Sunday, April 19, 2009

winding down.

the school year, for me at least, is almost over and i can't be more thankful.

as problems as the school where i rent space increased (hiring a 15 year old to teach first-second grade, firing a teacher and multi-grading 3-5th grade...) students started dropping, like flies, from the english program.

i thought it would have bothered me more, but it doesn't. it was an experience and i'm glad i had it. english is important, but i'm not sure that it's beneficial to teach children a foreign language if they can't manipulate, use and dominate in their own language. when i spent more of my time teaching 4th and 5th graders the alphabet and how to sound out words in their own language... well, that's a problem i'm not equipped to handle.

at least not in the situation.

i've got the summer to re-evaluate and decide what's going to happen next school year. will i stay in the same space despite the problems? will i look for something new? or will i change my focus from ESL to bilingual students... i'm not sure.

right now, though, i'm just winding down -we've got 4 classes left and then i'm taking a break before i even start to think about it.

1 comment:

ChicagoStaci said...

Just wanted to say hello. I randomly stumbled upon your blog and I have been a follower ever since. Trying to pick up and move somewhere to have the experience and teach English myself. Your blog gives me good insight! Thanks and have a good week!