Oh, an update -- school's started

[maeve66]

A friend pointed out that she hadn't even known that I'd started teaching. I guess it's time to update.

I don't think I wrote about it in here (did I?) although I've talked to friends about it a fair amount. While I was in Chicago, my principal called -- it was early August, like, the third or fourth of August. She told me that she needed to change my teaching assignment. Now, this is absolutely fucking routine in Oakland proper, where one cannot count on one's teaching assignment remaining stable even once the school year has started. Mine was shifted as late as November one year, and fairly often in October. It's all nonsense, there. And chaos, and ill management, and just general instability in the school population, too: it's very hard to predict how many students who are projected to show up will actually arrive. But that's not true here in this new district.

Anyway, my new teaching assignment... I didn't feel like I could refuse to switch, because I'd used up all my outrage and fury and just... bald, balking refusal when she asked me to teach math/science, in the Spring. So I accepted. The new assignment is to teach English Language Learners, or English Language Development. With the population my school serves, this is really mostly Spanish speakers, although there is sometimes a Chinese speaker or a Punjabi speaker or the like.

That's what I knew then. What I found out last Friday is that it's not just being an ELL teacher, rather than a plain old 7th grade Language Arts/Social Studies Core teacher, but the ELL Coordinator for my site. I am not sure why I am not collapsing from being overwhelmed and stressed out by that. But I don't seem to be. So far, after two days, I feel like maybe I'll be able to do this and rise to the challenge and blah blah blah. I tend to feel very competent in questions of being organized about paperwork and tracking data and testing stuff. Doing that AND planning lessons... well, there is a curriculum and textbooks, at least, and it's even one I'm familiar with -- I taught it in Oakland for three years, where I was kind of ambivalent about the fact that I somewhat liked the program, even though it's scripted.

So, anyway, school started Monday, and I like my students very much. The composition of my classes will change a lot as the testing results start accumulating -- I'm supposed to have the students who have the least English. But they seem very, very nice. That's actually the part I'm least sure of: teaching English as a Second Language to kids who've just arrived. Especially if there are only a few and the rest of the class is orally fluent. I'm not sure how to balance it. But I also sort of feel like... like maybe I could become good at this.

PS. this icon has nothing to do with this entry, but I love it -- it's a Bollywood hero brandishing a hammer and sickle at his enemies, because, well, coolies/porters are the workers of the world, innit?

Comments

[mudpriestess.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I have no doubt that you could rock the hell out of anything they gave you to teach (even the dreaded math & science) but it's one thing to have your friends tell you that and another thing to really feel it yourself.

[mistersmearcase.livejournal.com]

By the way, can I amend my earlier answer about teaching ESL or ESOL or whatever they call it these days since new acronyms always mean progress...

I have a feeling you're tuned in to how your students are doing, and what I wanted to add was...I think before, I said: go ahead and immerse them in English because it's only an hour a day. But the addendum is if they seem stressed out anyway, I think it's worth slipping them some Spanish. My big lesson from Middlebury is you learn languages better if you're not stressed out.

[springheel-jack.livejournal.com]

It certainly appears to be the great Amitabh Bachchan. (Florence_craye is a bollywood lover. I've seen several of his many films now. Liked Amar,Akbar,Anthony and Don quite a bit. "Who is it?....."DON." (pounding drums!!))

What movie is it?

[maeve66.livejournal.com]

It's called Coolie, and it's about the strife between the classes. I haven't seen it yet, but all of the stills are hilarious. The friend who is educating me in Bollywood movies has a really crappy DVD of this one, where the subtitling falls out of sequence about a third of the way through. I want to watch it anyway, I don't care. Just imagine song and dance numbers about the ruin of the contending classes, or about Coolies bearing the burden of the world. I am getting the impression that I am about to become much more of an aficionado of the Bollywood genre, in general.

[maeve66.livejournal.com]

It's all about the affective filter, man. I think all of teaching is, at base, at least partly about the affective filter.

[maeve66.livejournal.com]

Very, very true. Also, often very, very difficult. I am wanting some e-mail contact with you. Also, how goes the October plan? Goes it?

[mudpriestess.livejournal.com]

Ha! I am meaning to e-mail you this afternoon. The October plan kind of turned into first-week-of-November for reasons of getting money together, but that weekend isn't good for L. Are you going to be in Oakland for Thanksgiving? I wouldn't want it to be later than that cause then you run into the Xmas nightmare.

[maeve66.livejournal.com]

L? Who's -- OH. I would love to have you out here for Thanksgiving. I get the whole week off, which is wonderful, and you -- all three of you, in fact, would be welcome at my familial Thanksgiving. Rachel's had friends before, so there's definitely precedent. I think we can provide veggie options.

[speedofthought.livejournal.com]

Wow! Coordinating English Language Learners! I think that's pretty exciting. I take it you get to teach, too?

I am STILL waiting for an email from you, girl.

And I'm going to see Emily when I visit LA in September. I'll let you know if I'm going to be Oakland-ish at any point...