It’s the end of the school year. I am already reflecting on what went well and what needs to change. Why was this year easier/harder than last? What did I do to make my teaching life easier? What did I do that did the exact opposite and actually made my teaching life harder? How did I survive 220 students?
Being passionate is important.
If you are like me, you are truly passionate about sharing language and culture in your classroom. We are so passionate that we see inspiration at every turn, awaken in the middle of the night thinking about what we are going to do the next day, obsessively reflect on what didn’t work in our classes, and so on.
Loving what you do is very important. I know from experience that I am professionally unable to stick with anything that I just don’t like. As a result, I am late to the world of teaching. I am 48 years old and I just finished my 5th year teaching. But from day one, I was convinced this is the job for me.
Passion makes you engaging. It makes your classes exciting. It is the key to making your classes enjoyable. Ask any high school student to identify the passionate teachers and they will be able to do so immediately. It’s written all over our faces!
Teaching passionately comes with a price.
It is exhausting! I tell my students all the time that they have no idea how much energy it takes to be me. Creating compelling lessons that make language acquiring fun is draining! We put so much energy into our classes that oftentimes we have no energy left for the true Number Ones: our families. When that happens, it’s time to step back and regain some balance.
Taking time for yourself is important.
The 2016/17 school year was my first year teaching with TPRS/CI. I also worked on my master’s in Second Language Acquisition, Policy and Culture from the University of Southern Indiana. I worked at a frenetic pace to complete my own coursework, master the arts of circling and Movie Talk, and keep my classes somewhat under control. I told myself that the summer would be my “time off” and I could relax… except that I didn’t. I took 6 more credit hours in the month of June. Then I had an amazing 5-week opportunity to study abroad in Spain to complete my degree that I simply couldn’t pass up. I told myself that I would be able to relax more in the fall… except, that didn’t happen!
This fall I was handed all the upper levels of Spanish at my school – levels 2, 3, and 4. My administration asked if I would give up my plan (with added compensation) to teach the first level 4 class to be offered in many years. I couldn’t say no to that! How can I turn down students who want to take an upper level elective? The end result? I started the year with 220 students. I was determined to give as much input as humanly possible. What I didn’t count on was the huge amount of classroom management required when you have up to 39 students crammed into a small classroom.
As a result of my study abroad experience, I was invited to present at a theatre directors and playwrights conference, in Spain!, that took me away from the classroom for a week. It also afforded me the opportunity to be published – not something that happens very often to high school teachers. I learned so much about myself in this process and it helped me to focus on what the real priorities are in my career goals, namely, I REALLY love being a high school Spanish teacher!
(You can view the movie I made for my presentation here, titled Aprender español haciendo teatro. I also learned that conferences that college professors attend are significantly different than teacher conferences!)
The downside.
I did not take any time for myself. I didn’t make exercise a priority. I didn’t meditate. I didn’t take walks. I didn’t spend a lot of quality time with my family. I didn’t read anything that wasn’t essential to being in my classroom. Stress really takes a physical toll on your body – from making you more likely to catch a cold to creating knots that wreak havoc on your back.
So, what worked?
I knew I could not continue at that pace second semester, so, I took a step back and ‘relaxed.’
1. In January, we started Vida y Muerte en la Mara Salvatrucha in my level 3 classes. We kicked it off with Voces Inocentes. Here is a small clip:
We stretched it out for a week by only watching 20 minutes each day and then discussing what we had seen in Spanish. This was very relaxing for me! I had everything planned out and didn’t expend a lot of energy storyasking. It worked out well, and at the time I thought of it as an “added benefit” to providing compelling input. But in reflecting, I realize that I need to plan those times into my year every year.
2. March Music Madness. Hello? WHY didn’t I do this before? You can read about how I used this in my classroom here and here. To say that this little break each day to focus on music and build community was important is an understatement. It was the perfect way to keep student engagement up while we all waited for Spring Break.
3. I was open and honest with my students. They have been with me for three years now and know me pretty well. They know that I am obsessed with my job and that I love teaching them to communicate in Spanish. When things weren’t going well, we had open discussions in class about why. The end result was always that they stepped up and supported ME. Every single time.
4. In level two, we finished the year with La Vampirata. At the end of the novel we did group projects that allowed for a lot of voice and choice. I also gave very explicit instructions on what had to be accomplished at the end of each and every class period. I spent a lot of time walking around and speaking to groups, offering advice or ideas, or just generally praising their creativity. I generally dislike group projects and don’t do them often (maybe once every other year!), but I have to say that this one went extremely well.
5. I used a lot of resources proved by some amazing blogs: Kristy Placido, El mundo de Birch, The Comprehensible Classroom, Mis Clases Locas, Kara Jacobs, Carrie Toth , and so many more!
And most importantly…
I embraced my imperfections. Acquiring language can be a messy business – it certainly was in my classroom this year! And it requires lots and lots and lots of repetition. I know that if students don’t remember something we have covered in class, it is ONLY because they haven’t been exposed to it enough, not because they aren’t trying. Keeping this one thing in mind has really helped me to deal with a lot of frustrations.
Also, when you have that many bodies in one room, certain things simply can’t happen. I struggled with maintaining control with story asking. So I switched to more focused stories via Movie Talk and novels. I really hope to go back to story asking next school year when I have manageable numbers again.
