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RE: Getting started teaching English abroad and how to progress
"If you are older than 35, get a haircut and a nice shirt and try to play it off"
This made me laugh my ass off. As someone in the older age group, I love the idea of going undercover "21 Jump Street" Style.
" I had to fill in multiple times in the past because of "runners""
Oh god, I'm laughing again. I never knew that teachers could go all Roy Batty and turn into "runners." I guess the day before they run, they make speeches about teaching "attack ships. . . off the shoulder of Orion."
"I will take a dish-washing job at McDonalds before i teach again"
I'm guessing you were either teaching Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" or Rodney Dangerfield in "Back to School." :)
the problem with naughty kids when you are teaching them in a second language is that unless you become fluent in the local language before you ever take a job (which isn't going to happen) they can talk trash directly to your face and you wont know it. Rarely would anyone be this bold / naughty but if you get a Spicoli in your class it is much more difficult to keep them under control in a language they don't yet understand :)
"if you get a Spicoli in your class it is much more difficult to keep them under control"
Oh man, that is the worst lol.
When I was a kid, there were so many Spicolis in my class. Any teacher who showed the smallest sign of weakness got so much hassle. One teacher lost it and threw a book at a kid's head. Another just started to cry.
If this crap was happening in a foreign language as well, sheesh! :0
I actually have so much respect for any teacher who can keep control, at the same time as making the class fun. In my experience, if you could do one, you couldn't do the other. :0
when i was a TEFL teacher i was able to maintain control only because i devoted 70% of my time to "crowd control" and 30% to actual teaching. It ended up working and the kids were afraid of me / respected me and the Thai teachers thought I was awesome. Guess it worked out!