So I’m a Teacher Now?

Hello! I write to you after my first week teaching here at Dandi Experimental School, and am glad to let you all know I survived my first week of teaching my permanent classes! Some of them were a little crazy, I may have misjudged their level of English at times, and some kids just love to be as loud and difficult as possible, but overall I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to teaching more! Hopefully this week the lessons will be more suited to their abilities (hard to know though), and the students will really get involved in class.

I’m teaching all of primary, so grades 1-6, although grade one is only every second week. The little ones are my favourites, I’m totally in love with my grade twos. The older they get the harder they are to get to participate, and they harder they are to keep entertained, so although I love the wee ones the most, the older ones are a good challenge. Every couple of classes they put on soothing counting music that has the words “one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. two, two, three, four…… three, two, three four…” etc etc. This music plays four times, counting to eight eight times per play, and the kids all do their eye exercises. Sometimes they do morning exercises too. It’s interesting to watch haha.

At school the kids always stay in one class, so we move to them. My school is pretty small, only about 1000 students, all in a 4 storey building, but I still get lost trying to find my class. The room numbering system is not really in a particularly obvious order. I also have an office that I share with the two Canadian teachers who are also at the school, though I find it easier it lesson plan here in my dorm where I have a better internet connection. The temperatures have also been slightly friendlier the last couple of days. Back home I don’t necessarily notice a change of a couple of degrees, but here, when the difference means spending a whole day swimming in my own sweat (one of my grade 2 kids actually wiped my face with a tissue haha) or being warm but dry and quite comfortable, the change is definitely most welcome!

So what have I been up to since I’ve been in Shenzhen? Been into town a couple of times to catch up with people, explored my wee village a bit better, and today we went on a hike up Tanglong Mountain, the third highest “mountain” in Shenzhen. It was nice to get outside and do something a little out of routine, and also to catch up with some of the other teachers and compare notes on our first week of class. All in all a good day :D

So yes, feel free to question/comment/whatever, and I shall leave you with some photos!