Frame of Mind

21 x 35 = 735

735 x 2 = 1470

1470 x 17 = 24,990

I’m no math teacher but luckily math is fairly universal so just about anyone can follow that. English, however, is not as widespread though it is increasingly becoming more essential as a result of globalization. Each week I will face 21 classes of an average of 35 students. Approximately 735 students will stare at me, the foreign American teacher, for 17 straight weeks. 24,990 eyeballs scrutinizing my every move and word for a semester. A bit dramatic, yes I know. But, it leads me to an important point: though it’s just a semester, I get an opportunity to impact those 735 students, which hopefully is in a positive manner. I won’t make them proficient. I won’t fix the problems they have pronouncing the “th” sound or their confusion between “l” and “r.” I probably won’t even expand their English vocabulary by more than a hundred or so words. And that’s not a comment on my abilities but rather on the set of circumstances that surrounds this teaching position (which I intend to elaborate on once I have more experience). However, I will get the chance to paint them a picture. One that’s built from my experiences and conveys just where English can take you. If, in four months, at least a solid handful of students can reflect on my classes and be inspired by them then I will take it as a great success.

Saensuk School

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Week 1 of school didn’t actually start with any teaching but rather with a tour of the school the afternoon before our first day. Steven–for those who missed my older posts, he’s the other foreign teacher at my school–and I were introduced to many teachers and admin staff, shown around to our office and classrooms, and received our work schedules. Some points to note are: the school has zero ac but our office does have fans. Our classrooms have whiteboards and tvs that can link up to laptops. However, they use HDMI cords, which my Mac doesn’t support without an adaptor. There is good wifi but only in our office. The school day consists of 8 consecutive, 50-minute periods. Lunch is held in a cafeteria amongst the students where there are many vendors offering standard Thai meals. Our typical work day will be from 7:30 to 16:00.

Week 1

Morning assembly

Our first week of teaching began on Wednesday, November 1st. However, before school, Steven and I began what we hope will become a part of our daily routine by getting up at 6am to workout. For the next month we intend to follow the 4 Week Jump Rope Challenge by Zen Dude Fitness, which takes about 30-45 minutes each day and consists of a heavy dose of jump ropes and body weight exercises. Following our morning workout, we quickly got ready for school and headed in for day one. We walked to school–which takes about 10 minutes from our apartment–signed in, and sat at our desks until 8am. Across all school in Thailand, the national anthem is played at 8:00am sharp and everything stops for a moment as locals sing along and respect is paid. An assembly with the day’s announcements follows and then at 8:30 classes begin for the day. So just like that I went from workout to assembly to classroom where I was to begin my semester of teaching.

Faking a Girlfriend

First lesson vocab and phrases

For week one, all classes were to learn introductions, particularly since it was a short week and I wouldn’t get to meet with every class. So in preparation, I put together a PowerPoint–which you can see here–with pictures of myself, my family, and defining characteristics of my life. One funny part that I should explain is my inclusion of my pretend girlfriend. Several teachers from previous semesters recommended that since I’m single, I should take a friend that I had multiple pictures with and introduce her to the class as my girlfriend. In several instances, teachers that didn’t include this detail had students that tried to set them up and and those teachers that politely declined were thought to be homosexuals in some cases. So to go ahead and avoid any of those possibilities, I chose my friend Madison to be my pretend girlfriend and the class was quite impressed. Don’t worry, I made sure it was okay with her beforehand!

Teacher Ant

Steven and I in our office

Nicknames in Thailand originated from the old belief that evil spirits are constantly attempting to possess newborn children but nicknames would confuse spirits and keep children safe. Though this belief is no longer so pervasive, it is still common practice for parents to give nicknames to their children at birth. For foreigners, this has the added benefit of helping remedy the toughness of pronouncing long, intoned Thai names. So in a similar gesture, I predetermined a nickname for myself: Ant. I chose this nickname not only because it is the first three letters of my name but also because the “th” sound does not exist in Thai and thus is hard for native speakers to pronounce. And, since all teachers are greeted  by other teachers and students as “Teacher ______,” I am now most commonly addressed as Teacher Ant.

Halftime Rally

My classroom

So how exactly did my first day of teaching go? Let’s just say that the first half was an absolute beatdown. Though I went to bed confident the night prior, some nerves inevitably came around during the first couple of classes. I was able to move through my Introductions lesson plan well but at times I know I spoke a bit too fast and in both my morning classes, I finished early and had no clue what to do with the extra time. However, getting food and a coffee in my system during lunch with Steven began to turn things around. I asked him for advice and he told about some games he played to fill up any extra time. For my afternoon classes I decided to give my lesson and then split the class into two teams. I proceeded by quizzing them about the different facts I had presented in class, which turned out to be quite successful and engaging. It was a complete 180 degree flip from my morning and left me feeling much better. I used the same strategy in days two and three with the same level of success.

Loi Krathong Festival

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As the final hours of Week 1 wrapped up, one of the Thai teachers sat next to me and began making small talk. The typical what’s your name, where are you from, and so on. But once we got through the intros, she began telling me some very useful info about Bang Saen and of the Loi Krathong festival that was going to take place later that night. For those like me that have never heard of the festival before, it’s an annual festival that takes place during the evening of the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar. Loi Krathong can be roughly translated as “to float a basket,” which is exactly what the festival consists of: intricate baskets made of leaves and decorated with flowers, candles, and more are lit and set afloat. Many people also light sky lanterns and release them into the air. The tradition symbolizes a process of renewal and letting go of any negativity in your life. So just like thousands of locals around us, a group of friends and I purchased a couple baskets and a sky lantern, lit them, let go, and cleansed ourselves as we stared in awe. Once again, pictures will just not quite do the moment justice but you’ll have to trust me when I say it was one of the most magnificent events I’ve ever had the privilege to take part in and witness. Both the water and sky were lit for as far as you could see for hours into the night. It was somewhat of a fairytale ending to a great first week.

The Wrap Up

Thanks for reading this post and as always, I encourage you to comment below and/or share this with anyone you think might enjoy it! I’ll end by asking you: What was your favorite childhood game in school?