Teaching high school ESL (engish as a second language) is a 3rd career of mine and I can say that it is by far the most difficult. 8-3 in the classroom, then making lesson plans/power points/worksheets till about midnight every night. weekends are spent assessing student work. have you ever read 90 essays in a row by english language learners? i have. i work in a low income area with heavy gang influence among the students. i have students in and out of jail, court cases, pregnancies, overnight jobs that leave them exhausted in the morning, and some have to work to support themselves and in a couple of cases kids. its easy to understand why they have very little motivation in school. a lot of times i would hear things like "i'm not doing with *****ing work", "leave me the ***** a lone", "get this ***** out of my face" and i try not to take offense but remember that they have real issues and reading strategies are not a priority in their lives. i struggled with the fact that part of how i'm evaluated is based on their scores on standardized tests. most of them couldn't care less about grades or tests. its a fight just to keep them from dropping out. i feel like if i can keep them from dropping out and hopefully graduate, then im doing positive work for my community. but my evaluation may not reflect that because they didn't score as well on the state tests as the kids from higher income areas who have the luxury of going home, having dinner, and studying in peace. teachers of those students get better evaluations. but no one said the system was fair. what makes me want to do this for the next 30 years is something that i realized during the year. some of my students were really learning english well. they understood their other classes better. they were able to make more friends. they were able to help their parents with everyday things like communicating with a bank teller. i liked when they would tell me stories about things like that. it made all of the other nonsense tolerable. and last but not least... SUMMER VACATION!
being understanding is a daily challenge. breaking up a drunken attempted rape was a one time deal lol. but thanks for the props.
Kudos to you man, making a difference is tough... but it could end up being one of the most rewarding things you ever do.
I agree and I'm actually jealous that you got in when you did. I got certified to teach MS-HS science and history last summer right before they instituted the hiring freeze in Austin. My girlfriend teaches 9th grade biology, so I help her with stacks of grading all the time. It's pretty funny when two people bomb the quiz with the exact same answers and then turn it in together. Everyone's making 90's and then all of the sudden you get two consecutive 35's. Hmmmmmm. :grin:
I get frustrated just trying to explain the math homework to the other classmates, I coul never teach a bunch of inner city kids. +1 much respect for taking on an underappreciated, hard, yet important job.
Keep it up. TAKs sucks. Keep doing it for the kids that care. I hope you get a good evaluation. If you help even a few then you have something to be proud of.
Congrats on the first year down! That is tough work, and ESLs on the standardized tests are going to be tough anyway, and them not caring about taking the test makes extremely hard. I know it can be frustrating. But it sounds like you have things in the right perspective and are focusing on what's really important. Way to make a difference. Congrats.
Congrats on making it through year one. I remember the feeling of pride I felt completing my first year, and the trepidation of tackling year two (trust me, it gets a little easier). Just remember this feeling next November. /D&D rant
I'm a educated fool with money on my mind Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye I'm a loc'ed out gangsta, set-trippin banger And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool
No. Asians would say "reave me the ***** a rone". On a serious note, smoothie, I think what you're doing is awesome. Thanks.
