Today, I taught my last class at my school. It was a huge success and we played Password, which is a simplified version of Taboo. I've been teaching this class since October (they were the class that gave me macarons for my birthday) and we had so much fun today. [Highlight: for the word "Toilet paper," one girl gave a very good clue: "After you pee or poop, it's what you use." Her teammates were, unfortunately, still quite confused...]
Then, Donnie and I went with a Spanish teacher and my former roommate Fabi from my school to visit a few towns near the coast (namely Deauville and Honfleur, though we stopped for a picnic in Trouville). Also amazing.
Upon returning, I had a good feeling job interview over Skype (and the internet connection only cut out 3 times -- not bad, right?). Then we made dinner and had a friend come over.
She left, and we're beginning packing now. And a hail storm just started and it was perfect sounding, with lightning and thunder and we are inside packing up and cleaning and life is goooooood.
Home in 6 days!
Showing posts with label teaching stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching stories. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
OK, I promise I'll put pictures of Lille up soon...
... but in the meantime, this cute teacher story!
Today, I did a presentation on the US high school system. I explained Prom, Homecoming, Football vs Soccer, and showed my yearbook. And in both classes (I did the same lesson twice in a row), the students were appalled when I told them about "Pajama Day" during Spirit Week in America. I showed them some pictures of kids in the hallways, wearing PJs and the kids all GASPED. And then noticed that one kid was wearing Homer Simpson™ slippers and the kids were immediately okay with the situation.
But even the teacher turns to her students and goes, "Can you imagine?!"
Today, I did a presentation on the US high school system. I explained Prom, Homecoming, Football vs Soccer, and showed my yearbook. And in both classes (I did the same lesson twice in a row), the students were appalled when I told them about "Pajama Day" during Spirit Week in America. I showed them some pictures of kids in the hallways, wearing PJs and the kids all GASPED. And then noticed that one kid was wearing Homer Simpson™ slippers and the kids were immediately okay with the situation.
But even the teacher turns to her students and goes, "Can you imagine?!"
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
"C'est l'hiver/ C'est l'hiver/ C'est l'hiver!"
Guys, I think I'm accro à Christmas Carols. I have found an iTunes Christmas station called "La Radio du Père Noel from Paris" and I literally have it on all the time. This is perhaps logical, because this silly boyfriend of mine apparently (how did I not know this before?!) does not like Christmas music, or at least most of it. So I'm planning on getting it out of my system in the next three weeks until I go home for Christmas/New Year's. But anyways, the last song that was one was "Let it Snow" and it was all in French and at the end, instead of "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," they said, "C'est l'hiver, c'est l'hiver, c'est l'hiver" (it's winter! it's winter! it's winter!)
It has certainly become more winter-like here, these days. I think my family experienced the very beginning of it while they were here. We spent some lovely days walking around Rouen with good weather and fairly occasional sunshine. But then, during our lovely weekend in Yvetot it got a lot chillier. Paris was a bit cold, and then I came back to a frigid Rouen. This is, of course, relatively speaking, because it's still upper 40s but ... with the wind and sometimes rain, I's cold! Time to transition, it seems, from my Gram Coat (black, water proof goodness) to my Gramma Coat (white fluffy wintery goodness).
I taught a class all by myself today, which I accepted under certain conditions. I'm technically not supposed to act as a substitute teacher but in this case, I only have three classes left with these kids who are in one of my favorite classes, and the teacher is gone the next two. So I'm using her lesson plan with them and they are great. It went very well, and they all told me that I was very good at teaching at the end of class. Thanks, Frenchies!
Hmmm, there was something else that I specifically came here to write about but I got distracted by my Xmas tunes. Oh well. I guess this is important: I'm moving out of my apartment before I come home for Christmas. I'm moving into an apartment near the train station (a short metro ride away) for the rest of my time here, including the three months that Donnie lives here with me. My current apartment, while it is accessorized with my AMAZING roommates and best friends in France, Xiao Lu and Fabi, is a little unfortunate because I cannot have people stay over. And boys are not allowed. So, I had to find a new place to live, which I have done. It's a really cute little one room apartment, with a separate kitchen and bathroom. I'm super excited to live there. I'm working out the details to get the clic clac delivered that I bought using leboncoin.
La la la. I'm going to make some food and then take a nap, I do believe.
With love,
EDIT: I REMEMBER WHAT I FORGOT TO WRITE ABOUT! A bloggy friend reminded me that advent started yesterday, which reminded me that I need to start my Advent Calendar! So I opened it up and behind door #1: NO CHOCOLATE. What a rip off! But luckily, door 2 had a little square behind it so I got my fix. I think I need to have a little talk with Le Mutant. This is a problem.
It has certainly become more winter-like here, these days. I think my family experienced the very beginning of it while they were here. We spent some lovely days walking around Rouen with good weather and fairly occasional sunshine. But then, during our lovely weekend in Yvetot it got a lot chillier. Paris was a bit cold, and then I came back to a frigid Rouen. This is, of course, relatively speaking, because it's still upper 40s but ... with the wind and sometimes rain, I's cold! Time to transition, it seems, from my Gram Coat (black, water proof goodness) to my Gramma Coat (white fluffy wintery goodness).
I taught a class all by myself today, which I accepted under certain conditions. I'm technically not supposed to act as a substitute teacher but in this case, I only have three classes left with these kids who are in one of my favorite classes, and the teacher is gone the next two. So I'm using her lesson plan with them and they are great. It went very well, and they all told me that I was very good at teaching at the end of class. Thanks, Frenchies!
Hmmm, there was something else that I specifically came here to write about but I got distracted by my Xmas tunes. Oh well. I guess this is important: I'm moving out of my apartment before I come home for Christmas. I'm moving into an apartment near the train station (a short metro ride away) for the rest of my time here, including the three months that Donnie lives here with me. My current apartment, while it is accessorized with my AMAZING roommates and best friends in France, Xiao Lu and Fabi, is a little unfortunate because I cannot have people stay over. And boys are not allowed. So, I had to find a new place to live, which I have done. It's a really cute little one room apartment, with a separate kitchen and bathroom. I'm super excited to live there. I'm working out the details to get the clic clac delivered that I bought using leboncoin.
La la la. I'm going to make some food and then take a nap, I do believe.
With love,
EDIT: I REMEMBER WHAT I FORGOT TO WRITE ABOUT! A bloggy friend reminded me that advent started yesterday, which reminded me that I need to start my Advent Calendar! So I opened it up and behind door #1: NO CHOCOLATE. What a rip off! But luckily, door 2 had a little square behind it so I got my fix. I think I need to have a little talk with Le Mutant. This is a problem.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Class today
So, in class today, my students were having to describe their ideal robots. Most of the groups were saying things like, "My robot would make my homework for me," "My robot would play guitar like Bob Marley." It was pretty cute and most things (except for maybe the Bob Marley answer) were fairly predictable. Then I asked them what the robot would look like? Many people said it would look like a robot in the picture, some said they would have it look like them so it could go to school in their place...
But one student said he would have it look like his girlfried, who was sitting next to him. Then she said, "Oh, mine would look like him too." The boy said, "That way, we can always be together, and we can send our robots to school in place of the other." It was pretty darn adorable.
And then, I asked the last kid in the group what his robot would look like. He said, "Bah, ché pas, moi... Euhhhh, oui ché pas." So I was like, THINK! JUST THINK OF ANYTHING!! And he goes (get ready), "I would 'ave eet look like you."
I think the French boy likes me. How nice.
But one student said he would have it look like his girlfried, who was sitting next to him. Then she said, "Oh, mine would look like him too." The boy said, "That way, we can always be together, and we can send our robots to school in place of the other." It was pretty darn adorable.
And then, I asked the last kid in the group what his robot would look like. He said, "Bah, ché pas, moi... Euhhhh, oui ché pas." So I was like, THINK! JUST THINK OF ANYTHING!! And he goes (get ready), "I would 'ave eet look like you."
I think the French boy likes me. How nice.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Class today
Well, today, I had two classes with Christophe, my contact teacher. We did the same exercise in both classes: the kids had the scenario that they were shipwrecked (Cherubs, holla!) on a desert island and they had to create a constitution for their new civilization. But, see, to get them to understand this without speaking French required a lot of gestures and a lot of ... French. Oops.
Anyways, once the kids got what was going on, they had to create two lists. One list was for what each type of person had to do, and the other was for what they could do. For example, "the men have to gather wood, the women have to make the clothes, the children have to build a house in the trees." (these are all real responses, so please don't mind the gendered nature of my examples. I figured getting all feminist on them and challenging the gender roles they created in a language they wouldn't understand anyway would be a little pointless...)
But then they got to create a list of things the people COULD do. "Children could go swimming," for example. But then they said, "The old men could drink. If they can find alcohol." And then, "The old women could smoke. A pipe."
I love French teenagers.
Anyways, once the kids got what was going on, they had to create two lists. One list was for what each type of person had to do, and the other was for what they could do. For example, "the men have to gather wood, the women have to make the clothes, the children have to build a house in the trees." (these are all real responses, so please don't mind the gendered nature of my examples. I figured getting all feminist on them and challenging the gender roles they created in a language they wouldn't understand anyway would be a little pointless...)
But then they got to create a list of things the people COULD do. "Children could go swimming," for example. But then they said, "The old men could drink. If they can find alcohol." And then, "The old women could smoke. A pipe."
I love French teenagers.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
An Interesting Teaching Day
Just a few thoughts. I've finally (as of Monday), really, genuinely started teaching classes. I go to my classes and the teacher either works with me in class, or he/she sends me into another classroom with 3-6 students. I've done a fairly even mix of the two, thus far.
On Monday, I did an activity where I gave each kid a celebrity, but they didn't know who the celebrity was. They had to ask their classmates yes/no questions until they figured it out. Basically, it was "Who am I?" Prior to class, I had cut out pictures of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Leo DiCaprio, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Barack Obama, his hottie wife, Michael Jackson, Hallie Berry, etc... Turns out I did a good job. Because when I would show the kids which famous personality they would have to help their classmate guess, they would all go "Oohhh, ahhhh!" Or in the case of Michael Jackson or Britney Spears, they would all laugh and act all embarrassed that someone was them. (In MJ's case, they thought it was funny that they had to be someone who was dead; in Britney's, they thought it was funny that they had to be someone who was crazy.)
The activity went really well. The few kids who were standoffish at the beginning were some of the ones who got most involved and excited. I was pleased with it. What was interesting to me, though, was that the first two questions each kid asked (in both groups) were inevitably: "Is it a woman?" and "Is she/he black?" They didn't ask about whiteness first, and if the answer to being black was "no" they assumed that the person was white. I was bummed that I didn't include more diverse celebrities but I literally went through my People magazine page by page and cut out the people I knew they would recognize. [Also interesting: when the kid who was being Michael Jackson asked the race question, the kids didn't know what to answer. Half of them said yes and half of them said no. Then one kid stammered out, "Een ze beginning, 'e eez black. But, een ze later times, 'e become white."
My brain is tired now because I had a full day, even though I didn't actually do very much. So, though I would love to write a doctoral dissertation on the thoughts regarding these young, impressionable minds and their relationship with race, I think that will have to come another time.
But a note to myself/other assistants who might read this and want to try the activity: Other celebrity ideas could be Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, George Bush, Lindsay Lohan. And if you wanted to be more complicated and involve other things, you could include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building... Anyone have other ideas of things the kids would recognize/be able to describe?
Also, in one class that had a lower level of English, I did this but didn't make them use yes or no questions, so they weren't as put on the spot. So the one standing, trying to guess, could say things like, "What is my job?" And they would answer "actor," or, "President of the United States." That last one sure didn't take long... but the kids had fun with it.
Soon: a post about how I found an apartment, bought a futon, and cleaned my room.
On Monday, I did an activity where I gave each kid a celebrity, but they didn't know who the celebrity was. They had to ask their classmates yes/no questions until they figured it out. Basically, it was "Who am I?" Prior to class, I had cut out pictures of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Leo DiCaprio, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Barack Obama, his hottie wife, Michael Jackson, Hallie Berry, etc... Turns out I did a good job. Because when I would show the kids which famous personality they would have to help their classmate guess, they would all go "Oohhh, ahhhh!" Or in the case of Michael Jackson or Britney Spears, they would all laugh and act all embarrassed that someone was them. (In MJ's case, they thought it was funny that they had to be someone who was dead; in Britney's, they thought it was funny that they had to be someone who was crazy.)
The activity went really well. The few kids who were standoffish at the beginning were some of the ones who got most involved and excited. I was pleased with it. What was interesting to me, though, was that the first two questions each kid asked (in both groups) were inevitably: "Is it a woman?" and "Is she/he black?" They didn't ask about whiteness first, and if the answer to being black was "no" they assumed that the person was white. I was bummed that I didn't include more diverse celebrities but I literally went through my People magazine page by page and cut out the people I knew they would recognize. [Also interesting: when the kid who was being Michael Jackson asked the race question, the kids didn't know what to answer. Half of them said yes and half of them said no. Then one kid stammered out, "Een ze beginning, 'e eez black. But, een ze later times, 'e become white."
My brain is tired now because I had a full day, even though I didn't actually do very much. So, though I would love to write a doctoral dissertation on the thoughts regarding these young, impressionable minds and their relationship with race, I think that will have to come another time.
But a note to myself/other assistants who might read this and want to try the activity: Other celebrity ideas could be Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, George Bush, Lindsay Lohan. And if you wanted to be more complicated and involve other things, you could include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building... Anyone have other ideas of things the kids would recognize/be able to describe?
Also, in one class that had a lower level of English, I did this but didn't make them use yes or no questions, so they weren't as put on the spot. So the one standing, trying to guess, could say things like, "What is my job?" And they would answer "actor," or, "President of the United States." That last one sure didn't take long... but the kids had fun with it.
Soon: a post about how I found an apartment, bought a futon, and cleaned my room.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Majorly needed update
Hello dear friends,
I am sorry for the serious lack of posting recently-- I have begun teaching, the administrative process has struck again, and Orange (more in a moment) has bitten us in the butts. Oh, and I have a raving social life... jk.
So first, teaching: I feel a little bit like things are happening very fast and I don't know much about what is going on. It's not like anyone is explaining things complicated-ly; it's more like no one explains anything at all. For example, our vacations are written Oct 23-Nov 5. Apparently, this means you come back to class on Nov 5, not that your last day of vacation is on Nov 5 and you resume on the 6th. But I've only heard this through my roommates, and not through anything official, but now I've looked it up, and it's true. WTF. So now I'll be missing a day due to the fact that I wasn't told about how the schedule worked (I'll be in Germany still). But what can you do? Otherwise, though, I love teaching. I feel a little awkward in class, because I just kind of do what the teacher wants me to, at this point, but soon I will be taking some kids to work in another room, etc. I'm looking forward to developing my own lesson plans.
Cute stories that have happened so far:
-They usually ask if I have a boyfriend, and when I say yes, they all (literally, ALL) go "ooooohhhhhhhhh!"
-One girl, when I showed a picture of my senior prom group, said "Oh, elle est en bonne forme!" The teacher said, "In English, please!" And the girl goes, "Euh... she 'as .... euh, a good figure!" And I blushed a lot.
-I spent about 30 minutes describing my life to a class, complete with pictures. I told them that we have a lot of corn, showed pictures of The Bean in Chicago; I described Meijer's sheer size to them, I showed pictures of my 96 year old great grandmother... I asked one boy, "What is one thing that you learned today, or one thing that was interesting to you?" He replied, "I learned nothing." :)
-Today, in class, I was sitting at a table with one of the students who is very good at English. The kids were giving presentations on famous quotations, and this kid (who seems very... nice and polite) was mumbling under his breath, in English, about the faults of each person. But not their faults in English, no. Their faults as a person -- like, "Oh, 'e nehver prepares, I don't uhgree wiz 'iz assessmunt." I had to work hard not to laugh (or agree!) because I think he's a little funny.
Anyways, enough of that. I need to do a lesson plan for some classes for tomorrow, so I should go, but basically my life has otherwise consisted of dealing with Orange, the phone company that we were required (by our school) to take out an internet contract from. They have screwed us over royally, charging us up the wazoo for things they said they would not charge, billing us earlier than they said they would, and (get this) giving us a different, and more expensive plan, than we signed up for. I am so upset by this, and we have been fighting it to no end. They have conceded to reimburse us 60 euros, which is something, but... not much compared to how much they're demanding of us. OUCH.
And finally, I have been trying to plan a birthday for me and my roomie Xiao Lu. Her birthday is tomorrow (!) and mine is on Friday (!) so we're having a joint b-day party on Friday night with some assistants. It should be fun, I'm thinking. I'm going to try to make a cake; we'll see how it goes, with the few cooking utensils I have here, and the modified ingredients I have to use.
OK, off to plan a lesson on American high school stereotypes (goth, nerd, jock, band geek, prep, artsy kid, etc.). And then get some other lessons ready because WHO KNOWS what I'm going to do in my other classes. On verra...
I am sorry for the serious lack of posting recently-- I have begun teaching, the administrative process has struck again, and Orange (more in a moment) has bitten us in the butts. Oh, and I have a raving social life... jk.
So first, teaching: I feel a little bit like things are happening very fast and I don't know much about what is going on. It's not like anyone is explaining things complicated-ly; it's more like no one explains anything at all. For example, our vacations are written Oct 23-Nov 5. Apparently, this means you come back to class on Nov 5, not that your last day of vacation is on Nov 5 and you resume on the 6th. But I've only heard this through my roommates, and not through anything official, but now I've looked it up, and it's true. WTF. So now I'll be missing a day due to the fact that I wasn't told about how the schedule worked (I'll be in Germany still). But what can you do? Otherwise, though, I love teaching. I feel a little awkward in class, because I just kind of do what the teacher wants me to, at this point, but soon I will be taking some kids to work in another room, etc. I'm looking forward to developing my own lesson plans.
Cute stories that have happened so far:
-They usually ask if I have a boyfriend, and when I say yes, they all (literally, ALL) go "ooooohhhhhhhhh!"
-One girl, when I showed a picture of my senior prom group, said "Oh, elle est en bonne forme!" The teacher said, "In English, please!" And the girl goes, "Euh... she 'as .... euh, a good figure!" And I blushed a lot.
-I spent about 30 minutes describing my life to a class, complete with pictures. I told them that we have a lot of corn, showed pictures of The Bean in Chicago; I described Meijer's sheer size to them, I showed pictures of my 96 year old great grandmother... I asked one boy, "What is one thing that you learned today, or one thing that was interesting to you?" He replied, "I learned nothing." :)
-Today, in class, I was sitting at a table with one of the students who is very good at English. The kids were giving presentations on famous quotations, and this kid (who seems very... nice and polite) was mumbling under his breath, in English, about the faults of each person. But not their faults in English, no. Their faults as a person -- like, "Oh, 'e nehver prepares, I don't uhgree wiz 'iz assessmunt." I had to work hard not to laugh (or agree!) because I think he's a little funny.
Anyways, enough of that. I need to do a lesson plan for some classes for tomorrow, so I should go, but basically my life has otherwise consisted of dealing with Orange, the phone company that we were required (by our school) to take out an internet contract from. They have screwed us over royally, charging us up the wazoo for things they said they would not charge, billing us earlier than they said they would, and (get this) giving us a different, and more expensive plan, than we signed up for. I am so upset by this, and we have been fighting it to no end. They have conceded to reimburse us 60 euros, which is something, but... not much compared to how much they're demanding of us. OUCH.
And finally, I have been trying to plan a birthday for me and my roomie Xiao Lu. Her birthday is tomorrow (!) and mine is on Friday (!) so we're having a joint b-day party on Friday night with some assistants. It should be fun, I'm thinking. I'm going to try to make a cake; we'll see how it goes, with the few cooking utensils I have here, and the modified ingredients I have to use.
OK, off to plan a lesson on American high school stereotypes (goth, nerd, jock, band geek, prep, artsy kid, etc.). And then get some other lessons ready because WHO KNOWS what I'm going to do in my other classes. On verra...
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