31.8.09

give me a minute to breathe...

I'm still alive.
...just about ;)

so far this week I've written 5 lesson plans, taught 3 pre-intermediate English lessons, been to 2 Swedish lessons, written countless journals, struggled with strange names, picked a student to do a 1 hour one-to-one interview and lesson with... and... horror of all horrors... seen loads and loads of really cringe-worthy clipart.

...how do graphic designers cope with being TESOL teachers?

need to find the graphic designer switch and turn it off....*


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

*just for the time being...

7 件のコメント:

Jing さんのコメント...

Hang in there. Well done for getting through the 1st week, it's devilishly busy but fun eh? Thank goodness it's Bank Holiday Monday tomorrow. More time to plan and get the paperwork done. (Sorry, no time to rest just yet.)

Yeah, hurray for clipart. It doesn't matter how crinch-worthy the pictures are, it all depends on how you use them to make an effective learning aid for students. After teaching a couple of hundred lessons, most people in the trade realise that professional, picture-perfect-type presentation of learning resources will be time-consuming, unless of course you want your work to eat into time that you can't really spare e.g. you have other commitments in work or personal life.

If you're in the teaching sector, full-time, ideally after some practice, making a learning resource e.g. a worksheet, flashcards, shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes. Of course, if you have the time to spare, you can make aids even more complex and break down the time you spend on it over a period of days. Time-management skills play a huge role of being a teacher.

If you plan to teach, your first priority is effective teaching, and picture-perfect graphic design comes second. You're on the right track, just where the heck is that switch??

Sorry it sounds like a lecture, but I just wanted to emphasise a few real-life points.

karekora さんのコメント...

yes, i know that, after all, being a graphic designer and tesol teacher is a completely different job! sorry if my post gave you the wrong idea :(

i've been using clipart too as i know that there's no point designing something great -thats not the purpose here. the purpose is to teach, not to design.

...just feels strange having to do it... like i'm ignoring what i've learnt over the last 10 years of my life... 10 years of employers, colleagues, teachers, students - all saying how very bad clipart is....

clipart is bad in the design world. BUT its good in the tesol teaching world.

...

i think the switch is at the back of my neck somewhere ... ;)

Jing さんのコメント...

You are a sort of super person to me, so perhaps it is within your capabilities of combining both worlds in lightning speed ;) but if you have the time, anything is possible e.g. take photos instead of using clipart, typeset instead of Word, karaoke a video instead of a projector etc ;)

karekora さんのコメント...

super person?! if only... :(
if i was a super person i wouldn't need red bull as my best friend (and its only week 1..! zzz)

right now i just need to concentrate on getting over the adjustment, getting all the stuff done and getting all the information filed away neatly in my brain...

i heard there is an exam in week 3... argh.. any tips? :/

moosan さんのコメント...

lol! :-) did you find the switch yet?

If you create a nice design it can change the persons mood, crampt design=feeling of anxiety and of rush. spacy design=relaxing and friendly enviroment. if design matches students age=feeling of calm, do not feel so stupid and afriad of making mistakes. maybe...!

But, at the end of lesson students must say "I learnt lots of english today" instead of "Wow, the worksheet was really nice" lol :-)

Jing さんのコメント...

Yes, I think there was... but my memories are a bit blurred about it, mmmm I think it was multiple choice questions about your knowledge of what you have learned and how you would proceed on a topic. It certainly wasn't an ugly test, as I remember my classmates and I were quite calm about it, so don't worry! Overall, the final score comes from the lessons you taught and the essays and journals that you've written, as well as the test.

karekora さんのコメント...

moosan^^
I'm happy you believe in the power of art & design :) Maybe I can create my own worksheets, just not right now... When I have more experience :) (and time!)
--And you are right - if my Japanese teacher had beautiful pictures but I wasn't learning any Japanese, I would leave and go to another Japanese school! I've got to find the right balance.... somehow....

Jing^^
Multiple choice :) I think I can handle that :) Got to teach upper-intermediate next week.. they are a scary bunch, they keep asking grammar questions! argh! >_< I hope I can answer.... ...need to study....