Reading some of the comments reminded me of a few problems and dilemmas I’ve faced in my own teaching, a few of...
Reading some of the comments reminded me of a few problems and dilemmas I’ve faced in my own teaching, a few of which I guess have led me to this course.
I did encounter a touch of ‘burnout’ last year from having perhaps taken on too much, with studying for a DipTESOL on top of a full working schedule, along with a one-hour commute each way to and from work and – most importantly – my family commitments. Developing as a teacher is important, but if your five-year old daughter wants to show you a picture she just drew, or if the one-year old needs a nappy change, well, you know what comes first.
I also felt, at the same time, that I was feeling what might be best termed the ‘drag’ into lazy teaching, or teaching by numbers, or teaching the same courses the same way every term, every year, just because the students are different, and you know you can get away with it. I see other teachers doing that, and perhaps it’s something that happens to many teachers after they get a few years of experience – they know enough, and do enough, to be safe in their roles, but… we know what happens next. We’ve all met those teachers.
I think my natural tendency in teaching is to do a lot of the things John promotes, even if it’s without really knowing it, but a few aspects of that natural tendency have been pushed back a little by the parameters and expectations of my job. I feel I was a more creative and inquisitive teacher three years ago, before I started my current job, than I am now (although it’s still a great job with a lot of positives). How can I get that back?
I’m looking back at my own comments where I seem to be making excuses for ‘having’ to teach to make sure the learners pass their midterms and finals, and ‘having’ to teach from a textbook, and ‘having’ to prepare learners for the TOEIC and other standardized tests of English, and wondering if the ‘drag’ is happening to me, or if it has already happened.
Perhaps it would have happened wherever I was teaching. Has anyone else here ever felt the same thing?
Looking at John’s comments, and his book, I think that small changes are the right way forward – incremental steps that might seem insignificant in themselves, but which are wiser than sudden, rash, thoughtless actions. I'm certainly not going to quit on Monday morning or start telling my groups that much of what's in their textbooks and tests is pointless, even if I secretly think so(!).
I’ll bear this in mind as the course progresses and as I keep developing and learning to teach.
I did encounter a touch of ‘burnout’ last year from having perhaps taken on too much, with studying for a DipTESOL on top of a full working schedule, along with a one-hour commute each way to and from work and – most importantly – my family commitments. Developing as a teacher is important, but if your five-year old daughter wants to show you a picture she just drew, or if the one-year old needs a nappy change, well, you know what comes first.
I also felt, at the same time, that I was feeling what might be best termed the ‘drag’ into lazy teaching, or teaching by numbers, or teaching the same courses the same way every term, every year, just because the students are different, and you know you can get away with it. I see other teachers doing that, and perhaps it’s something that happens to many teachers after they get a few years of experience – they know enough, and do enough, to be safe in their roles, but… we know what happens next. We’ve all met those teachers.
I think my natural tendency in teaching is to do a lot of the things John promotes, even if it’s without really knowing it, but a few aspects of that natural tendency have been pushed back a little by the parameters and expectations of my job. I feel I was a more creative and inquisitive teacher three years ago, before I started my current job, than I am now (although it’s still a great job with a lot of positives). How can I get that back?
I’m looking back at my own comments where I seem to be making excuses for ‘having’ to teach to make sure the learners pass their midterms and finals, and ‘having’ to teach from a textbook, and ‘having’ to prepare learners for the TOEIC and other standardized tests of English, and wondering if the ‘drag’ is happening to me, or if it has already happened.
Perhaps it would have happened wherever I was teaching. Has anyone else here ever felt the same thing?
Looking at John’s comments, and his book, I think that small changes are the right way forward – incremental steps that might seem insignificant in themselves, but which are wiser than sudden, rash, thoughtless actions. I'm certainly not going to quit on Monday morning or start telling my groups that much of what's in their textbooks and tests is pointless, even if I secretly think so(!).
I’ll bear this in mind as the course progresses and as I keep developing and learning to teach.
Martin, your candor is very refreshing. Re your having to use the textbook etc., well you can do read and look up--videos 2 to 6 with any textbook. And the student will see that they learn more than from the usual oral reading. Dictating sentences from the book, having students transcribe your directions they will find engaging and begin to master some patterns.
ReplyDeleteIf there are 10 paragraphs in a text in your textbook you can select like the first three and do them three times rather than 10 paragraphs and ask the students in which alternative they remember more.
Asking students to write the questions you ask in their notebooks and write their responses and then walk around and correct what they write and then point to a student and ask the student to ask question 1--looking at another student not at what is in the notebook--read and look up--and having all students write the response in their notebooks will enable them to master more.
Cheers.
Martin, I hear you.
ReplyDeleteI had my own experience with burnout a few years ago. I don't have the added commitment of a family that lives with me, but even so, I was doing too much. I needed (and luckily was able to take) a long break.
That you describe as "the drag" sounds very familiar. It makes me feel so unsatisfied with my job. And I notice that it happens to me when I am teaching the lesson plan and not the students. Even when the lesson plan works like a charm, perhaps especially then, I want to make sure all students are getting what they need to improve and become more independent learners.
For myself, I find that I resist change quite a lot. When someone suggests something new, I tend to make excuses for why I can't do it or why it won't work. I've been trying to train myself out of that and try things first. I'm such a slow learner, but I'll get there.
Martin, thank you for your honesty and valuable insights! Yes, been there... I've been teaching the same Academic English course for the past 18 months (that's 7 times!) and while I feel like I've become really good at assessing students' level and needs and getting them where they need to be, I also feel "the drag"... With a part-time Master's programme and loads of marking on top of that, there have been moments when I was starting to question a) my vocation; b) my sanity. This course has been a breath of fresh air, and what I think I am starting to realise is that I really need to work smarter - not harder.
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