The English Alphabet
Today, my Basic Reading class finished learning all 26 letters of the Alphabet. This also means that I have been teaching for 26 days. Where did the last 20 days go? I can still distinctly remember my first day teaching, thinking I would never make it. I just have to say, I have never questioned the English alphabet so much until I had to teach it. Why do we have the letter 'C'? Why can't it just make the "Ch" sound? I don't know. There was a lot of confusion and questions, but here we are, finished with the alphabet and on to learning sight words.
I can't believe how much my students have grown and learned since the first day. Each one of them is so different in both their personalities and their learning styles. I love each of them, especially the ones who always have to be reminded to sit down, pay attention and to stop speaking Russian. I truly love all of them and all the crazy names they call me. Everyday I am called, "Miss Laura", "Miiiss Laawwwwrrraa" (make sure to roll the r), "Miss Vara" "Vara Vara", and "Larusiika". That last one came from nowhere one day, and all the kids were giggling. I didn't understand why, and so I asked, "Georgy, Why are you calling me that? Are you being mean to me?" and all the kids respond "NO! NO! NO! Miss Laura! He say he loves you. Not being bad". Since then that has been the favorite name to call me, especially when the kids say goodbye. Every time I hear it, it makes my heart warm. I don't know how to spell it out, and I don't entirely understand how it translates to "Laura, I love you", but I'm just going to go with it and let it continue to make teaching worth it.
Even though there are times that I dread going to class, as soon as the kids enter the classroom, my mood is lifted and I can't help but smile. I now know why there are people who love teaching. I can't say I love teaching everyday. There are days when I have a sore throat and can't talk, have a headache and I just want to go home, but in the end I still like it.
More things that I have learned from teaching:
-I love seeing how much my students have learned and how much they continue to learn
-I feel like I am making a difference in their lives
-every student makes me happy and I always smile
-even on the worst days, there is always something good
-sometimes lesson planning is fun
-the kids love to make crafts almost as much as I love making them
-sometimes when the kids are just being silly it's okay to laugh and just let it go
-you can be strict and stern without being mean or raising your voice
-I'm a little bit of a perfectionist
-I invest a lot of time into planning and prepping my lesson, but it's so worth it
-I love making my classroom cute
-I kinda hate the English alphabet, and if I could redo it, I would
-teaching takes a lot of energy
-As much as I love teaching-I'll stick to being an accountant
Advice from a girl who doesn't understand the English Alphabet:
Sometimes when students ask why 'kitten' starts with K but 'cat' starts with C-it's okay to pause for a minute thinking and then just give up and say "I don't know". It's okay to not always know the answer.
Let me know if you know the answer, I would love to know and I know my kids would want a better answer than "I don't know"
-Laura Burke (soon to be Frazier)
I can't believe how much my students have grown and learned since the first day. Each one of them is so different in both their personalities and their learning styles. I love each of them, especially the ones who always have to be reminded to sit down, pay attention and to stop speaking Russian. I truly love all of them and all the crazy names they call me. Everyday I am called, "Miss Laura", "Miiiss Laawwwwrrraa" (make sure to roll the r), "Miss Vara" "Vara Vara", and "Larusiika". That last one came from nowhere one day, and all the kids were giggling. I didn't understand why, and so I asked, "Georgy, Why are you calling me that? Are you being mean to me?" and all the kids respond "NO! NO! NO! Miss Laura! He say he loves you. Not being bad". Since then that has been the favorite name to call me, especially when the kids say goodbye. Every time I hear it, it makes my heart warm. I don't know how to spell it out, and I don't entirely understand how it translates to "Laura, I love you", but I'm just going to go with it and let it continue to make teaching worth it.
Even though there are times that I dread going to class, as soon as the kids enter the classroom, my mood is lifted and I can't help but smile. I now know why there are people who love teaching. I can't say I love teaching everyday. There are days when I have a sore throat and can't talk, have a headache and I just want to go home, but in the end I still like it.
More things that I have learned from teaching:
-I love seeing how much my students have learned and how much they continue to learn
-I feel like I am making a difference in their lives
-every student makes me happy and I always smile
-even on the worst days, there is always something good
-sometimes lesson planning is fun
-the kids love to make crafts almost as much as I love making them
-sometimes when the kids are just being silly it's okay to laugh and just let it go
-you can be strict and stern without being mean or raising your voice
-I'm a little bit of a perfectionist
-I invest a lot of time into planning and prepping my lesson, but it's so worth it
-I love making my classroom cute
-I kinda hate the English alphabet, and if I could redo it, I would
-teaching takes a lot of energy
-As much as I love teaching-I'll stick to being an accountant
Advice from a girl who doesn't understand the English Alphabet:
Sometimes when students ask why 'kitten' starts with K but 'cat' starts with C-it's okay to pause for a minute thinking and then just give up and say "I don't know". It's okay to not always know the answer.
Let me know if you know the answer, I would love to know and I know my kids would want a better answer than "I don't know"
-Laura Burke (soon to be Frazier)
Comments
Post a Comment