With the end of January came the end of my first semester teaching. As a teacher, I have learned more than I could ever imagine. I have certainly learned more than my students! The end of the semester was particularly challenging because we had to turn in first semester grades. This was my first experience giving grades that "count" towards a transcript, a univerity, a future, etc. This was almost my first experience dealing with irate students, parents and class teachers. After "Marks Week" was over, I was convinced that I was not cut out for teaching.
My classes are not easy; however, I do everything in my power to help students succeed in class. Because my religion class must be taught for content but also in English, my students are tested twice: through their English abilities and on mastery of class content. I am very aware of this fact. Some of my students really struggle with English and this limits their ability to understand and retain information given during lectures and through assignments. I have learned to speak SLOWLY (I know that's hard to believe!). I also give each student a comprehensive study guide with fifty or so possible test questions on it a week before the test. Essentially the study guide covers everything we have discovered in class. The students have a week to complete it, and we have a review session the class before a test. For many of my gifted students, class is easy - but interestingly enough, because they see the same material THREE times (lecture, study guide and review), they remember most of what we have learned. Most of my students rocked the cumulative exam. Unfortunately, some of my students bombed it. When asked them what happened, almost all of them admitted to me that they did not study. This is a problem. (On each study guide I write: "Please study hard so that you will do well. If you do not study hard, you will probably not do well." On each test I write: "Ziaci, if you have studied, you will do very well! If you have not studied, I wish you the best of luck.")
For your information, here is the assigned grading scale for religon classes:
90 - 100 = 1
78 - 89 = 2
64 - 76 = 3
50 - 63 = 4
0 - 49 = 5
It has taken me a while to adjust to the fact that a mastery of only 50% of a particular class is passing; however, education is Slovakia is radically different than in the United States.
After I posted grades, I was flabbergasted to discover that some of my students wanted me to change their grades. "Ms. Large, can you give me a four?" they asked. I frowned at them asked them if they thought grades fell from the sky. Then I explained to them that teachers do not give grades. Students earn them. There was nothing that I could do to change their grades. Then, I walked them through their grades - the fact that they did not turn in homework, projects, etc. I wanted them to see that they had legitimately earned a particular grade. Sadly, the fact that I would not change a student's grade angered students, parents and their class teachers. You see for most people, religion class is not considered an academic subject at EGT, and it is embarrassing to receive a grade below a 2. For most of that week and into the next, people across the board were pretty upset with me. Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose.
Once I got back into the "teaching routine" with my students, I felt much better about teaching in general. I love being in the classroom. My new students and I have completed our first two weeks together, and we seem to be doing very well. I have new faces and new names to learn, and it is much easier matching the two this time around because I know how to pronounce everyone's names! I am also excited to have the opportunity to do everything over again - all the lessons, the journals, the tests, etc. This gives me the change to tweak, improve, and measure how I have grown as a teacher after six months.
In other news, the head of the religion department will be in the United States for two months beginning next week. I will be teaching three of her first year classes and a fifth year seminar in addition to my regular class load each week. I am a little nervous about 25 hours of class a week; however, it needs to be done. I realized yesterday that by the end of the year, I will have taught every student at EGT - except for about 15 first years and 30 fifth years! How cool is that?
This semester will fly by, and before I know time will have taken off ahead of me and I will be hopping on a plane to head home.
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