Today, I hit my wall with teaching. The day started off wonderfully with my 8th graders coming up with amazing ideas for their "How to be a good Thailand citizen" project. In this project they have to look at issues in their society (drinking and driving, conserving energy, being a good student to gain knowledge, etc), and they have to create a video as well as a poster and present it. It's a wonderful project that makes the kids really look at what is happening in their society and to figure out solutions. The two ideas that I was incredibly impressed with were violence in video games (reality vs. the video game world) and "saving" Thai culture. I see my 8th graders first thing in the morning on Mondays, and to have such creative ideas put me in a great mood. Then I had my 9th graders…
I was given a project that I HAVE to give them. They have to present a documentary that is at least 10 minutes long, a “travel” book, a study guide for their fellow classmates, and a quiz. The thing is that this is a continuation from last semester when I wasn’t their teacher. In class, the 9th graders will be focusing on South America, but they already did South American countries in a Keynote presentation… So now they have to expand their Keynote (PowerPoint) presentations into a documentary in partners, but some students did their Keynotes on North or Central America. I’ve been at this school for 2 weeks and only seen my 9th graders 4 times. I’ve spent 2 weeks wasting on trying to figure out this project. So I decided to pair students up via their continent. Central America works with Central America, etc. Boom. Chaos. Kids didn’t want to work together, students weren’t doing any thing with the amount of free time I gave them to start working and brainstorming ideas, and nobody was asking me questions. My 9th graders can speak English pretty well, so it was extremely disheartening and frustrating for me when I know they can do the work but they aren’t putting any effort in. One of the students began to cry because no one wanted to work with her, but it was uplifting when a group took her under their wing. I continued to walk around and the students didn’t have anything written down nor had any ideas flowing. I finally threw my hands in the air and told them that it isn’t free time to do whatever they wanted. They have enough free time in their schedules as it is, and they must step up to the plate and participate in class. I wasn’t sure of what else to do. I understand the language barrier is difficult, but if it was up to me, I would’ve changed the whole project.
On top of having 2 really difficult classes, I had to go to the hospital to get a check up for my work permit. Don’t worry, everyone! Health wise, I’m perfectly fine. But in order to get my official work permit here, I had to get a check up. This “check up” consisted of checking my blood pressure, weight, and heartbeat and having me sign on a dotted line… I absolutely hate hospitals, and I hope to never step foot into that building again while I’m here.
Even though today was a definite struggle, I am still trying to keep a positive outlook on things. I know I’m not going to change the world while I’m here for one semester, and I’m really trying to do the best with what I’ve been given. I have amazing students that are intelligent and talented, I’ve created great connections with fellow CIEE teachers, and I have a couple more months of adventures, ups, downs, and celebrations. I know this was just a wall that I hit hard, but now I’m climbing over it with a pep to my step, and I know it’s going to get better.
This past weekend:
We realized that we really haven’t had an opportunity to check out Suphanburi and what it has to offer. Last weekend was the waterfalls, and the weekend before that was getting situated in our town. So after a week of exhausting teaching, we decided to take it easy this past weekend. Our waterfall friends drove up to hang out for the weekend and check out the city with us. It was nice to head out on the town and just enjoy the night. We found ourselves at the end of the night rocking out to a Thai band in a small little club. Who knew that Suphanburi actually had a bit of nightlife?!
The next day we headed out to the large dragon museum in town that is dedicated to the heavy Chinese influence here in Thailand. It was absolutely stunning. The colors themselves were simply mind-blowing. Unfortunately, for some reason we weren’t allowed inside of the museum. We didn’t know if it was because we didn’t have tickets or anything, but they weren’t letting anyone inside. What are they hiding in there? Hmmm… Later that night, we went out on the town again to celebrate a friend's birthday! After browsing through the market and seeing if we could find any street food, we decided to head back to the apartment to figure out our next move. How did we get home? Moto-taxis! Probably one of the most fun activities we’ve done here, and it lasted only a short while. We discovered the big dance club here in Suphanburi, and it was crazy fun! Overall, the weekend was a much needed relaxed one. Suphanburi still has a lot to offer, and I’m excited to explore more!
I was given a project that I HAVE to give them. They have to present a documentary that is at least 10 minutes long, a “travel” book, a study guide for their fellow classmates, and a quiz. The thing is that this is a continuation from last semester when I wasn’t their teacher. In class, the 9th graders will be focusing on South America, but they already did South American countries in a Keynote presentation… So now they have to expand their Keynote (PowerPoint) presentations into a documentary in partners, but some students did their Keynotes on North or Central America. I’ve been at this school for 2 weeks and only seen my 9th graders 4 times. I’ve spent 2 weeks wasting on trying to figure out this project. So I decided to pair students up via their continent. Central America works with Central America, etc. Boom. Chaos. Kids didn’t want to work together, students weren’t doing any thing with the amount of free time I gave them to start working and brainstorming ideas, and nobody was asking me questions. My 9th graders can speak English pretty well, so it was extremely disheartening and frustrating for me when I know they can do the work but they aren’t putting any effort in. One of the students began to cry because no one wanted to work with her, but it was uplifting when a group took her under their wing. I continued to walk around and the students didn’t have anything written down nor had any ideas flowing. I finally threw my hands in the air and told them that it isn’t free time to do whatever they wanted. They have enough free time in their schedules as it is, and they must step up to the plate and participate in class. I wasn’t sure of what else to do. I understand the language barrier is difficult, but if it was up to me, I would’ve changed the whole project.
On top of having 2 really difficult classes, I had to go to the hospital to get a check up for my work permit. Don’t worry, everyone! Health wise, I’m perfectly fine. But in order to get my official work permit here, I had to get a check up. This “check up” consisted of checking my blood pressure, weight, and heartbeat and having me sign on a dotted line… I absolutely hate hospitals, and I hope to never step foot into that building again while I’m here.
Even though today was a definite struggle, I am still trying to keep a positive outlook on things. I know I’m not going to change the world while I’m here for one semester, and I’m really trying to do the best with what I’ve been given. I have amazing students that are intelligent and talented, I’ve created great connections with fellow CIEE teachers, and I have a couple more months of adventures, ups, downs, and celebrations. I know this was just a wall that I hit hard, but now I’m climbing over it with a pep to my step, and I know it’s going to get better.
This past weekend:
We realized that we really haven’t had an opportunity to check out Suphanburi and what it has to offer. Last weekend was the waterfalls, and the weekend before that was getting situated in our town. So after a week of exhausting teaching, we decided to take it easy this past weekend. Our waterfall friends drove up to hang out for the weekend and check out the city with us. It was nice to head out on the town and just enjoy the night. We found ourselves at the end of the night rocking out to a Thai band in a small little club. Who knew that Suphanburi actually had a bit of nightlife?!
The next day we headed out to the large dragon museum in town that is dedicated to the heavy Chinese influence here in Thailand. It was absolutely stunning. The colors themselves were simply mind-blowing. Unfortunately, for some reason we weren’t allowed inside of the museum. We didn’t know if it was because we didn’t have tickets or anything, but they weren’t letting anyone inside. What are they hiding in there? Hmmm… Later that night, we went out on the town again to celebrate a friend's birthday! After browsing through the market and seeing if we could find any street food, we decided to head back to the apartment to figure out our next move. How did we get home? Moto-taxis! Probably one of the most fun activities we’ve done here, and it lasted only a short while. We discovered the big dance club here in Suphanburi, and it was crazy fun! Overall, the weekend was a much needed relaxed one. Suphanburi still has a lot to offer, and I’m excited to explore more!
Just a small snippet of the 24 Bar in Suphanburi | |