Experiences of a teacher of English

When I was at the English summer camp two weeks ago I thought of writing on class management and discipline when I had the chance to. And here I am.  For example there was a teacher whom the kids of the camp respected a lot. Well, you know, he was nearly seven feet tall, but that was not all. He respected the kids. He used to get concerned about his students’ work and learning English. He tried hard to assist them at their everyday work.  Also he would not raise his voice to address a disrupting kid. Not at all. It’s also true that those kids this year were respectful, but I mean he knew how to manage the class of students. Yes indeed.  Alike then I thought and recalled about a teacher whom also her students had a lot of respect to. She taught chemistry.  She was so concerned about her students that they tried to also respect her. Even they did not want to fail at exams to avoid provoking any annoyance to her. They knew she loved her students with be...

Most of us teachers in earth north hemisphere may be on vacations. And we know that this break may be somewhat short. So we have to make good use of time.  Do we know how to rest? Do we know how to make good use of this resting and relaxing time?  I do know that we teachers on holidays may have other things to do at this time. But we must learn how to rest. I would say that this recess is for gathering forces and strength for the coming school year 2019-2020.  It’s the time for rejuvenation and recovering our lost forces and strength. It’s a time to perhaps strolling around the countryside or along a solitary beach and think of things that can boost our ordinary work and laboring.  It’s a time to think of our students in a new and fresh way: we’re educating the people that are our society’s near future.  We deal with persons and do not dedicate our nice time to manufacture screws: we work with persons, human beings. And those our dear studen...

In 10 days we will be starting an English summer camp for boys. Near Costa del Sol in southern Spain. A wonderful place and hopefully a wonderful camp.  Now I’m thinking of the first announcements and advice I’ll tell the thirty students that are to attend it. Who will be responsible of conduct and behavior? The kids themselves. I’ll be saying some things that could penetrate in their heads though they may be not very conscious the first day.  We teachers and monitors are sowing and planting seeds that will penetrate in them over time, maybe over years.  They have to have a pen plus a notebook or A4 sheets – also a dictionary is sensible to have. They must be punctual, which amounts to be respectful to other people, other human persons.  They will practice the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. They’ll have a wonderful chance to practice their English with a pair of native teachers: last year and other past years we had a...

We teachers in the north earth hemisphere may be at vacations. And we do need to rest and relax, don’t we? I’m after it, I’m resting and relaxing. But we may do other small jobs, like attending a summer camp for boys for a couple of weeks.  They will learn and practice their English with English native teachers. I’m making up some plan to help those kids. Something I must take into account is that they must learn some conducting rules, but ultimately they keep being free persons.  Freedom is a value I must take into account. Freedom has a pedagogic and educative value, yes it has. We monitors have to respect that liberty.  If those kids have freedom, they can likely let us monitors educate them, in accordance with what their parents wish for them. Only if the kids are free, they can better as persons. Because we teachers and monitors have to try to help them become better persons, and that’s what their parents and families wish for them.  Only if the...

Pheeeww! We already are at the end of the school year in the north hemisphere. And so we’re tired and it’s getting perhaps too warm, and soon it’ll be hot here in Granada, south of Spain.  Officially the present school year finishes in May but I might offer extra classes in June, even though fewer and fewer students are attending the classes.  Now I teach adults, and they’re learning English as a second language and have no official exams to pass. They wish to learn and acquire that language for their travels abroad and as well to maintain their minds agile and lively.  So I mean that the teacher has to feel that their students may be tired and in need of some rest – even I am tired, however, I can offer those lessons also in June.  Next week still within May it will be crucial to decide whether we have classes in June.  At one of the schools where I teach adults we’ll definitely have lessons until mid-June.  So if we cut off lesson...

We teachers of a second/foreign language should create an atmosphere in the classroom where that language is spoken.  I’ve seen it this summer once again. And it was nice. Even before and after the lesson that language can be spoken, between the teacher and the students. And it is nice. It is.  Also we may have a student from another different country and with him we could speak in that tongue, English in our case. This summer I have seen kids for whom English is a difficult language and they spoke in English with a kid from Hong Kong. They were speaking in English with him! Kids for whom English was difficult!  It was so but by then they tried hard and nice to talk in that language.  On my own I thank my students because when I arrive at the classroom they address me in English, the language I teach. They have become accustomed to doing that, and the classroom is a place where English is used for communication.  The classroom is like a ...

When I had to correct and reprimand some student from the summer course I’ve recently attended I used to appeal to his sense of responsibility. And it worked, it did.  I have to say that I had some friendship with those students or at least I treated them in a nice way. I put them to their sense of responsibility, and it worked.  At the end of the brief conversations with them we reached the resolution that they would do their best. It took me a bit tired and hot, so I had not much like at scolding them, so I made them think on their own, about what their best behavior should be.  Altogether those kids tried to do their best, but they’re cunning and they – some of them – put their teacher to the test in some way. At the end of that summer camp both the teachers and the students were content, satisfied and happy: they’re good kids and the teachers were nice guys, brilliant professionals. / Photo from: Airbus A380 Traveller com au. Teachers have to conduct ...

I’ve returned from an English-language camp for boys. A summer camp. Also I’ve recently taught private tuition to a kid aged 17.  He had problems with his school subject of English. Okay then, as I was teaching him and giving him examples of sentences that appeal to him and meet his life and interests, that young man was finding more motivation at English.  I believe he’s finding his way to success and passing his school subject of English: he has found that English has to do with his life. He’s a great guy. / Photo from: ireland com

I told you on the previous post that we teachers must have fortitude. Also that we have to set an example in the classroom and in all other places where our teaching develops in the school.  We teachers must have a fortress quality. Or fortitude. We must be strong: for example when presenting our students about a new school year we should have previously thought of the goals for that school year.  Those goals should have been thought of with realism. Also with our students in mind. Also with optimism. Human persons can carry out nice learning.  We will have to stop aside our daily teaching to think and project those nice goals.  Otherwise we will not be able to push our students upward. Also we will say to our students how we expect from them to push themselves upward.  Now maybe at the summer break and before the school year or when teaching at the summer break too (!) should have to stop to think of nice goals: realistic, mature, posit...

  What to do at the end of the school year, when we may be exhausted, weary and even a bit sick? It is the time when we may be at the countdown. It is a relief my students are great, simply great. Also my head people are also great. It is the time of fortitude too. You have got to resist until the bell time, at this palestra of life. Obviously I’m not telling you family stuff but also there you have got to have fortitude, for the work can become greater too. And for the summer? More work plus a kids summer camp of English. You know, I don’t want to complain, just you may have to exert your best fortitude, which is a case of regular and normal administration. And I believe you may get more strength for fall, for when back to school in fall. Why getting more strength? Because you relax and rest when you change your work and the regular scenario where you exert your daily work. I’m happy anyway. Also I count on the Other, on the transcendent, on God himself. He is ...

  More often than not there’re some few cases of conflictive kids in Spain, not only at school but also at home. By no means do I intend to be negative anyway. Because we can appreciate many cases of kids that are being educated nice, in our classrooms. Coming back to the first cases, some days ago I read on the paper that a psychologist has recently said that we have to educate those problematic kids to be generous, with solidarity and concerned about other people. In a word they must learn to help other people. Otherwise they’re going to be tyrants. And I was thinking of our classrooms. Thank God our kids conduct in some nice way, and when there’re problems, these ones are minimized thanks to tutoring sessions, where those kids can give vents to their problems, for example at home. But remember, also we have problems. I remember there was a summer course in a school where the kids lived. It was a program to train them for their examinations and to become better st...

  I repeat on purpose: our students should be easy and somehow relaxed in the classroom. But at the same time some nice and sane tension helps them learn! They may be eager to participate for example. And some challenge is necessary to learn! Great history deeds by people have been done because of some challenge or problem to solve… In the classroom the atmosphere should be quiet and predisposed for learning, listening, reading and studying. We teachers in some way should be like fine self-help books. In other words we have to have some psychology, often due to experience and learning from other teachers and psychologists. The atmosphere, as I said, should be peaceful. For that objective we teachers should empathize with our students, and also should try and understand them. Last summer I was assisting at an English camp for boys. One of the boys had the disease of solitude. He didn’t like rumors and noise, so frequent at a boys’ camp, right? This kid wanted to be alo...

  I was thinking of the English summer camp I arrived from some days ago. Oh, it’s been so great. We’ve had fun and also the kids have learned so much English and practiced listening, speaking, reading and writing. Great. Also they’ve learned and practiced other competences or skills, like working in teams, speaking in public, debating and discussing… Even they’ve learned to make their beds in the morning. And all of them were nice, in spite of a few punctual behavior problems. When you treated the boys aside, they reacted in a nice way. At the cafeteria or canteen as well they’ve learned to eat their meals nice. I was also thinking that these boys are our future citizens, the ones that will lead our lives. Some also nice anecdote was that we visited Gibraltar, which is a nice piece of the UK at the south cape of Spain. Even they’ve learned to treat God as a You, as a person, as a dad, with a limitless love like many dads and moms together. What may they be doing no...

Pheeww! I've been to a summer camp with boys. It's been awesome. On coming days I will post further. I hope so. Sláinte! (Cheers, in Gaelic).

  Teaching. Something great. I like it. It is a call or vocation, or at least we say so in Spanish. I have a summer camp for boys in a few days. I’ll be the link between the teachers and the rest of the monitors and staff. Teaching as something pretty great, I was saying.   The boys’ lives and biographies are in my hands. I will try to teach them how to be men, thorough ones. I pray for them, their families and my mission. I’ll also be having interviews and tutorials in English with those kids. Because it is an English camp. I’ve been there since 1991, with some stops in between. At the same school, in Spanish Costa del Sol. But you Americans and other readers seek pragmatic and practical stuff, right? Okay then, I’m saying that because of my function at that camp I’ve got to combine being serious with those boys plus smiling and being, how do you say it? Nice and kind. Those are the words. Nice and kind. And as well I have got to plan the excursion to Gibraltar,...

  Oh, you know, it turned out maybe too serious but I mean it: We teachers are not alone in our daily struggle to teach our students. Among other reasons we can count on the Other, God, and his only beloved Son Jesus Christ. We call this latter the Master, the Teacher, and He’s true God and true man. He can help us. Well you know, I thought it be right to tell about this point. We aren’t alone and I could tell you fine things about their help. I wish you all a nice break at summer, if you’re at the north hemisphere of the earth. You all need resting and relaxing. Yesterday I taught my last lesson of the winter season and now I focus on this nice summer. For instance I’ll be assisting at a summer English camp July 18 through 31. I’ll be the link or bridge between the monitor staff and the brilliant English-language native teachers. By the way and before I forget it: what I wrote about turning to Jesus Christ for help may look too serious a thing or kinda that, like I s...

  Meals at school is a nice chance to educate our students. They have to learn how to have lunch properly. For example they have to learn how to wait and form a line. Also they’ll learn, with our help, to take whatever they are able to eat and not to have spare food that will go to the trash can and ultimately to the dumpster. There are many countries where they’re suffering a famine... As well they should learn not to be capricious nor whimsical nor fussy. Also we can tell the cooks to serve whatever the kids are able to eat, and not too much. They will throw their peels to the trash can also properly. Sorry to descend to such details but having lunch has many small things to take care of and is so educative! If some peel or paper napkins drop out of the garbage can we’ll tell that kid to pick them up. Of course and I said it already, they should not throw spare food to that can. I was remembering about a camp I attended in the summers: we the monitors used to sit ...

  Within some weeks I’ll be assisting and teaching at a couple of English-language summer camps, with teens and younger children. And that’s okay and I can help out there. However I’ve got to think about the profile I’m applying regarding classroom management. The kids will be spending their vacations and they want to have fun. Even they tend to (in some way) blow up the lessons, and sorry to be so honest. I’m not upset, I simply tell you all how those kids take those courses. So I have to apply some classroom management. I’ll implement some low profile management. I mean, let’s see, I should not get irritated. I’m also implementing a series of games with the younger kids, about which I have a list of more than 100 games, to foster speaking in English and aiming at having fun. I mean it, I ought not to get angry. I’ll let you know about it on coming weeks. I will also try to set some order at the games but taking into account that I won’t get 100% nice classroom manag...

  We teachers have some or many students, okay. But each student is unique and worthy to pay attention to, as you know. Let’s treat our students with tenderness and affection, for they could have so few people around who could love them. This doesn’t prevent from firmness concerning classroom management. What is more, attention, affection, even some kind of clever and intelligent tenderness are great boosters of a sane classroom management: when we love, with benevolence love, our students, in the long term, will respect us. And not too much in the long term – also in short. Now I’m thinking of a summer course we ran in a school of Jaén, south of Spain. It was a program that offered remedies for students who had failed many subjects along the school year, before final September exams. Okay, those boys had a lot of hours of classes and studying at the large study hall or the classrooms. Discipline was rather wooden, do you say so? And those boys and young men, whom y...

  “They don’t know it, but they’re learning!” said David, a gentle veteran teacher at our summer camp, some weeks ago. I liked it. It had been the first class day, and they had been playing to guess who the celebrity was. It’s a guessing game, a fun one, which makes the students ask the teacher questions about a celeb they have to guess. What I liked the most was that those kids (teens) were actually learning, nearly or fully inadvertently! It’s the summit of learning and acquiring a foreign or second language! However I also like when students may recognize they’re really learning. Infants (“infant” means “the one that cannot speak, in-fant = no-speak”, so babies or even very young children) acquire the mother language from their moms, and dads too, but I reckon that chiefly from their moms. Otherwise try to observe how moms repeat the same message or just a phrase to their dearest babies, like they were playing with those infants. Try to listen to moms talking t...