Job Discussion Forums

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

Ill share a quick lesson plan and story about one of my 'backpacker lessons'.

I had a new smallish class of around 20 students, and I thought we would use sequence adverbs to list a plan of places to visit around the school campus. The students had to imagine they were going to show a visitor around.

We made the list and wrote it down, then I produced the eye mask you get on the flight over to help you sleep, and told the students I was the new visitor, and I was blind. I put on the eye mask, and told them to escort me around the campus, visiting the places we had listed, and due to my 'blindness', they had to describe everything for me.

Off we go, the monitor bravely linking arms with me to lead me. It didnt take long for the chatter to quieten down, and so I took my mask off, to note that the entire class except the monitor and her deskmate had ran off and left us.

I didnt use that lesson plan again.

Babala · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 1303 Location: Henan

Sadly I think many of us have encountered these kinds of teachers. To complete this set of videos we now need the video of the teacher who teaches college level classes hitting on the pretty girls, the teacher who hates China and uses the classroom as a platform to complain and the teacher who wants to learn Chinese so they conduct the whole class in Chinese so they can practice Rolling Eyes

eddy-cool · Joined: 06 Jul 2008 Posts: 1008

That's material to demonstrate what fools flock into China looking for a teaching job.

No wonder some of us get treated with so much discourtesy and distrust.

And I am sure the same guys go after fellow FTs berating them for accepting 'low-paid jobs'. I am sure they think they are worth their weight in gold!

Itsme · Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 624 Location: Houston, TX

A perfect example of what happens when you do not follow a detailed lesson plan or when the 45 minutes you planned for only takes up 15 minutes of actual teaching time. I had this trouble before. I would have all this stuff planned out in the lesson plan but with some age groups I would speed up because I thought it was a way of keeping their interest level up. It would be nice if the class would take up 10 minutes with a discussion after reading a chapter but sometimes no one wants to talk. so then what? You have to BS your way out of 30 min of class. That's what it looks like these two are doing. The guy reminds me of the frat boys back in college. He obviously does not care because he is eating ice cream in class.

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

A few points.

Ya know sometimes a lesson really goes quite well, and other times it just kinda bombs? I wonder where this lesson lies on that scale for this teacher? I mean, he seems kinda happy ... The students laugh at his gags ... Maybe this is one of his good lessons? Maybe ...

Secondly, you know the statistics that say something like 1 out of 5 people is gay, Maybe there is a similar figure for bad teachers. Maybe 1 in 5 of us is a bad teacher? Anecdotal stories would suggest at least 1 in 5 teachers isnt so good ...

I wonder how many of us posting at Daves are kinda like that guy???? Statistically, some of us must be Exclamation

Does anyone have any teaching videos they would like to share? Clips of you guys in action on you tube or something? Id love to see some of the names I have come to recognise on here at work in class!

I've just started a new course of classes ... I may try and record some of my next class (thursday) and post up on You Tube and I will share it here for some critique.

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

eddy-cool · Joined: 06 Jul 2008 Posts: 1008

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

robot · Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 25

Some more videos to keep it going, what do you think of these?

http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/19055500-1584794417.html
http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/18945085-1584794417.html
http://you.video.sina.com.cn/b/17799432-1573045567.html

Like Nickpellat i would love to see some videos of the masters at work.

Currently (I hope) I am a few steps up from the pot smoker but I'm sure most members would consider me a backpacker and it's the main reason I usually lurk. Even though I'm not in this profession for the long run I would still like to improve and seeing some of your lessons would help.

theincredibleegg · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 224

nickpellatt · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 1522

My point is that there are always lots of posts and posters, that have little anecdotal stories to share about 'the worst teacher I ever worked with', and there are also lots of posts that knock the unqualifed/young/vounteer/backpacker teacher. (or insert any other category of teacher that fits).

Statistically...surely some of the people who post here, must also be pretty bad in the classroom....just as some others (hopefully the majority) are actually pretty awesome and great in the classroom....Id love to see videos. I guess thats my point.

The reason is that I really like watching others teach. I dont want to watch a full 45 minute lesson, but I think it would be quite instructional and inspiring (maybe) to watch some clips of some of the more experienced people here at work.

Obviously the downside to that here is people on the forum can be quite harsh...often without reason. If anyone did have some videos they would like to share, I would love to see them. The kind of thing where you are setting up an activity, or illustrating form and marker sentences in a grammar point etc.

I dont have anything to share...I do have countless you tube videos...some of which do show classroom settings...but few show me actually 'teaching'. Some may even say I dont really do much 'teaching'. I normally make the odd video of some of my classes and post on you tube for them. They quite like the idea of being filmed and a number of my classes have agreed to it.

I may try to video my classes and show me, rather than the students...even at the risk of making it too teacher centred...hmmm, I will see if I can record something this week....you can really slate me then Laughing

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

The students may have been mildly amused.. half of them probably didn't know what he was going on about. But I doubt many of them would consider this guy a good teacher or that they learned anything.

Students are very critical of their teachers. Think back to when you were a student. What would you think if he was your teacher ?

Moon Over Parma · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 819

Call me old fashioned, but a professional teacher knows what's going on inside their classes. Outside of using the dictionary function on their cellular telephones, I monitor closely what my students are doing as I work with them. Snapping photos or filming anything in class is a no-no, not because there is anything to hide, but because there is work to be done. I have absolutely no idea how or why anyone, be they working on the up-and-up, or simply bluffing their way through a cushy job; I have no idea why they would allow themselves to be filmed.

Clearly, the ice cream eating ft is on a working vacation. I feel embarrassed for him. However, he's young, healthy, and does shtick, so he probably has his mostly female students wrapped around his finger. I wonder if the girl who posted the video did so because she thinks he's fun and cool, or because she knows she's being hoodwinked by a bullshit artist. This is China, so it could go either way.

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

I too am wondering why one would allow students to filming in the classroom. Could it be that the teacher wasn't aware of the camera in? The modern technology and say for example some cell phones allow a pretty good clip out of a classroom. I admit I haven't seen the whole video, but I have some doubts about this one.

Yet another thought that this teacher could've been prompted into such lessons by a poor management of the course or some freaky requests from students, but that's a long shot, isn't it?

Now, while some condemn this teacher, others should realize that there might've been some administrators or managers of that school behind the whole thing on. let's have a look at how the whole recruiting process and hiring to such teaching posts go on in this country. And, who is behind the decisions, or how does the decision making process go when a post is to be filled in. so, why blame the teacher, when the school's management should scratch their heads. I bet their HR (if they have any) staff couldn't tell a difference in between a beggar from Bay/King street corner in Toronto and a Toronto Dominion Bank Manager applying for a teaching post in China.

Cheers and beers to all Chinese in the field that know that difference just from a phone call conversation and above all cheers and beers to all those foreign recruiters/managers that have that power to actually hire fts to such challenging positions in this country