Today, I am happy!  I have actually had a wonderful Monday at work!  I realise this isn't normal, especially as on a Monday I teach until an hour later than I do other days.  I have a hard day.  The morning consists of three 50 minute lessons with Kindergarden 1 (3-4 year olds), and the afternoon is three 50 minute lessons with Kindergarden 3 (5-6year olds).  There isn't a second in any of these lessons I can swtich off, so it is mentally demanding, and sometimes, it is frustrating if the students are not switched on, it can feel like a I am fighting a losing battle!!!

However, on days like today, the rewards these little people give are amazing.  This is 'week 7' of our teaching syllabus, which is 'review week'.  In short, we use our lesson to recap the language we have covered in our previous six lessons.  This gives us a chance to assertain how indivdual students are doing, and helps us to compile our mid term grades.  With older students this lesson takes the form of a listening test, with the youngsters we play games and sing songs aorund the various language focuses we have covered.

And, it has to be said, I am teaching a bunch of geniues, everysingle class AMAZED me with the amount they could remember, and their willingness to contribute.  Even the quiet and shy students are finally coming out of their shells and enjoying with their friends.  Kinda blew me away to think of the transformation over the past 6 weeks.  Especially as they have been my first 6 weeks teaching, and this is the first term that my company has been in this school.  So everything is new to all of us, students and teachers alike.

I was gushing about 'my' 70 kids that I had taught in the morning over lunch, and my boss was lovley, saying how great it is to have a new teacher in the team who clearly cares about the students and the job.  Well, my moto is if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right, so sure I care!  But praise from the boss is always good!!

Anyway, this went on to be topped off when one of the head trainers came in to observe my last lesson of the day.  Now, this particular class are normally excellent, and having seen how amazing the other kids had done that day, I really expected great things.  But oh dear, I think their homeroom teacher decided the lesson before I was being observed to feed them a sugar overload or something!  They were crazy!!!  Myself and my Thai Team Teacher had a 50 minute battle of wills against a hyper mob of 24 kids!  I was a little disappointed this was the lesson that got observed, as it was the weakest of the day.  However, I knew we had given it our all, and the outcome was still pretty good, even if it had been damn hard work to get any results!!!

So, it came to feedback time.  First the trainer asks me how I thought it had gone.  I replied with a big sigh, feeling dead on my feet!  But said I thought it was 'OK' but could have been better.  He replied 'Really?  I thought it was a really good lesson, especially for a new teacher!'  He went on to go through all the positive points, as well give a couple of tips that will help me become even better.  I was mega mega chuffed!!  If I was getting this feedback for a difficult lesson, I really must be doing something right!  Awesome was one word used to describe my attitude in the classroom, Oh and he even said I sung well, that had me laughing!!  He commented on my excellent organisation and planning and my rapport with the students is great.  Best of all he welcomed me into the gang, and tomorrow I'll get the paperwork signing me off as having passed my two month teaching probation, YEAH BABY!!!!

Oh, and in real life, I wouldn't gush in this massively big headed way, but on here, I figured it was OK

:o) x