Temperments of a Teacher

I'm sitting in the teachers' lounge at approximately 2:30pm, merely minutes after I've ended my fifth and final class of the day. Wednesday is always my toughest day. It starts out fine, great, actually, with my Matayom 3 (9th graders) class, but then progressively gets crazier, louder, and more mind-numbing as I end the day teaching four almost back-to-back fourth grade classes.

I don't know how teachers survive a year if they get put with a "bad class", or a class with naughty kids (boys, normally). It's a struggle for me to get through three of mine today, and I only see them once a week.

How do teachers (especially and particularly elementary teachers) keep their calm and their smiles, emitting love and care to their wild students in an effort to help them learn? How do teachers communicate with their foreign students, all of whom are young, without raising their voices? I know the students act rowdier and are more boisterous when I teach them because it's their one chance to play games, but I don't know how to control them. They don't listen to me. I never thought I'd have to resort to physical violence, but I'm forced to say that there have definitely been times when I've shoved kids, grabbed them by the arm (mid-jump, or mid-run, or mid-punch, ugh), and today I did some things I thought I'd never have to do! I took someone's ruler and held it up in the air so it seemed I was going to hit the naughty ones. I also made a boy stand up, I removed his backpack from his heavy wooden chair, then I raised the chair up a little bit and slammed it down loudly and harshly on the floor to make them all listen up. I kicked a boy out and made him stand outside for like 10 minutes. I legit glared at students and gave them attitude. I shook my head at the four boys sitting in the corner and wagged my finger at them: "BAD. You are bad."

"TEACHAHHH...ANGRY??!!" one girl quizzically asked me.

"YES. I AM ANGRY. "

I have to admit that the next class I resolved not to be as mean. I told myself that the way in which I "acted out" against those who acted out against me (hah) was definitely not WJWD, and I needed to change. They're only kids. However, I can't say that I'm ashamed of my actions because teachers do reach their breaking points (I remember when my fifth grader teacher cussed at us once and when my fourth grade teacher singled me out in front of the class to chastise me and tell me how poorly I was doing in my reading comprehension...yeah, that stung and I'll never forget that. But then again, she was on a power trip...). I'm also not ashamed to talk about this either because people who might come and teach here in the future, without experience, should understand this obstacle they'll encounter.

I don't want to be known as the mean English teacher but I can't let them run wild. Sigh, it's just exhausting (Wednesdays and fourth graders, that is). I now know why "Heads Up 7-Up" was such a popular game back in elementary and middle school: it was a chance for teachers to have their peace and quiet. My mind is swimming right now, and I must modify my lesson plans so I can keep afloat.

//

So much for updating about my previous weekend trip to Ayuttaya (the old capitol of Siam/Thailand). In a nutshell, it was like the Rome of Thailand with wats & temples & ruins every which way. It was historical and grand; the wats were commanding but tragic at the same time. The city used to be the most exquisite site in SE Asia, as its temples were covered in gold, but then fell when Burma ransacked it and stole its treasures and goods.

I climbed temples (my mother would have fainted, the stairs were so narrow and we went up so high!), I visited the main wats, and rode bikes through the pleasant city. Also tried their Muslim dishes, i.e. their famed nam prik (spicy dip, and boy was it spicy!) and roti sai rai (a dessert; sugar strings wrapped in fresh roti...delicious!), as suggested by Lonely Planet. Overall a great weekend. Met fun backpackers, too!

[after climbing the stairs at wat chai wattanaram]


[wat phra sanphet @ sunset. known for its three prangs, shown here]

[wat phra sanphet. these flowers are everywhere!]

[normality is an opinion]