Experiences of a teacher of English

Greetings to my readers all over the world.  I would like I could help any teacher from any part of this world. Teachers or any other job.  And even more if I provoked a smile with any of my posts, with the help of God. / Photo from: edu blogs com

We teachers do not confine our labor to teaching.  Besides we correct and grade exams, compose reports about our students, meet up with their parents, we monitor our students at tutoring sessions, we invigilate the playgrounds, we attend meetings…  The key thing I would tell you  now  is please let’s try to see people, persons in papers, in the papers we have to work out on, and at the rest of the stuff that has to do with our students. / Photo from: yeriblgi net

The main educators are parents, and family in general terms.  So school is just a continuation of parents’ indispensable mission.  They do not just entrust their children to school and that’s it.  It’s them the main educators: they entrust their children to school because they cannot reach all. Thus there should be regular tutoring sessions between parents and teachers (or tutor). / Photo from: www frankeltutors com

I just heard a colleague of ours who said, “Let’s start the class on time, so as to finish also on time”, I can assure you I liked it. / Photo from: o-COLLEGE-CLASS-facebook www huffingtonpost com

Some of my older students have some anxiety before an exam – can I do anything? Sure! Have them sit separated from one another, to prevent any cheating.  If we teachers are not anxious we could pass on this peace to our students.  We can also assign enough time to carry out the test and revise it in case there could be any mistake. / Photo from: www telegraph co uk

A work team should consist of three members, in my opinion. More could mean that one of the members would work much less than his classmates.  One of the members will become the leader – this is natural and logical, and experience says so.  They should deliver what each one is going to carry out.  When presenting their work to the rest of the class one should be the main speaker, every one of them should say something though. / Photo from: www jsc ac uk

It is sensible to take our students out to an art museum for example.  We as teachers could say something to call and focus their attention.  This is very educative. Beauty is educative, and fine arts are so too.  This raises their sensitivity and so it educates their feelings and mind. Later it’ll aid in their studying. / Photo from: middle-school-boy-studying-outside believeeuchanive com

Some danger we teachers of English or other languages can fall in is to teach facts about the language, instead of trying to form speakers of those languages with a communicative competence.  Another point I would like to outline here is that the real and accomplished learner is the one who really wishes to learn and acquire a language, trying to find his own learning strategies. / Photo from: www lilronancastle ie

Today is Sunday. It’s sound to plan the day, the stuff I have to do.  This takes a couple of minutes, more or less.  If you’re a student, much better if you plan a feast day like today.  You should reach all your homework: think of the things you have to do, and follow your planning. All this will be reflected on grades in exams. / Photo from: stock-footage-happy-student-studying-at-desk-in-the-library-in-college blog letspractice com

If my son has problems concerning studies I look for a private teacher. No. The problem is that your son should study harder, with more effort, solving his own problems, organizing and running his studies, focusing on reading, etc.  You know, the point is carrying out his current profession as a student, engaging his brain, sitting down and planning and thinking about his studies.  He’s old enough, let’s talk about these things with him because we’re his parents. / Photo from: www mirror co uk

Tutoring sessions with parents are not only because of the kid, but also because today the teacher has to educate parents (!).  Yes, many parents think that their duty is just taking their children to a good school and that’s it.  No. Parents’ mission and an essential one is to educate their children, as persons, as mature persons, to be free and responsible, to be happy. So the teacher, the tutor has the duty of also educating parents, don’t forget it. 

Parents’ love to their children is natural and spontaneous. But also it must be elective.  Teachers’ love to their students is elective, but also it must be spontaneous, natural.  When treating a person for long this treating creates affection, love, and this is teachers’ case. This love must be of benevolence = to wish the best for the student, (after its etymology, its origin). / Photo from: www todailyplanet net 

Homework. Should we teachers assign and set homework to our students?  The answer is a qualified yes.  At home or at a library students can set down what they learned or half-learned in the classroom.  They can read in a more relaxed way, and more importantly, they can think about what they learned in the classroom.  Homework is necessary to settle, to review, to deepen, to memorize all what they learned in the classroom.  We teachers should think of setting homework, and useful and helpful homework. / Photo from: 21942-student-under-stress-revising-for-exams www fotolibra com

Within family.  Teens admire those adults that are coherent with what they say.  Otherwise they tend to think adults are hypocritical.  Although it may seem that teens don’t like adults, as I said, they admire and follow them. Grown-ups need to have prestige. That is previous to build up a close relationship between children and their parents, and secondly between kids and elder siblings.  If teens have a true and real positive attitude to learn, they will follow people who have passed through the same problems. All this is inspired from a reading from Gerardo Castillo. / Photo from: father and daughter

We as teachers must have a clear idea and notion about what a person is.  Chiefly any person is a possible or an actual interlocutor of God, and on that basis and foundation and basement we have to build up our teaching.  Any person is capable to become a God’s interlocutor.  If we discard that basis, more likely the notion and idea of a person will fall down, time passing, I would say. / Photo from: bannerTeacherWomanLaptop www hmhco com

In Army sergeants are necessary, but at school we shouldn’t be like sergeants, even when we’re rookie teachers.  The point is, ok, to be serious and conduct like that, but we have to win our students, nicely and by fair means.  You conduct with authority and seriously, but at the same time you’re open to listen and think about what your students have said. / Photo from: personalseoblog com. the teacher on the picture is not necessarily rookie

Whenever the student wants to say a noun or any other words in a conversation in English and he doesn’t know it, something he can do is to explain in English the meaning of that word.  It is a communicative learning strategy. Also he can use a periphrasis. / Photo from: Conversation alvinreid com

Education by us teachers may make people happy! Don’t forget it!  Try to be a better teacher every day. Fulfill your duties. Enjoy teaching. 

We teachers, when in class, must give clear instructions.  The students must always know what to do and how to do it.  This helps discipline and class management.  Don’t go on until the first instruction is fulfilled by the students. Also we can personally address kids with any problem or when disrupting. Eye contact is just essential.  When kids know what to do it's more likely they will get motivated. / Photo from: Students-in-classroom ueatexas com

What is a person?  A person is called to know and love God.  If we don’t remove this relationship, all will go right. A person that believes in God has more weapons for the typical dire straits of life. He has a handle or grip in life: there is God-Father that watches over the person.  The person is not alone, and when dire straits arose he will have a handle or grip to hold in life, more than an atheist, who might feel alone, just him and the big problem. I have nothing against atheists: I help them when possible. / Photo from: 1aled fotomats ru. parachuting

It’s sound to tell students things that they know but they aren’t too much aware. An example.  A student has positive aptitudes and attitudes, and he knows so, but if you tutor tell him about those positive points at tutorials the fact of verbalizing about those points reinforces them in the kid!  We have to talk about positive points and traits, in order to have our students more aware and conscious of those capabilities! We boost those positive points! / Photo from: gastamptden com. the picture is just an illustration

Reading comics and the like.  Some years ago – we had the school subject of English five days out of five – one day every term (?), I used to bring a collection of readers, comics, books, to the classroom. It was an expected day.  I delivered each reader or book to my students from a class-group, according to their level of English – they were mixed-ability classes. Obviously I knew my students’ level of English.  The point was as I said to deliver readings to each kid. It was the reading day, though we didn’t call it so. It was a day when each kid could read whatever they liked and picked from my desk.  I did not control too much – I let them read whatsoever they asked for or as I said they picked a booklet from my desk.  And they did read, believe me.  Suspiciously some student had finished a thin reader so fast, but I cared little that special day. / Photo from: books simonandschuster com

Brainstorm. This game is pretty appreciated by kids in classes.  First the teacher writes on the chalkboard all the colors the students know and say, for example.  Also pretty soon you will get the board covered by colors, or means of transportation, or...  Then a volunteer – they all want to be him – stands up and turns around, his back to the board. And he says all the colors he can remember from the chalkboard. The rest of the class-group are with wide open eyes and in tension.  Finally some student can say out a missing color by the volunteer. Amazing and amusing. / Photo from: brainstorm www eslflow com

We all ask ourselves the following questions in some way or another: Who or What am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going to?  The answers are: I’m a person, but what is a person? Let’s go on.  I have arrived here because God has created my soul, just because of love, and my parents have given me my body.  God has a great love to us, more than all moms and dads all over the world.  The person is a speaker in this big conversation, which is life. God is the other interlocutor. I can talk To and With God.  Besides I’m going to learn that my destination is in God, so I keep on by being an interlocutor with God. I respect you, since you’re an interlocutor with Him (!). We are called to some friendship with Him.  On this basis and foundation and basement we can talk about ethics in educating and teaching. And also about the close relationships that there should be among teachers and parents and the kid.  If we remove G...

Thank you all who publish so many posts, blogs, web sites… They make up a wisdom all together, plus a technical insight for classes.  I was going to say on this post that a simple “thank you” (“gracias” in Spanish) lubricates family relationships a lot.  I think the root of many of our home struggles is because of a decaying politeness, of a lack of politeness maybe.  I would say that in many marriages, to prevent and hinder from a splitting up the couple, many of these problems would be mended by using politeness and niceness.  I’m not a hidden prophet or the sort but it’s just what I can see often, so often, and what we friends and colleagues talk about.  Remember to thank the other partner, and “yield the way” to him or her, and learn, let’s learn to ask for forgiveness and expect so. / Photo from: dental-family-care. did you notice their teeth!?

Flexibility. If you in a class see that some activity or game is not going well and it arouses some blocking on the “road”, change or shift or skip the activity. Even if that activity was inside your class planning. / Photo from: bestcaptips com

One may say, Today is Monday and I’m so hectic today. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do.  Stop.  I believe you and understand you. But within this hurrying up of a regular day we might forget the interesting questions.  What for? What all this work for? Who am I? Where have I come from? Where I’m going to?  We have to recover a transcendent view of person, a metaphysic view of man.  And right now either carry on with your labor or ask you yourself those essential questions. It’s worth the try. Whenever you have a recess or break. / Photo from: www shutterstock com

School is not like a market, like a shoes store, like a garage. It is part, in some sense, of our homes.  Parents should meet their children’s teachers, or at least the tutor, who had previously collected information from the other teachers.  Tutorials with parents should be rather frequent, usual. Parents entrust their children to their teachers, and even the look inside and outside the school should be taken care of: they are parts of our homes in some way. / Photo from: classroom mynasadata larc nasa gov

Educating is not so simple but definitely it’s possible.  Parents have something that assists a lot in educating their children, which is love and love of benevolence (to wish the best for them). / Photo from: Imágenes-de-Formula-1-para-Whatsapp-en-hd1 imagenesparawhatsapp org. the picture is a mere illustration

Do we parents think of our sons and daughters’ education? We cannot give it up.  We cannot pass it to school. Do I as a parent read books or e-books or web-sites to learn how to educate my children? Because educating today is not like educating fifty years ago, just for example.  Today society doesn’t give much help and assistance in our children’s education. Think of the lack of values and virtues we can find everywhere.  What do we want for our children? / Photo from: wall alphacoders com. the picture is just an illustration

Many people are scared to speak in public, aren’t they? Before a lot of people.  They would not speak in public, ever, but they have to, at some occasions.  I would tell you to be short, brief, people should want more, and secondly be natural, be yourself.  Plus a tip by Ballesteros De la Puerta. If you are asked by somebody amid the public, ask him or her their names. We like to be addressed by our name, right?  As well you could start by saying you’re scared and nervous, sometimes it is sound to say it – well, think of it. / Photo from: Overcoming-fear-of-public-speaking www levo com

How can you bear with your so playful and nasty students? A teacher, a veteran one was asked. Because I love them.  Do we love, do I love the students I have gotten entrusted? / Photo from: A-veteran-educator-at-Bowsher-retiring www toledoblade com

Family. Education.  This equation is solved when Dad and Mom let themselves be leaded by the natural love toward their children.  Mom’s absence is noticed by kids and they missed her a lot. Also this happens with Dad, but firstly with Mom.  Family’s education is the essential one, one which cannot be passed to school and that’s it. No way. Also elder brothers and sisters can aid here, first by setting good examples. / Photo from: www care com

Teaching English or a different language implies and brings up creativity from us teachers. We are the best and most available source for classes.  We may have iPads for the kids, okay, but we have to learn how to take the best from those tablets.  The first premise is that the students will have learned to manage them better than us teachers, in general terms, or in my case! They have grown and are growing up with those technologies. / Photo from: www apple com

Some school subjects may be more humane or they are educative because we’re treating deep insights of a person, and they’re more humanistic.  But what when we teach math or chemistry: aren’t those subjects educative?  Definitely they are: we are educating people and help them mature. These ideas are taken from philosopher Carlos Cardona. / Photo from: Student math teaching cols columbusstate edu

Whenever we deal with lists of students, we can think of the particular students we are referring to, as individually.  Each person is unique, and we teachers deal and work with people not with screws. We’re dealing with their education as persons. / Photo from: teacher_student studentconduct ncsu edu

I told you on post # 2565 that we don’t teach large masses, but individuals.  We address each student looking into his eyes. This is a good premise; also that you’re such or such person, one more individual.  You’re not an anonymous person who addresses a mass of people. So classes are something human and humane. / Photo from: GiddingsTeachers-09 smalltowntexas kut org