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<\/p>\n“Teacher, teacher!”<\/p>\n
“Student, student!” I respond.<\/p>\n
“Do you speak Thai?”<\/p>\n
“No, I only know a couple phrases.”<\/p>\n
“Oooooooooooooo!”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If I had a time machine, this would be one of the mistakes I’ve made in my life that I would address first (There have been quite a few. \u00a0For example: two days ago when I got yelled at for taking a picture of this grumpy taser salesman). \u00a0My students now know that they have the upper hand in EVERY single situation they may encounter with me, until I become fluent in Thai…which probably won’t happen very soon.\u00a0 At first I was just herding cats, now I’m herding cats who can organize and conspire against me.\u00a0 And not just a few cats, but 12 sections of cats.<\/p>\n
There are 50 students in each section.\u00a0 600 students per week.\u00a0 They can smell my fear.<\/p>\n
Just look at ’em!\u00a0 Ready to strike at a moment’s notice.\u00a0 When I say strike, I mean watch videos on their smart phones, play Yugioh cards in the back, play soccer in the back, write on the white board when I’m not looking, wrestle, leave the classroom, and so on.<\/p>\n But they’re not always being this crazy\u2026well at least for one day each year: Wai Khru Day!\u00a0 I mostly liked it because of the local style of lanna shirt I was required to wear.\u00a0 I think I worked it pretty hard.<\/p>\n On this day, students pay respect to their teachers.\u00a0 Educators are respected much more than in America.\u00a0 I’m not sure of the accuracy of the information, but I’ve been told here that the ranking of respect goes Royalty–>Monks–>Teachers.\u00a0 Dropping the phrase, “Phom bin khru” (I am a teacher), did help me knock yi sip baht off the price of that snazzy shirt.<\/p>\n Naturally, I deserved the upmost respect as I had been teaching for two whole days.\u00a0 At the Wai Khru Ceremony, the other teachers asked me to lead the procession onto the stage in front of all the students, which was a mistake on their part.\u00a0 I had no idea where to go, and ended up turing around, walking back across the stage, and asking another teacher.\u00a0 The students’ giggles will ring in my ears forever.<\/p>\n Once I found my seat and the ceremony began, I was met by a strange mixture of Buddhist prayers and Christian hymns, all followed by bowing.\u00a0 Then the students presented their elaborate floral creations to us.\u00a0 Each homeroom had made a several-tiered masterpiece to be judged in a friendly competition.\u00a0 My favorite had a floating lotus flower perched on top.<\/p>\n The whole ceremony was pretty overwhelming.\u00a0 After more songs, prayers, and bowing, I was back in the classroom, where the respect ended.\u00a0 I don’t remember accomplishing anything, but I do remember yelling a lot.\u00a0 This helped me to realize that I was being too serious in my teaching.\u00a0 By losing my cool and screaming, I had lost face, which is very much avoided in Thai culture. \u00a0I’ve been trying so hard to get everyone completely quiet and in their seats so they could listen to me lecture about the present tense\u2026this strategy was exhausting.\u00a0 I’m a conversational English teacher and my class only contributes to 20% of each student’s grade. \u00a0Learning was not occurring when I tried to take my classes so seriously.<\/p>\n The Thai education system was a shock for me.\u00a0 Several trends struck me, and have kept a usually mellow man on edge.\u00a0 First, there is no punctuality. \u00a0Some students wander in 15-20 minutes late like its no problem.\u00a0 Second, cheating is rampant, especially when they know you don’t speak Thai.\u00a0 Third, the threat of bad grades means nothing to students.\u00a0 The Thai teachers have asked me to just pass everyone, even if they’re turning in blank papers to me, which happens more often than you’d think.\u00a0 I can’t change these cultural trends, even though they disagree with my personal pedagogy.\u00a0 Trying to fight these trends is stopping my personality and teaching style from coming out during class.<\/p>\n I’ve spent far too much energy trying to be a disciplinarian instead of trying to get students excited to use even just a little English.\u00a0 The students are hilarious, so why am I being so dry?\u00a0 Time to start playing some games and finding ways to tame this herd of cats other than the thrilling combination of worksheets and yelling.<\/p>\n “Teacher, teacher!” “Student, student!” I respond. “Do you speak Thai?” “No, I only know a couple phrases.” “Oooooooooooooo!” If I had a time machine, this would be one of the mistakes I’ve made in my life that I would address … Continue reading ![\"students](\"http:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/studyingabroad\/files\/2012\/06\/IMG_5403-1024x682.jpg\")
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