1. that teaching is fun. I couldn't fully explain the joy I felt whenever I enter the classroom and stand in front of my students. I am so delighted whenever they raise their hands and participate in class discussion and other activities.
2. that although it provided me with comfort and convenience, online teaching will never be a career for me, although it had been a good source of income for the last seven years.
3. that no matter how clear your instructions are, and even though you put it into writing, and even though they assured you that everything was clear, five to ten percent of the entire class population would still have a different understanding and most of them would not do exactly what you had wanted them to do. Continuous guidance is still necessary.
4. that students love to seek their teacher's attention and they would be happy even with a single "very good" phrase from you.
5. that students would enjoy learning if you provide them with good activities suited to their needs. However, not all students would appreciate your effort.
For the past two weeks, I have proven that:
1. it's too difficult to remember the names of the students in a large size class.
2. while continuous enrollment is a good strategy, it causes trouble to teachers as they have to continuously update their records because new students are coming everyday. Hence, seating arrangement and students' masterlist are very difficult to make.
3. while making a PowerPoint Presentation as your instructional material is more convenient, attention-catchy and innovative, it will never serve its real purpose if there aren't any other supporting materials (TV, LCD projector etc). This is the reality in most public schools. You might walk around the classroom and show your presentation on your laptop computer, but it would drain your energy and make the classroom management more complicated.
That's why, next year, I will not wait for the masterlist anymore. Next year, I will:
1. require the students to wear their name tags until I memorized their names.
2. require each of them to attach 1x1 picture in their index cards.
3. prepare a draft of seat plans in each section right away using pencil for easy adjustments.
4. prepare my own masterlist from the first day of the class and adjust it later for newcomers.
5. Call the students one by one to familiarize their faces.
More on realizations next time.
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