hello, class.

I have survived my first week of teaching!

Survived might be a bit of a strong word...since it was most definitely not a life or death situation. The students are great - very smart, happy to reply, and impress me with their English. What I did not expect, however, was how quickly I was put into their classrooms!

I did not know what to expect about working at Le Caousou...I knew I would be with English classes and teachers, and I was willing to do anything. What I did guess would happen though, is the standard American definition of "teacher's assistant" -- I would be in the classroom, with the prof, walking around, helping students, presenting about Alaska every now and then, doing pronunciation excercises, etc.

When I arrived at Le Caousou last Tuesday for my first class (7th graders), I found the room I was supposed to be in, introduced myself to the class, and then turned to the prof, to see what she would like me to do. "Well, you're free to do whatever you want - the room next door is open, and you can take half the class for half an hour. We'll rotate for 2 hours, so you'll actually have 4 classes. Ok?"

2 minustes later and the scene is set: 20 7th graders, my own class room, and no lesson plan! AH! So, I employed some old SHS skills: I improved. Luckily, I had some ideas with me I had been thinking about all week, and I had brought photos. Tuesday was "informal Alaska day" and I answered questions about Alaska for two hours. Half an hour for each class, in fact, turned out to be not very much time. Here are some choice quotes:

"How cold is Alaska? Do you have igloos?" (Meghan tries to convert Fahrenheit and Celsius in her head...).
"Do you see penguins?!" (Explains that penguins, in fact, like to stick to the bottom of the earth).
(After learning that polar bears only live in Barrow) "How many times have you been to Barrow?!" (My disapointing response..."I have never been to Barrow, but when I do I will send you a picture of a polar bear!").
"Do you have a dog? What is it's name?" (Oh no...how do you explain what a Barnacle is to French 7th graders who have never even seen one? The closest I got was "escargot").
"Woah! That's a big fish! Did YOU catch that?" (Victory! I am now cool because I have gone halibut fishing).

I'm sure there will be more.

The rest of the week went a little more smoothly...I came with lesson plans, and am starting to see how each prof's teaching style is different. Most of the time I do have my own classroom and give my own lessons! I even assigned homework (I am so horrible...). I do try to keep things fun though, and have a bunch of good games to play (while speaking English of course).

I have to go eat an apple now. And make some more lesson plans. : )

Ciao!
Meghan