My Experiences As A Teacher

Day 11/31

So a couple of things to talk about before we get to today's post. One being...yeah this whole like posting everyday...is a bit weird. I feel like posting everyday devalues the posts, makes them less special, sometimes even boring because people can pick and choose which ones to read. But hey, maybe that's just me. It's like when shoe brands release only a limited number amount of a certain shoe, it automatically makes it more special and exclusive than if it were sold everywhere from Footlocker to Walmart, but that's just me. There's also the added pressure of having to put out something everyday and sometimes I just got no content lol or I'm not in the mood. Anyways, moving on but also kinda continuing from what we were talking about yesterday. School's been tiring...but good...like I've been getting a lot of my marks back from all the things I handed in before the break and I'm doing...surprisingly well...well not surprisingly because I've been working my butt off...but I'm used to seeing like C's and D's y'feel? So seeing A's and B's...despite being a welcomed change...is not only new, but weird...LOOOL.

Anyways. so I thought I'd share with y'all my experiences as a teaching assistant/teacher. For those who don't know...from like September to February of 2015-2016, I helped out my old elementary school teacher at the new school he teaches at. But instead of just like giving me mindless tasks to do..he actually let me teach whole classes and lessons LOOOL. I remember just like sitting around when our class had like music or something, so him and I would be sitting around like marking for example and we'd just be talking about life, family and stuff...like he shared with me some of his personal struggles and it was crazy considering this man taught and coached me for the better part of elementary school. I remember marking some math tests and giving it back to him and he goes WOW...you're an easy marker, I would never give those marks...I started laughing, I was like oh true...did you want me to change it and he started laughing he's like nah do your thing LOOL. He's like wow they would love you, you're such an easy marker lol. I guess that was pretty true, like sometimes the kids would leave answers blank or write very little and I'd somehow try to justify giving them like part marks or something and he's like bruh...just give them zero, there's nothing there LOOOL. Writing comments was also fun too cuz I'd be like...why'd you leave this blank or like your writing is very messy and hard to read LOL. Some answers were super dumb I sometimes wanted to write things like "bruh" or "are you serious..." LOOOL. He was like don't be afraid to write things like oh that was funny or oh I liked that. So I rolled with it, there was this one funny answer and I was like wow, that really made me lol....yeah I actually wrote "lol". It was super dope talking to kids on a personal level...whether at lunch they'd ask me all these questions about my life...or if they stayed inside I'd be like well why're you not outside for recess? And obviously there are some kids who you just naturally click with and I guess "like" better than others. Like for me, it had to be the sporty kids or the kids who talked in class...like if you don't talk, how can I gel with you. I remember playing basketball with this one kid and like we were talking trash to each other the whole time and the other teacher supervising in the gym with me was like wtf...LOOOL. The really encouraging and enjoyable times tho were when the kids would come to me and my teacher for advice...with life troubles and stuff, it was dope and it really pushed the fact that I love working with kids/being a teacher. I was there so often it got to a point where my teacher just let me run every single gym class and most english classes, he would just give me an outline of what we're doing and he's like yeah just run with it man, the fact that he trusted me so much was super dope. He even made me rap on multiple occasions for a couple of classes lol, one kid was like yo you sound like Eminem LOL. It was dope having a homeroom, seeing the same kids over and over, you bond with them, they get to know you on a deeper level. Then came things like extra curriculars, I got to help coach volleyball and basketball and he introduced me to the teacher leading the poetry club and I helped them out with that stuff because he told them I was a "rapper" LOOOL. Now whenever I go back and visit it's so jokes cuz they\re all like oh hey Mr. Tham, long time no see haha. It was hilarious cuz for the longest time they'd alternate with calling me Rodmond and Mr. Tham cuz my teacher kept doing so...till one day he called me Rodmond and he was like shoot, I mean Mr. Tham, I'll call you that from now on LOOOL. Man, that was definitely a real fun experience and something I could possibly get used to...not teaching like math and geography and that kinda stuff, cuz I know nothing about it....but like...teaching...hmmm, I guess I have a lot of thinking and decision making to do.