Today was a good day. :)
Non-stop classes in the morning, but it was a good day. Seriously. I feel really great about how my classes went today. Days like this make me feel like I've really improved a lot since I started working at Shigaraki. Days like this don't make me think I work at that tough of a school...you just gotta know how to roll with the students. :D
I like having a sense of humor in my classes, I don't wanna go in there and just be a drill sergeant. Today was a good mixture of fun and direction...and the students, to my delight, responded! The JTE that I taught with today, Murase Sensei, complimented me after class. :) 'You really knew what you were doing in class, and the worksheet was really good, too. I think you're getting better,' she told me. I could have danced. ^_^ To allow myself to bask a bit in my success...I just have to say I felt something today. Even my most rebellious class, the one that can give me hell, was listening as much as they were laughing. Students had their heads up and were working for the most part, when I've had to 'fight' for their attention or keep them from doing other homework in previous classes. And there was talking, but it was the normal kind that happens during and is related to class activity, not the absurdly loud disrupting and unrelated kind.
Note to self: If possible, keep the students from opening their books like today. I feel like if I give them an 'opening' to look away/down from us, they will stop paying attention, or we've given them a chance to do other English work. Today at the beginning of one class, I literally told a girl (but pleasantly), 'stop, please,' when she had ignored the worksheet I had just handed out, to keep working on something else. She sort of giggled, and closed her book. She didn't open it again for the rest of class--she was paying attention and doing the worksheet. Woot! :D But it makes me wonder if I *had* ever said 'open your books...'
Direction...man, you really have to spell it out for these kids. But that is how you can get them to work, I'm coming to figure out. I think next year's 3nensei might even be more accepting than this year's! 3nensei classes were flat out tough. Even if you gave them direction, they still might not listen or follow. But today's 2nensei, minus a few serious rebels in each class, showed that they will if you tell them what to do. Even the troublesome students, or that that have bad attitudes usually. Even they were ok today. :) And to top it off: today the slow learners were able to follow along and do the work! The did the worksheet! Students who never turned in worksheets before...turned in worksheets today. There is no greater feeling than achieving something like that. :)
My story of the day involves Matsusaka-kun (Motoaki is his first name), who was flat out pleasant today--well for him anyway. ^^; I went over to him and his partner to listen to them read their conversation, but didn't recognize the names of the people they picked ('Who do you like better, ___ or ___ ?') 'Are they soccer players?' I guessed, because I'm sorry--I don't know sports peoples' names in ANY country. I always start with soccer, and half the time I'm right. XD
...Not this time though. 'Noooo,' Matsusaka-kun had the beginning of a sneer on his face, 'They're JOCKEYS.'
'You know like on horses?' his equally bad-tempered friend added, miming riding a horse. He was smirking at me.
And then I remembered that Matsusaka-kun was a rider himself. 'Ohh,' I nodded. 'I see.'
'I thought they had horse races in America,' Matsusaka-kun crossed his arms, and looked accusingly at me.
'Oh yeah, we do,' I nodded again. 'I know there's the Kentucky Derby. That's the most famous one.'
I swear if I didn't know better, I would say Matsusaka-kun's face changed. 'You know about the Kentucky Derby?'
'Yes, well I know of it,' I admitted.
'She knows the Kentucky Derby!' Matsusaka-kun said to his friend, and they both looked at me a bit more intently. 'Do you know...?' But my knowledge kinda ended there, and the flurry of Japanese and lots of names and other details left me only able to shake my head apologetically. I knew they were asking about races and various names in America, but I had no answers.
'Ahh,' Matsusaka-kun looked a little perturbed, and the sneer returned. 'You don't understand.'
'I mostly understand,' I told him.
Matsusaka-kun looked a little surprised. 'You do?'
'Yes...I just don't know is all,' I said.
'Oh.' He paused. 'Ok. Goodbye.' He waved his hand as if to shoo me away. For Matsusaka-kun and his friend, that was being polite. But after class, when Matsusaka-kun went up to turn in his paper, he said to Murase Sensei, 'She knows about the Kentucky Derby, did you know?'
...Maybe I should look up some info about the Kentucky Derby now. O_O
I like having a sense of humor in my classes, I don't wanna go in there and just be a drill sergeant. Today was a good mixture of fun and direction...and the students, to my delight, responded! The JTE that I taught with today, Murase Sensei, complimented me after class. :) 'You really knew what you were doing in class, and the worksheet was really good, too. I think you're getting better,' she told me. I could have danced. ^_^ To allow myself to bask a bit in my success...I just have to say I felt something today. Even my most rebellious class, the one that can give me hell, was listening as much as they were laughing. Students had their heads up and were working for the most part, when I've had to 'fight' for their attention or keep them from doing other homework in previous classes. And there was talking, but it was the normal kind that happens during and is related to class activity, not the absurdly loud disrupting and unrelated kind.
Note to self: If possible, keep the students from opening their books like today. I feel like if I give them an 'opening' to look away/down from us, they will stop paying attention, or we've given them a chance to do other English work. Today at the beginning of one class, I literally told a girl (but pleasantly), 'stop, please,' when she had ignored the worksheet I had just handed out, to keep working on something else. She sort of giggled, and closed her book. She didn't open it again for the rest of class--she was paying attention and doing the worksheet. Woot! :D But it makes me wonder if I *had* ever said 'open your books...'
Direction...man, you really have to spell it out for these kids. But that is how you can get them to work, I'm coming to figure out. I think next year's 3nensei might even be more accepting than this year's! 3nensei classes were flat out tough. Even if you gave them direction, they still might not listen or follow. But today's 2nensei, minus a few serious rebels in each class, showed that they will if you tell them what to do. Even the troublesome students, or that that have bad attitudes usually. Even they were ok today. :) And to top it off: today the slow learners were able to follow along and do the work! The did the worksheet! Students who never turned in worksheets before...turned in worksheets today. There is no greater feeling than achieving something like that. :)
My story of the day involves Matsusaka-kun (Motoaki is his first name), who was flat out pleasant today--well for him anyway. ^^; I went over to him and his partner to listen to them read their conversation, but didn't recognize the names of the people they picked ('Who do you like better, ___ or ___ ?') 'Are they soccer players?' I guessed, because I'm sorry--I don't know sports peoples' names in ANY country. I always start with soccer, and half the time I'm right. XD
...Not this time though. 'Noooo,' Matsusaka-kun had the beginning of a sneer on his face, 'They're JOCKEYS.'
'You know like on horses?' his equally bad-tempered friend added, miming riding a horse. He was smirking at me.
And then I remembered that Matsusaka-kun was a rider himself. 'Ohh,' I nodded. 'I see.'
'I thought they had horse races in America,' Matsusaka-kun crossed his arms, and looked accusingly at me.
'Oh yeah, we do,' I nodded again. 'I know there's the Kentucky Derby. That's the most famous one.'
I swear if I didn't know better, I would say Matsusaka-kun's face changed. 'You know about the Kentucky Derby?'
'Yes, well I know of it,' I admitted.
'She knows the Kentucky Derby!' Matsusaka-kun said to his friend, and they both looked at me a bit more intently. 'Do you know...?' But my knowledge kinda ended there, and the flurry of Japanese and lots of names and other details left me only able to shake my head apologetically. I knew they were asking about races and various names in America, but I had no answers.
'Ahh,' Matsusaka-kun looked a little perturbed, and the sneer returned. 'You don't understand.'
'I mostly understand,' I told him.
Matsusaka-kun looked a little surprised. 'You do?'
'Yes...I just don't know is all,' I said.
'Oh.' He paused. 'Ok. Goodbye.' He waved his hand as if to shoo me away. For Matsusaka-kun and his friend, that was being polite. But after class, when Matsusaka-kun went up to turn in his paper, he said to Murase Sensei, 'She knows about the Kentucky Derby, did you know?'
...Maybe I should look up some info about the Kentucky Derby now. O_O