Teaching

So, I've been updating mostly about traveling and all the other Thai fantastic things, but most of you haven't heard too much about my teaching experience. As expected, most of my classes have some very redeeming kids and can be really fun on any given day. There's a couple of bad apples in each class but I think they're starting to respect me more and have more fun. However, I have 3 absolutely awful classes that I can not stand! One of my senior classes is full of a bunch of smart asses that think they run the school and I just lost my temper one day. I told multiple boys not to come back to class if they're not going to work or listen and I think they were so scared of me, they completely stopped coming to class. Honestly, it works out better because the kids that do show up get all of my attention and time and then I'm not fuming after that class because of those couple kids. One of my other bad classes is just lazy - the sad part is they are actually pretty decent at English but they're lazy and rowdy so nothing ever gets done. It takes all my effort to teach to about 4 kids in the front who really want to learn and seem to like me so I'm trying to focus on them.

Most of my frustration actually stems from the administration. Rowdy kids I can take, incompetency is another thing. Our school forgets to tell us about holidays, pretends they don't know when midterm exams are, forgets to tell us when classes are missing from school for special exams or field trips and has an extreme lack of textbooks. The one book they gave me has multiple paragraphs about the Soviet Union so that's not helpful at all. The Thai teachers don't speak English and so they teach all the students incorrect grammar such as "I am black hair" and "My father name's Somsak". It's infuriating trying to correct these habits! Then, there is no continuity in what the kids learn - each teacher just comes in, teaches what they want for 5 months and leaves. So my kids can say words like "coronation", "venerate", "gracious" and "honest" but they can't tell me how old they are or what their name is. I had a really hard time trying to decide what is important for them to learn so I just ended up picking things I think I would need to know in Thai - such as directions, how to ask for a toilet, introductions and food items. Teaching has gotten easier as time goes on because after a month, I'm a little more used to the daily grind. However, the administration is just as frustrating and unhelpful as ever so I really feel like the four of us Americans are just here for show and pomp - not to actually help these kids speak fluent English. Also, each of my classes is about 50 kids and some of them don't even have desks to sit in. With a bunch of 16-18 year olds, boys and girls, there is no way I can keep control of these classes! I have no disciplinary authority except to yell "quiet!" in Thai over and over again or make them stay after class and write repetitive phrases. I had my first really bad day earlier this week but I guess out of 5-6 weeks of being here, 1 bad day is not too terrible at all! Teaching is definitely my least favorite thing about Thailand, but I still do have some classes that are absolute angels to have! Speaking of, I have to go teach now. I miss you all, happy turkey day and hopefully I can talk to everyone soon!

All my love,
Katie