Tired of teaching? No problem!

Hello there! 

Teaching is one of the most rewarding experiences there are, right? You are teachers! You should know better. Unlearning the lesson in the benefit of generations and generations of students again and again in a nearly endless cycle is a fun and tiring job. 

But ... what if one day you decide that you want to do something different? What if you want a ring of changes? 

Well ... I present 2 options (and its benefits, of course) you can choose to do without leaving the English language ;)

Translating:

- an even higher level of English mastery for your CV

- Your vocabulary gets enhanced into unsuspected levels

-  a deeper knowledge of other cultures

- You can even become an expert in research techniques.

- an excellent source of money

Test designer: 

- enhance your knowledge of types of tests

- every test you design can be sold.

- you get the chance to fully re-design a given test

- you get the chance to evaluate an entire education system

- an excellent source of money

You see? If you ever get tired of teaching, if you ever feel you need a break, there are other, equally rewarding, things you can do with the English language ;)

Besides, who could possibly say "no" to an extra amount of money on the bank account? ;)

    

Happy Teacher's Day !

Friday, May 15th

This is a day unlike any other for us who constantly unlearn what we once learned. 

What are the most common phrases teachers usually say? I'd like to see your comments. I'll start, this is a true story, by the way:

- get out of my classroom!

+ but why! He's the one annoying me!

- because you're the one I saw

https://www.facebook.com/ClubPotterhead/videos/439229203494276

Small posts: big messages.

Hello again!!!

Throughout my story as a student, I've had lots and lots of English teachers. They all had their own personalities and teaching techniques. As a result, the impact every teacher caused on my life was different.

This is an appreciation post and a chance to ask yourself something:

What kind of teachers I've had before? ... and ... What kind of teacher I want to be for my students?

Just remember: Keep an eye to the past to learn from it and the other to the future to unlearn the lesson ;)

Decorating the e-classroom

If you are here, it is likely you are taking at least one online course. Tell me, do you think you're learning something from it? Do you find it useful? Or, is it the opposite? Do you spend the whole day reading PDF documents leading nowhere? Well ... I hope you're doing fine.

But...

What about you? Yeah, you, teacher? Do you try to encourage your students to actually learn something?

Well ... perhaps you are. Maybe you are in need to improve your "e-teaching technique" (yeah, I came up with that name)

If you want to get better, then you arrived at the correct post. 

The criteria here is my own but there's a chance you find useful at least one of the following ideas: 

- Find ways to actively get in continuous touch with your students without compromising your personal data (yeah, no WhatsApp) Edmodo is a good choice, by the way.

- Take advantage of the 4 language skills: Encourage your ss to use at least 3 of them ;)

- Combine individual homework with collaborative homework: this will keep students in an active mood throughout the online course ;)

- Do not overwhelm your ss with PDF files to read: it is likely they'll simply won't do it.

- Make an effort to answer every student's doubt: this will ensure your students will not quit the course.

These are some ideas I came up with on my short experience as an e-teacher. (I really like how that sounds) 

Can you think of more ideas? 

Is that you?

+ Hello there! It's been a while. 

+ It's really good to see you!

+ Come come! Have a seat with me. 

+ Tea? A piece of cake?

- This cake nice, don't you have mo...

+ STOP TALKING WHILE YOU'RE EATING!!!!!!!!!! >:(

- What why are you ta...

+ I hate people like you

- ...

Have you ever seen your teacher ... well ... when he's not teaching you? I mean, have you ever seen him/her outside the classroom?

Well, I sometimes do, and every time that happens I get surprised at what I see.

You know, teachers are people too. They have a living, they like things, they have concerns, they fear things too. 
One of the things they fear the most is the first impression they'll leave to those they teach for the first time. Of course, that feeling vanishes in time but it doesn't really disappear completely. 

So, the next time you see your favorite teacher outside the classroom, remember that they change their attitude depending on the classroom they go into ;)

When do we become teachers?

Blog entry #7 

Long have I thought about our jobs as teachers. 

I used to believe that we didn't really become teachers until we finished our majors and received the document that endorses us as such. That makes sense when you think about that Mexican phrase that says "papel habla". 

On Friday 3rd, I gave a Third Conditional class as part of my professional practices and received feedback after. My tutor liked the way I presented the topic and her students seemed to have a good impression after my presentation performance. On Saturday, March, 28th, I finished my course at my job and my student told me that I do a good job and he likes the classes I give. That makes me feel joy because of the fact that others reckoning your work is hardly comparable to other feelings. 

So...

Now I believe the opposite. I'm sure that one becomes a teacher, regardless of the subject, at the moment he/she starts to plan classes and give them ;)

Welcome to Richie's horror show!!!

Blog Entry #6:  Master Richie's Show!

Come on, come in!!! Welcome! Welcome!

Take a seat, make yourselves comfortable!

...

*silence*

...

*the curtain opens*

...

and here we Go!!!!!

                               

Act 1: Create a plan.

Monday ... So there he was. Trying his best to adapt his routines to his days in "quarantine", doing his best not to send school to Hell ... and there he is! HE MADE IT!!!!!

And now he was free to turn his attention on his work stuff. He received a message and was told to get ready because the end of his student course was upon us and I still had one entire unit to teach. But another thing was missing: The final exam ... No problem, teacher Richie said, 'cause he had agreed to apply the exam only after covering all the topics in the course.
...
Still ... Teacher Richie's spidey-sense was tingling! But why? ... Hmmm ...

Everything was ok, teacher Richie made his lesson plan and everything was ready to face HIS 3 HOUR FIRST ONLINE CLASS EVER.

And so the week went by and finally, Saturday 28th  arrived. The end of the course was upon us.

Act 2: Stick to the plan

Saturday, 9:00 am.
So, teacher Richie woke up and immediately went to check the final details about the class when he received another text asking him how he was going to apply the exam, so I reminded my coordinator that we already agreed on finishing my classes but he answered that the last day of the course was on Saturday
WHAT!!!??? NO!!! That was not the agreement!!!! Still ... In all his time working (Richie used to work in other things before becoming a teacher) he knew he couldn't ignore a direct command but he also understood the importance of the situation at hand and decided to follow his lesson plan so carefully planned.
Saturday, 12:00 pm
And so there he was! Teacher Richie made his incursion to the world of Online Teaching by means of Zoom. Everything was ok but then  Lord Trouble made his appearance.

Act 3: Get rid of the plan

Teacher Richie's coordinator insisted on applying the final exam and Richie had no other choice. An hour and a half of the class time were left and, luckily, all the topics were covered by that moment. 

Richie threw the rest of his lesson plan away and applied the exam by following his spidey-sense: the day before, teacher Richie has scanned the final exam in case that something happened

Richie applied the exam by sharing his screen an asking his student to keep the audio and the camera on at all times. 

The exam consisted of me zooming every section of the exam and my student writing notes on it. Then, I made a screenshot on every section and saved it for later evaluation.

...

I don't know what happened. I can only say that my student never cheated because I had been looking at his facial reactions and his eyes to make sure that he was focused on the exam. Besides, I know him to be an honored man. Against all odds (because of the general situation) he approved the Intermediate course with an 8 as a final grade. 

Moral: I think this was possible because of my alternate plan and I encourage every single person reading this to have a backup plan at all times in the classroom and in life.