Day 83: A Better Teacher

Another slack day today! I only taught three elementary classes which, at the moment, are all that I'm responsible for. I start at 1:50pm and I'm finished at 5:20pm, and that includes a one-hour coffee break. And yet I still get paid for a full day. Man, this is sweet! I actually feel kinda guilty for having such a short work-day. Never in my life have I been paid so much to do so little!

It's only for this week though. I found out what my work schedule avec the adult classes is going to be like and it's actually not all that bad. Steven will be teaching the adult morning classes, and I will be teaching the evening ones - 3 classes from 7-10pm, each an hour long. It's enough time to go home and have dinner before teaching the adults, and it's not all that late really. (I still get home in time to watch re-runs of Sex & The City at 11pm!) And plus I get to sleep in everyday. I think I'll be able to handle this new schedule just fine.

I must admit that I am a little nervous to teach adults though. With kids it's all fun and games and if you get stuck or there's time to kill you can BS your way until the end of the class. Kids don't have any expectations really - they just want to have fun, and I'm good at that. With adults it's different - they're serious, and they're smart, and they know if you're doing a good job or not. They actually come in with real expectations, and I don't want to let them down. I don't think I'm a bad teacher, not at all. I just haven't taught students who are actually mature and reasonable and *wanting* to learn - it's all kinda scary!

New textbooks came in today that will be for the elementary students. This new textbook actually has ORGANIZED lesson plans with suggested games and questions and even includes reviews and tests that can be given out. I spent like 3 hours tonight reading the Teacher's Manual introduction section tonight - quite the in-depth textbook! This will make teaching easier in some ways for me, but it'll also be an adjustment as I'm not used to working with a guided curriculam. I've gotten so used to just doing 'improv' lessons after being just thrown in to classes with little or no material, that having organized, structured lessons seems so foreign! Wow, so many changes these days! But I think the changes will mean better education for the students, and with this new structure I think it'll make me a better teacher. Wish me luck with the new curriculam, and with the new adult classes next week!