class of the day, I had an M6 or grade 12 class, and I didn't really know what to expect in terms of their English levels. I introduced myself and then had them write a paragraph about what they did during their vacation (they just had a two month vacation). Students are much more calm at this age, so this class was rather tame.
Obviously this is only my first day of teaching, but I truly enjoyed myself (although completely pooped). The students are so incredibly adorable and any time they see you around campus, they greet you with a huge smile and a wai (palms together and head bowed, like a namaste in yoga). I am very excited to move through the semester, plan effective lessons and hopefully get to know the students better (not sure if that is possible with ~700 students but I will try). I hope these posts aren't tooo boring, I kind of view this blog as a personal (and PC) journal so sorry if the details get tedious.
PS The students pick THE MOST hilarious nicknames, today I encountered God, Nurse, Donut, Wave, View, just to name a few.
Zuri, Shelby and I headed to school at around 7:15. By the time we arrived, about an hour before school actually started, thousands of students milled about the campus and central field. For the first hour, various faculty and staff gave speeches, none of which I understood (obviously).
Shelby and I have found that our school is rather casual about most things, so we did not receive our actual teaching schedules until about an hour into this morning's festivities. After all the speeches were said and done, the students spent the morning registering and actual class did not start until after lunch. All the English teachers used this time to look at their schedules, figure out where the classes were located, and then we just hung out. Lunch finally rolled around and Shelby, Dorji (another English teacher from Bhutan) and I headed down to the canteen for lunch!
The canteen is a large open air structure in which there are at least 10 food stalls you can choose from, ranging from curry, to deep fried meats, to crepes, to ice-cream (all heavenly) and nothing costing more than $1. I chose a red curry with pumpkin and a fried egg and omggggggggggggg too delicious for this world. Any who, we finished lunch and it was finally time for me to teach my first class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Thai education system has a G.A.T.E. like option for the gifted and talented which is labeled with the acronym S.M.A.R.T. (I don't recall what each letter stands for/how elitist is that acronym haha). My first class ever was indeed an M1 (7th grade) "smart" class. I had a basic lesson plan in which I introduced myself, and asked them questions about themselves. I had budgeted the time in the lesson assuming they would have a lower level of English but this class blew me out of the water and I literally went through my entire lesson plan in 15 minutes...... So we played games for the rest of class and they loved that. As some of you may know, the rainy season is just beginning here in Thailand and a massive storm rolled through during one of our games which in turn created complete pandemonium! Students were running around, rain was pouring from the skies, thunder was rumbling, windows and doors were slamming. It was actually quite exciting. I think both the students and I could agree that it was a fun lesson overall (or maybe that's just me).
Next up was a standard M1 class, and their level of English was at the level I expected. We had been warned that in a class this size (50 students), there will be a constant buzz in the air, constant chatter, and sure enough there was. Although the students did not grasp all of the lesson, I think they understood the basic concepts. It is amazing how much energy and enthusiasm is required in these classes, I was going all out!
For the last class of the day, I had an M6 or grade 12 class, and I didn't really know what to expect in terms of their English levels. I introduced myself and then had them write a paragraph about what they did during their vacation (they just had a two month vacation). Students are much more calm at this age, so this class was rather tame.
Obviously this is only my first day of teaching, but I truly enjoyed myself (although completely pooped). The students are so incredibly adorable and any time they see you around campus, they greet you with a huge smile and a wai (palms together and head bowed, like a namaste in yoga). I am very excited to move through the semester, plan effective lessons and hopefully get to know the students better (not sure if that is possible with ~700 students but I will try). I hope these posts aren't tooo boring, I kind of view this blog as a personal (and PC) journal so sorry if the details get tedious.
PS The students pick THE MOST hilarious nicknames, today I encountered God, Nurse, Donut, Wave, View, just to name a few.
Selfie with the students duh
my schedule!
My desk!
The canteen
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