Lucky Number 62?!?

When I am asked what my lucky number is I find it easy to spout out the number 7. It always shows up in my life in good places. 62 has never held any sort of significance in my life in the past. Not even a little. The number 62 has now consumed my life completely. 124 feet and hands, 620 fingers, hopefully 620 toes (I haven’t counted those yet so it could be plus or minus a few),  62 smiles (sometimes), and 62 completely different personalities. To them I am Teacher Teri and to me they are my new life.

I have been known to be a high-energy person, but sometimes it is difficult to keep up on the best of days with these hooligans!

TEACHER TERI…
This celebrity status is starting to wear a little on me. Those two little words firing out of a tiny mouth followed by 2 steadfast eyes staring straight at me are starting to make me shudder. Teacher Teri, Teacher Teri, Teacher, Teacher. I feel like it never stops. I try to hide away in the basement where our office is, but somehow their voices are still able to penetrate through the walls.

I started my job with six classes.

I have 14 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed munchkins in my B class. They range from 5-7 years old, and they all have very different personalities. Some kids will put up their hands to answer every question even when they don’t have a clue what I am asking. These kids are super polite, and I love them to bits… most days! These kids pack a lot of energy, and most of them don't receive any attention at home unless it is negative, so sometimes they act out in class just because they want attention and a little love.  I think I have mastered some techniques with positive reinforcement to keep them on track.

They constantly seek approval in everything they do.  And I can’t help but smile when a student gets super excited about something that has happened, but doesn’t know how to tell me in English.

My C4 class is full of characters. They love, love, love to add  -ah to the end of every word.
“Teacher, I forgot my Bookah!”

I think they started this for fun prior to my arrival, and now they don’t even notice they are doing it. They are getting better because they really, really want their checks. One good thing about a class of boys is they are very competitive. Sometimes I have to stop and take a moment to catch my breath with them-ah. They are pretty freaking funny, even when they show a little attitude.

To my C5 class all I am is some crazy fool who tries to teach them the story of Ali Baba and how cool the magic phrase, “open sesame” really is. Why don’t they teach this story to B classes that still have a little sense of ha-ha? Seriously saying that something is cool is not enough with these kids. Tough crowd. So I tried to persuade them by saying my dad says, “open sesame” every time he approaches an automatic door. Still not enough. Where do I go from here? Damn!

One last shot before I am thrown to the wolves. “My dad is a cowboy and uses chopsticks to eat everything.” Eureka! That is it! If only I had known this tiny piece of information was vital for my survival in this class.

Oh the KETs. I have never seen a group of students that like to touch each other as much as these kids. They are always poking and prodding. My favourite moment was when one of our stories was the lyrics to a Katie Perry song… Oh yeah. These kids are crazy!

My PET class is junior high-ish students. They are jokesters. I often come in to class to find random post-its in high places they know I can’t reach.  It took a while for us to get to know each other, but I can’t blame them.  They work so hard. It’s these students I don’t mind hanging out with after class to help them with assignments. One of the students likes to put his shirt over his head. He is the Asian version of Cornholio. Of course I showed them a video!

My FCE class is made of students who just want to learn English. They have past all their exams. They read English books at home. This is my fun class. Their English is so developed that we can joke around about pretty much anything.  I have taught them colloquial terms, about gingers, and many other random things. I always come back to class after break to find them streaming hilarious British skits. We created an initiation for this class. All the new students have to try pickles.  Pretty much the funniest group of kids.

Even though there are a lot of ups and downs, I truly love my kids. I have built an incredible bond with them already. After one terrible day, I had one student’s parent talk to my director about me. She said that her son was so excited to come to school because he really liked how hard I tried and how fun of a teacher I was. In my place of employment, we are often hit with only the negative feedback. It is the moments when you hear the positive, that makes it worth it and it even gives you a little warm, fuzzy feeling inside.