Second Year Teaching Placement: Day Six

I am not a fan of Mondays…. It’s just hard recovering from the weekend and all the beauty of chill days, only to be faced with the dreadful work on Mondays. Today was a bad start, I arrived on time to school which meant I was late in teacher time. Amélie was sort of mad at me because I could tell that she wanted to go through her lesson plans for the day with me before school started but couldn’t because I wasn’t even there. I could tell that she wasn’t feeling 100% this morning, so I felt super bad that my tardiness was just another thing to add to her down mood. Then when I asked to use the washroom I could tell that was the cherry on top of annoyance but when we were doing the mindfulness walking I apologized profusely. I’m just a chronically late person and honestly it’s terrible, and I need to make a conscious effort to change my bad habits. Anyway, she taught a grade 9 class and asked if I wanted to teach the Bingo portion so I said yes of course. It started off as super slow but then I kind of made the children get up and walk around and that facilitated a bit of discussion which was nice. Seeing them interact with each other was nice since it allowed them to communicate with each other in French. After that was a grade 10 class which was generally the same. I walked around and helped the students and one of the students asked me a bunch of questions like “how long did I do French for?” What would I be teaching if it weren’t for English and French?” Which was all super nice because I like that kind of interaction, and I told her to keep French just for fun because she was already getting good at speaking it and it’s always so helpful to speak another language.

Next was lunch and I just stayed in the office. Diane (Amélie’s office partner) asked if I wanted to go on a field trip with her on Wednesday! I was so happy because it’s a field trip! It’s for a Spanish class and it’s okay because I don’t need to speak in Spanish. It was just her and 35 students and since Amélie was going to be absent anyway, it all worked out in the end. We’re going to an exhibition at the ROM and then we’re going to Kensington Market which will be so fun!

After lunch I stayed in the office and marked a bunch of writing assignments which honestly took so long. I did not expect marking papers to take an hour but that’s just my first time marking that kind of writing stuff so it’s okay. After that I joined Diane’s class for observation and her way of handling a class is so much different than Amélie’s. First she started by introducing me and making a bunch of students ask me some questions like “quel est ton couleur préféré?” “qu’est-ce que tu étudies à l’école?” and stuff like that which was fun for me. Then she made a lot of activities like stations to write and conjugate –ir verbs. So basically she wrote the verb on each paper and the first group had to conjugate it then after rotation the other groups had to write examples using the verb. She played music at each station and when it stopped that meant that the groups had to switch. It was all very interesting, I think I’m going to incorporate that in my teaching for sure.

                                                                                                                                    

It was not a bad day overall, although the start was rough the end was definitely better.

Until next time!

Suzy

Second Year Teaching Placement: Day FIve

C'est finalement la fin de la semaine! Today was a great day, I was finally able to teach my first French class. I was a little nervous because I'm not a fluent French speaker let alone needing to teach in it. But all was well in the end, I played several activities with the students to get them a little excited about learning and used unconventional approaches such as Hangman and Bingo.

I almost forgot to mention, first period was our Prac so I was sent to the Special Education teacher Eric so he could discuss IEPs with me. I was kind of familiar with how IEPs work because I created one in 2nd year but it was really nice to see a real one. He showed me one for a girl who recently had a brain tumour removed and how teachers could accommodate her and what not. For the most part, this school has very few serious IEP reports and many are not formally diagnosed, just a few learning disabilities.

For my lesson, I began the class with a small mindfulness activity where we had to go on a walk around the track and practice living in the moment free of stress. All the students listened and did as I asked so that was incredibly nice, and when we got back to the class I began with an activity. It was a matching game where the students had to match the image to the text and they did that. I didn't know that for "concentration" (which was what this activity was called) you're supposed to flip them over and only turn one over at a time. But next time I know to add more demonstration when trying to explain new activities and concepts. Next I had the students ask each other interview questions from the textbook and walked around the classroom listening to their answers. Then I asked one person from each table to answer each question after I read it to them. That worked surprisingly since they were so darn obedient. Next I played Bingo with them which was so fun. It was a "find someone who likes to ..." and they had to write the name down, and the first 3 people were the winners. This made it a small competition and the students were really into it which was nice and encouraging. Next I had them turn to "Le football" in the textbook and read them the entire story then told them to read it in their groups. After I had 5 volunteers (that I kind of chose and some who volunteered) read the text out loud to practice their pronunciation and public speaking skills. Since there was still a bit of time I had them answer some questions and took them up. Finally, I could tell that the mood was a bit lower since it was "boring work" so I played Hangman with them which I think made everyone super excited. At first no one wanted to participate so I had to sort of volun-tell them but then they became more comfortable and participated themselves which was so so encouraging to see. Since there was some time left at the end I let them work on their restaurant assignment that Amélie assigned or interview questions if they wanted. So I stayed with a group and helped them practice their restaurant prep then I walked to another group to practice interview questions with them which is basically chatting but that was so fun.

Today was a good day, and I'm glad I got to end the week in this way.

Until next time!

Suzy

Second Year Teaching Placement: Day Four

So I figured that instead of writing what I did everyday chronilogically, it would be much more practical and beneficial if I wrote about teaching methods I learned. During first period I observed a grade 10 class and this time I was a lot more interactive. It's just easier now that I'm getting into the swing of things and learning how to engage in conversation with the students. It's really nice to see how the students are becoming more comfortable around me and asking questions. Like this girl was like "Miss. Zhang what does this mean?" And even though it was a simple question like that I loved it, it made me feel wanted as a teacher.

In second period I observed a grade 9 class I believe, and I really enjoyed first period because the kids were a tiny bit more rowdy and talkative. I noticed that one of the kids who would just sit in class and not do work started to work a little harder when I helped him. I think that since he didn't quite understand the instructions, he didn't want to try. But I told him a little method that helped me understand and he was able to work better which was so so encouraging to see.

For lunch, I ate in the Moderns office and Amélie and I just chilled and talked. Then during Prep she showed me a bunch of IEP reports of her students with exceptionalities. It was exactly like what we did in school so I was quite familiar with it. I found that they weren't very in depth but that's okay it's hard to write details for so many students. Many of them didn't really have any diagnosed exceptionalities, just learning problems which is not serious. Then for last period she let me stay in the office to work on my lesson plan for tomorrow and now I feel kind of nervous? But not really because the kids are so good, so it should be fine. Just a little worried about my French speaking abilities but Amélie says that I'm fine so that's encouraging.

Until next time!

Suzy

Second Year Teaching Placement: Day Three

Today was a good and sort of slow day at high school. It started off terrible though because I was so late to school. I overestimated my getting ready time and the bus came later than I thought, so I arrived 10 minutes late. But when I went into the classroom no one was there, so one of the English teachers had to open the door to the Moderns office for me. Then I walked around everywhere looking for Amélie and the class but they were no where to be seen so I went to the office and one of the admins Jackson helped me look for her. Then we saw her and the class in the classroom and that was so awkward because I said that she wasn't there. Anyway, it was all good in the end.

The first class that I observed was a grade 10 class and it was good since there was a routine. We watched a video, had the students discuss what vocabulary words they heard. This time I walked around and engaged in the student's conversation which was so much more fun than sitting in the back. Next Amélie did some listening tests and a few activities in the textbook and I don't really remember what else.

Next period was Prep which was blessed because it means we get a break. For Prep she gave me a ton of resources so that I could use for my first lesson on Friday oh god. I'm starting with an activity that includes matching leisure activity pictures to the words, and then another activity that's like bingo and it says "find someone who likes to ____" and it's related to les loisirs. Finally, I'm going to read the "le football" text out loud to the students, then show them the video, and have them read it out loud in their groups.

For lunch I ate in the Moderns office and it was really fun! I spoke with Diane and Amélie about random stuff. Diane is so so nice and so easy to talk to. She's the primary Spanish teacher and teaches one French class. Then me, Amélie, Diane and another teacher went for a walk outside. It was so nice, if I become a teacher I want to do those little things with them. Also, I told them a story and they were like "you're a teacher! you have teacher instinct!" and that made me so happy.

After lunch was grade 9 French and we did the same standard format as period 1, and for period 4 it was grade 11 French and that was fun because the students were nice and talked and discussed with me. I enjoyed the interactions with the students and I was a little bit of a phony because when a student asked me what 'boeuf bourguinon" was I made up an answer. But yeah that's all!

Until next time!

Suzy

Second Year Teaching Placement: Day Two

Today was a pretty chill day at school, I arrived at school at 8:30 a.m and headed towards the Moderns office. When I arrived, Amélie went through her daily schedule with me to show what she was going to teach for the day and then we went to the classroom to set up. She introduced me to the Grade 10s and I went to the back of the classroom to take my seat because I was still observing and there's honestly nothing to do when the students are doing evaluations. It was quite long and boring but the students did a listening test so I just did the same one and I finished really fast, obviously.

In second period I went to observe a Grade 11 University English where the teacher Heather talked about The Kite Runner and essay tips. She was so knowledgeable and fun yet stern which I admire so much. Then she split the groups and gave them question prompts and they had to come up with two themes about the book. I walked around the each table to ask the students what they were writing about and that was really fun for me. I encouraged them to challenge what they were writing by asking "what about it?" For example, if they talked about the theme of guilty leading to redemption, I would ask them "what about it?" Then they would need to provide examples to prove their point thus leading to a more coherent argument. I noticed that a lot of the students wrote topics rather than themes and didn't expand in their thoughts. I definitely enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in English and how you can just discuss more easily.

Next was lunch, and for lunch today I sat in the staff room because I didn't want to sit in the classroom with Amélie and observe students taking tests. It was actually really fun to eat in the staffroom, everyone was really nice and although I didn't talk too much I was somewhat social. I introduced myself to all the teachers, who were all in English surprisingly. I think I might go back tomorrow maybe because that was the fastest hour of my life and everyone was so chill and it didn't feel awkward really. Even though they talked about taxes and pension plans and all that old people stuff, I enjoyed listening. Since I did my own taxes this year I could understand a tiny bit of what they were saying so that was nice.

After lunch was my last class which was Grade 9 French, and that was kind of slow. The students worked on their evaluations again and then I sat at the back and read Le petit Nicholas and nearly fell asleep. I don't really remember what happened in this class but I do remember it being quite long. Then for last period Amélie had Prep yay! So she just showed me all her plans for tomorrow which is finally teaching! So she showed me the video that she wants to show and then the exercises that she was planning on doing. She wrote them all down in her lesson planning agenda in a jot note style which I found quite efficient. I mean as long as you know what you're doing, a full and in depth lesson plan is not particularly necessary. Also, she has 10 years of experience so I think she knows what she's doing.

Finally, she let me leave early because she was tired and had to meet a friend for a coffee date. And that was my whole day, it wasn't bad. It was very chill, but that's only because the students are so obedient and all the teachers need to do is teach not really anything involving classroom management.

Until next time!
Suzy

Second Year Teaching Placement: Day One

It seems as though this blog has slowly become dedicated to my teaching experiences and endeavours so that is what it shall remain. Today was my first day in a high school setting and it was quite frightening and exhilarating simultaneously. I started by heading to the school early at around 8:15 a.m and talked with the administration in the main office. Also, mind you, the day before I had the worst sleep. I don't think I actually went to sleep, it felt like an in between state of consciousness and unconsciousness. Anyway, I met the attendance lady and she was the first person I talked to there and was really nice. Then she called down my host teacher Amélie and we walked to the moderns office and she showed me around the office. Then she took me on a little tour of the school and introduced me to the principal, and all the other people in the office and everyone was so nice to me.

Next she went through this intense outline of what she was going to teach in her 3 classes for grades 9-11 and it was a lot holy moly. She showed me how to use the photocopier, and we probably went to the washroom 10 times that day. I thought that I had a bad peeing problem but my host teacher is just the same. So lucky for me, the first period was prep so I was able to catch up with all the details and info on what is happening in each class which was mostly evaluations.

In the first class that I observed, it was a Grade 10 French class and after being introduced I just stood there awkwardly smiling, then I took my seat in the back. They mostly were writing their good copies of their journal entries silently in class so there was nothing that I could really do. My host teacher gave me the novel "Le petit Nicholas" to read since that was the novel that they were using and I was so tired. When she saw me getting bored she gave me a textbook and the unit they were on to see what I wanted to teach. After that was lunch, and for lunch we had to observe students who needed to do makeup tests and assignments. In that classroom, I met Diana (pronounced Dieana) and she told me that she was an ESL teacher and guidance counsellor and she talked all about her years of experience in teaching. She was really cool and nice to talk to, she also seemed really knowledgeable and said that having French as my teachable would get me a job easily which was reassuring.

After lunch, I observed a Grade 11 French class and honestly it was essentially the same as the Grade 10 one. I was introduced, and then I headed to the back of the classroom to observe once again. This time it was less boring but I felt like I had nothing to do really since it was evaluations. For the final period, my host teacher let me go to this Grade 11 College English class and that was very eventful. The class was predominantly ESL students except for this one girl and they were a rowdy bunch. We read Macbeth and watched the film and you could just tell that these students had zero interest in learning this. But the teacher was really positive and nice and made the best of the situation anyway.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and whatever the day holds for me, I hope it's more interesting and fast-paced than today but we'll see.

Until next time!
Suzy

Sophmore Year of University

One regret I have for this blog is not posting anything about first year. Well to be fair I did have a few posts but I took them down and kept them in drafts because I didn't want to expose so much about myself but who am I kidding, this year shall be different! Second year of university has been really interesting to put it simply; I've moved into my first apartment shared with 4 other girls and it has been a whirlwind of adventures and some tensions (not gonna lie).

Living on my own (first year doesn't count because dorms made the transition too easy almost) was such a nuisance in the beginning. I disliked cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, and all those grown up chores. Now it's not so bad I supposed, the issue here is that I'm lazy. Meals have gotten less creative, whereas in the beginning of the year I would make chicken, broccoli, Alfredo pasta, but now I just make instant noodles and broccoli. Whoops. Second year academic wise has been easier? Now that I know how to study for my courses and have somewhat of a routine (compared to first year which was hectic) school isn't too bad. I'm doing relatively better than first year and I like almost all of my first semester courses which is nice.

The one thing about living away from home that sucks it the homesickness. Sometimes I can go long periods on my own and feel okay and that I can take on the world, but other times I miss home real bad. Having a job where I had to work on Saturdays also inhibited me from going home because it's so difficult to find replacements. I probably felt really bad homesickness twice which isn't so bad I guess.

Randomly, I've decided to look up publishing/editorial/writing internships just to change up my typical summer job path (AKA lifeguarding...). It's crazy how much stuff is out there; certain ones I'm interested in are this Harlequin Enterprise Editorial Intern position, any Simon & Schuster positions really, Elle Canada writing internships, and Corus Entertainment (AKA the production company that has W Network). These jobs all sound so exciting to me because they all have to do with production and the entertainment industry which is different. I might just apply to them all and see whatever comes back (if anything comes back) because it would be so cool and nice to experience something different!

With exams coming up who knows when I'll see this blog again, but it's definitely nice taking the time to relax and write. It's not like anyone reads this so I'll be free from judgment (for now). It's just a place for me to be open and let the words flow whether they are coherent or not. It's different when you're writing rather than telling a friend all these things because you don't remember what you say. At least for me that is, it's also interesting to see how my writing has progressed over the years because it's definitely improved.

Anyway, let's end it off with a selfie and a memorable memory so far of my second year.

Until next time!

Suzy Zhang