Class
Hi, great to see everyone enjoys AvCon. Never been there but always look forward to hear your stories about it.
It's close to one month of my work. I had taught one class and substituted 3 absent teachers.
This afternoon I really had nice after meeting coffee (well, like Lunasy's old meetings on Friday afternoon :) with the principal and some other teachers. We have had mutual enemy, once more a fat bastard, this time from Year 9. Heck, it seems all staff hates the entire Year 9 save for a Japanese boy. And he has been bullied. The principal just got back from rough parents meeting session, and I seemed to amuse her with my rebuttals on parents' written feedbacks. If I want immediate discharge from this work I think I should join in a parents meeting.
Well, the principal also complained about 'rich idiots with their spoiled spawns'. It's bit weird to see myself there. The students never hesitate to show off their gadgets and fashion and I always be able to match them. Australian graduate. They have iPod, I have Sony NW. They sport Von Dutch, I sport Billabong. They wear Adidas, I wear Kenji Urban. And so on.
So, am I rich? I always take myself as 'middle class', no upper or lower. Really in the middle. I still live on my parents' income, and so are the children. Most of other staff in my age live by their own. Some teachers are family men and women and have to endure these brats for the whole week for the education of their own kids. For some, teaching in this school is their 2nd or 3rd job.
Yesterday I got extra duties as schoolyard patrol on Friday and detention class' teacher on Tuesday. This feels more like rehab than school. I spent this morning reading George Orwell's essays, my pre-Honours read. Now I really miss La Trobe's Politics Department. I'm not the first who made mistake of thinking that teaching in international school is like private tutoring or attending a Politics tutorial.
The principal seems to hold high hopes on me. I feel sorry I might let her down later with my plan to quit after my probation contract ends. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can happily pass even a semester, let alone one year. It seems yells and warnings are much more common than dialogue and off-class interactions (which I planned to be my teaching signature).
Are rich kids more likely to be brats? Seems easy to answer, but is it a fair one? And what do we make of poor kids? What are the limitations of 'upper middle' or 'lower middle' or just 'middle'?
Finally, where did enthusiastic talents that I found in Melbourne come from?
It's close to one month of my work. I had taught one class and substituted 3 absent teachers.
This afternoon I really had nice after meeting coffee (well, like Lunasy's old meetings on Friday afternoon :) with the principal and some other teachers. We have had mutual enemy, once more a fat bastard, this time from Year 9. Heck, it seems all staff hates the entire Year 9 save for a Japanese boy. And he has been bullied. The principal just got back from rough parents meeting session, and I seemed to amuse her with my rebuttals on parents' written feedbacks. If I want immediate discharge from this work I think I should join in a parents meeting.
Well, the principal also complained about 'rich idiots with their spoiled spawns'. It's bit weird to see myself there. The students never hesitate to show off their gadgets and fashion and I always be able to match them. Australian graduate. They have iPod, I have Sony NW. They sport Von Dutch, I sport Billabong. They wear Adidas, I wear Kenji Urban. And so on.
So, am I rich? I always take myself as 'middle class', no upper or lower. Really in the middle. I still live on my parents' income, and so are the children. Most of other staff in my age live by their own. Some teachers are family men and women and have to endure these brats for the whole week for the education of their own kids. For some, teaching in this school is their 2nd or 3rd job.
Yesterday I got extra duties as schoolyard patrol on Friday and detention class' teacher on Tuesday. This feels more like rehab than school. I spent this morning reading George Orwell's essays, my pre-Honours read. Now I really miss La Trobe's Politics Department. I'm not the first who made mistake of thinking that teaching in international school is like private tutoring or attending a Politics tutorial.
The principal seems to hold high hopes on me. I feel sorry I might let her down later with my plan to quit after my probation contract ends. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can happily pass even a semester, let alone one year. It seems yells and warnings are much more common than dialogue and off-class interactions (which I planned to be my teaching signature).
Are rich kids more likely to be brats? Seems easy to answer, but is it a fair one? And what do we make of poor kids? What are the limitations of 'upper middle' or 'lower middle' or just 'middle'?
Finally, where did enthusiastic talents that I found in Melbourne come from?