Ok, OK, so I have been kind of cranky lately. Sorry, it is just a phase and I don't mean to bitch all the time. I will get over it and recover fast (I always do) and be back to my cheery self in no time... So on a good note, I had a meeting with Morgan today in regards to some issues and concerns that I have been having… this is actually the first time that I have been able to talk with him about my increase in children and the changes in my curriculum. I must admit that it went pleasantly well.
I have completely changed the schedule and curriculum of the classroom. My children now have more choice time with planned centers (instead of crayons and play-doh everyday), small group instruction instead of whole group, and my curriculum is slowly becoming more emergent than just following a book. Thus far, it is off to a great start! I have been following my new curriculum for about three weeks now, and I have gotten awesome feedback from the parents and from Morgan. Morgan often makes comments about how hardworking I am and how much he appreciates my ambitious, go-getter attitude. Parents are thanking me for my diligence and concern for their child.
I feel like my kids are happier now as well. Small groups are always a choice for children and rarely do children say no when I ask them if they want to come to my group. However, if they do say no, they usually see the fun game that we are playing and they eventually end up coming over to group. Yesterday, a parent pulled me aside to tell me how much her daughter loves the journals that we do in small groups, and that her daughter never talked about lessons from school until starting small groups. That was a pretty good feeling and reassured me that what I am doing here does matter.
So anyway, I have been working my butt off for the last couple weeks, trying new things in class, making adjustments and trying it again. I have been making teacher-made games and materials to use for class (since we do not have a ton of resources, I have to be pretty creative) in addition to my daily engagements and activities with the kids, and I am really trying to make my classroom more child centered, explorative and educational. Although I am not completely satisfied with my class, I think I am at least content with the changes I have made. As for the rest of it, there are cultural differences that I cannot change and habitual aspects which I am choosing to leave in place for the sake of child security, but I will change at the beginning of my next class.
So my meeting with Morgan… we spent a long time talking today about the things that I have been doing and the things that he has been seeing and hearing. He told me that he has gotten a lot of positive feedback from parents and that he fully supports whatever I want to do with my class. He told me that the reason that he had put the curriculum in place was because teachers were getting lazy. He said that it is easy for a teacher to say, “My class is child centered…” throw some crayons and play-doh on the table, sing a couple songs, count and call it a day. He had decided on the curriculum several years ago to ensure that his children were learning different things and to please the parents with proof that children were learning a specific curriculum. Although he thinks that my altering to a more child centered, emergent curriculum is more work for me, he says that he agrees with my philosophies about teaching and supports me as long as I keep putting the hard work into it.
To be honest, I was a little bit surprised by this because the other teachers warned me that he is very headstrong, unwilling to change and has to keep the power, yet I have not had to struggle too much in regards to my curriculum. This may be because I believe in asking for forgiveness instead of asking for permission. I just do what I think is best, and then tell him what I am doing – I don’t ask for his permission. Or perhaps it is because they were willing to complain, but not put the work in to make it better- who knows. All I know is that I don’t feel like I am stressing myself out with extra work, I just feel like I am doing my job and enjoying my time with my kids.
Issue Number Two: the increase in children… my parents are still pretty upset about the increase, but thus far, no one has really done anything but complain. For sure, MRA is losing six of my children to other bigger schools in the area. Morgan says that his rent on the building of the school has been increased, so he has made the decision to increase tuition and class sizes. He promises me that my class is maxed out and that I will not be getting anymore kids (although I have heard that before). I have 18 right now, but come next fall, the new classroom max is 17. He said that he sees now that 18 are just too many for one classroom. He also says that we will be getting raises next month, and that he is going to look into having two English teachers per classroom next year. Of course I think that is a fabulous idea, but I highly doubt that he will be able to afford it. I mean he has to pay the American teachers ten times more than what he pays the Chinese teachers. There is no way that he will be able to afford at least 8 American teachers – let alone will he be able to find that many American with the reputation that he is getting.
Side note – he is looking to hire people, so if anyone is interested in coming over to China to teach, let me know. You don’t even have to have a teacher certificate, just a degree (in anything really). I mean, it has its ups and downs, but the kids are amazing and the city experience is fabulous… that was my attempt at getting someone out here that I know. My roommate Courtney H is for sure not staying at MRA, but is thinking about staying in Shanghai – she is interviewing all over – but Courtney L is considering staying for one more year with me.
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