Bri's Job

    While home for the holiday most of the questions that I got was about my job.  I realize that this was a rather ambiguous topic and I intend to clear some things up. 

This fall when I arrived I had no idea what to expect.  I would not have even been surprised if they would have said “and who are you? Oh, the physics teacher’s wife.  You are going to be teaching Spanish.” 

Instead, I had an office and a title, Student Support Specialist.  This was a brand new position at the school, which proved to be good and bad.  The good part was that I could define my role.  The bad part was that I found this very difficult.  Being a private school, they were not ready to fully monitor students’ progress in a way needed to maximize my position.  They were very nice about it and tried to make the best of it.  I began doing small groups.  Each grade level team got to pick what they felt the greatest need was for them and I then did time everyday with a small group from each grade.

1^st Grade- Math extension

2^nd Grade- Reading support

3^rd Grade- Social Skills

4^th Grade Reading support

5^th Grade- Math extension

This was fun and challenging, I just had no way of telling, other than my ‘gut instinct’, whether I was doing any good.  Around the end of October the MS principal approached me and asked if I would want to help with some Middle School kids if I had time in the afternoons.  I gladly accepted and was greeted warmly to the Middle School Support Team.  They gave me a list of around 10 kids that needed some support with organization, advocacy or ‘reminders’ to get things done.  I took on this role fully.  I felt much more useful at this level.  

Two weeks before Winter break things changed.  A middle school English teacher quit on the spot and they needed a fill-in.  I took the job and there was talk of me taking over full time second semester.  

On the second to last day of school the Lower School principal called me in and said that the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher was resigning at semester.  He would like me to take over at the beginning of the second semester.  I accepted and braced myself for the unknown.  So, one week in here is what I know;

-My co-teacher is awesome and so helpful

-I have my very own classroom again

-I have around 50 students

-Students come in with other students at their grade level for 40 minutes a day.

-When the other students in their classroom go to their Mandarin Language class, the students needing english help come to us.

-Much of my humor and well-developed jokes are lost on them.

-They are smarter than me, many of them speak three languages, bouncing from one to the other effortlessly.

-They are accepting and patient with me.

So far, so good. 

When we were planning to come here we were constantly asked “you are going to teach English then?”  our answers were “no we are teaching in our regular content areas” 

Well, now friends I am teaching English in China but ironically not to Chinese students.