The (Second) Last Week of School

How far things have come in one year!

This is the last week of school! Next week the students will take their final exams.

It's unbelievable how quickly this year has gone by. My second year at the school has turned out even better than my first. I got to pick some of my classes and rosters this year, and ended up with a schedule of fun classes and generally great students. I've bceo more familiar with Bangkok, the culture of the school, and Thailand in general. I've been given a greater degree of responsibility, and am looking forward to even more next year. Additionally, I'm no longer a new teacher. While I'll admit that there are still times when I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, at least I'm not completely new in the classroom. Even when our colleague had to leave and go home in the first semester, James, Ryan, and I were able to pull together and cover her classes fairly competently until we could find and bring in a replacement. We make an amazing team. I am going to miss my colleagues next year! I hope the new teachers are good, but it will be hard to recreate the brilliant dynamic of teamwork that James, Ryan, and I have achieved.

the M6 Writing team

Thursday was the last day of M6 Writing class. That's been one of my favorite classes to teach this year, because the classes are small and I get to work closely with a great team of co-teachers: Ajarns Ryan, James, and Suzie. We've been working on a huge research paper project all semester, and the students have had to turn everything in this week. I've been proud to see how well they have progressed in their writing skills this year; our class certainly wasn't an easy one. We tried to teach it as much like an American English class as we could, and James and Suzie brought their experience from writing masters theses and I brought what I remember from that one Technical and Professional Writing course I had to take in university.

Naturally, no last day of school in Thailand is complete without "picture time". Instant cameras have become really popular among Thai teenagers recently, and I had to pose to have my picture taken with many of the students. Then they wanted selfies, pictures of the teachers, pictures with the teachers, class pictures, group pictures... saying goodbye is hard, especially when you've studied with the same friends at the same school since you were three years old in A1. 

The students each brought one of their uniform shirts to sign, like we sign yearbooks in the USA. I signed a few. I didn't teach M6 last year, so this is my first group of students that I'll have seen graduate. I was asked to write several letters of recommendation this year, which is fun for me, partially because I get to use the official school stamp. I wish them all the best and hope that maybe one of my letters can help the students get into the university of their choice. After finals week, we will get to see them once more on the senior trip and at graduation, so that will be nice.

M6 Writing

And just because they aren't graduating this year doesn't mean that the other classes won't want pictures on the last day of school too! This is especially true for my M2 class, who I taught for the last time on Wednesday. Last year, rowdy M1 caused me so much distress every Friday that I changed my schedule so as not to teach M1 this year. On the last day of school last year though, they totally won me over by telling me how much they had enjoyed studying with me all year. In the end, this class of students have become some of my favorites. 

the last day of M2 class

My M2 Main class has been especially awesome. Once this year we had some American, British, and Australian visitors from some sort of educational institution touring the school. For some reason, the powers-that-be at the school decided that it would be a good idea for these important guests to observe my class. I was informed of this just before they were to arrive. 

In a panic, I told the students,

"Look, we are going to have some important visitors and I need your help."

The students in this class had always been nice, but super loud and chatty and hard to control. I was worried about looking ineffective and incompetent in front of these experienced educatiors. I was worried about embarrassing myself, my boss, and the school.



M2 Listening and Speaking Class

When the visitors arrived, my class snapped to attention, and turned in their seats in unison to greet them with a perfectly proper and respectful wai. They sat attentively while I launched into one of my finest lectures on grammar, and they even raised their hands and asked questions... questions about grammar! All the while, the visitors paced the room, trying not to be intrusive while taking notes and photos of the class. My students sat in their seats quietly and uncomfortably, trying not to laugh at the awkward situation.

When the visitors left and were well out of earshot, my lecture trailed off and we all got quiet.

"That was terrifying," I confessed to them.

Then the whole class, myself included, started laughing. I gave them the rest of the period for free time as my way of saying thanks.

After that day, I was in with the students. They had had my back, and I had theirs. We had solidarity. I am really going to miss that M2 class and the friendly and kind students I've taught this year. I'll teach some of them in M3 Listening/Speaking next year, but not all of them.

M2 Listening/Speaking guys

It would be an understatement to say that I've learned some things about teaching in the past two years. I have to look back at myself on the first day of school and laugh at how incompetent I was. I've changed a lot. I never used to get grammar- not a good thing for an English teacher to admit, right? Now I've become a huge grammar nerd. My first-ever class (M4 Reading) went so poorly that a student actually told me "it's okay, we are very kind", because I must have looked like I really needed some reassurance. Now, while I won't say that I have total control over my classroom, at least I think I know how to get the students to like me. As a teacher here in Thailand, that's important. If the students can have fun and enjoy class, maybe they'll learn without even realizing it.

My M4 class last year went on to become my favorite due to the attitude and enthusiasm of the students, as exemplified by the one who told me that their class was very kind. He was right! I spent a lot of time with that class last year, because I taught M4 for both Reading and Listening/Speaking class. I specifically requested to change my schedule to be able to teach M5 Main this year.

I'll teach some of them next year, but not all. I only teach M6 for Writing class, and each class only has about 14 students. This class is honestly one of the big reasons that I'm staying on next year. They have encouraged and taught me so much, and have moulded me into the teacher I am today. Of course, we had to take pictures. As I was leaving class, many of them asked if they could be in my class next year. "We love you!" they said.

It's traditional for teachers to give a pep talk and bestow luck upon their students before exams. The students will listen very seriously to your advice, and wai deeply as they receive the blessings of luck. I rarely know what to say. This time I told them, "study hard! This has been a great year. I want to see all A's, alright? Right now our class average is like a half a point higher than Teacher Ryan's class, and I really need us to win that. Good luck on my exam and on all your finals. Make me proud!"

As I walked out, they made the sign-language ILY sign. It's a little over-dramatic, since I'm not actually going anywhere and will see all of them next year, but it was really touching and meant a lot to me.

After four years here, the students listen to and respect James. Hopefully if they see me as more of a "real" teacher and less of a temporary teacher who comes on a one-year contract and leaves, they'll think of me in the same way. Here's looking forward to an even better third and final year at Chitralada School.

Ajarns James, Kate, and me with our whole M2/1 class