Teach English in Xiacun Zhen - Weihai Shi

My first thought when reading this question is the anxiety of doing something new for the first few times and how to keep moving in an upward when things don’t always go quite right. Teaching a different language is trying a whole bunch of new things at the same time. I will take the next few paragraphs to highlight what I think the early career that I’m choosing will look like and the track that I will engineer to run on. First, how do I access all the wonderful attributes from all the great teachers I’ve had over the years and meld them into one caring, kind, effective, improving teacher? Is it possible to use those positive influences to create a plan that incorporates them? I feel like I am already that person and this will be a perfect time for me to embark on a teaching career. Certainly one needs to look back at the past and access similar attempts at implementing a new phase of life. There are moments in my life when I have more structure and many times not so much. I will always perform better with more structure. Lesson plans for me along with a course book and supplemental materials will help me provide the foundation I need upon which to build a better career. My confidence will continue to grow as the lesson plans become easier with time. I plan to spend additional time in research on Lesson Planning and the Engage Study Activate Methodology. While I have a firmer grasp on the concept and various types of ESA models, I will continue to look at samples of Strait Arrow, Boomerang and Patchwork models and create my own. I feel like lesson planning in all the schools I attended was mandatory and that the administration monitored them regularly. Either way, I believe this is an area worth spending time on a regular basis to improve. Second, I believe we learn in many cases from what we watch. Finding excellent teachers to allow you in their classroom will be a big benefit. It will be interesting to compare and contrast different styles of teaching and their preparation techniques. After watching the two contrasting lecture videos from the lesson, one becomes increasingly aware of the value of recording your class to learn your strengths and weaknesses. Many of us don’t realize the filler words we use that waste time and weaken our message. My goal is to get into as many different teaching scenarios as possible to observe. I feel that early on in one's career one must develop the good habit of self evaluation, call it a self performance review that includes honest and a desire for growth. There are many techniques for evaluation of one’s progress. I will devise a plan that includes evaluation of the following: class instruction, effectiveness of lesson plan, student progress, continued learning (i.e, webinars, seminars, podcasts, books, etc). One might even deploy the help of other teachers for confirmation or to resolve any problems that occur. Whatever the method, it is difficult to get where you want to go if you are not sure where you are. Lastly, I feel that one’s personal attitude and overall caring for people will help foster success. One of the really cool things about being a teacher is the personal relationships that develop from doing your best to help someone learn. In my case I have had many different roles and relationships with my high school Spanish teacher, Joe. He not only made class interesting, fun, and a safe place to learn, he became a lifelong friend. We served on boards together, constructed a straw bale house together and we still meet for coffee when I am in the United States. We continue to be a product of the environment where we live, keep it positive. Caring is thinking about what might have happened to that student last night or even immediately before entering the classroom. Early career teachers must show compassion and purpose and transport that learner to a calm and comfortable environment for learning. The teachers who accomplish this on a daily basis will likely find much success. While there are many contributing factors to getting your teaching career off to a great start, I will choose to focus more on class preparation, self evaluation and a strong positive caring attitude to guide my early career as a teacher. One can carry a bit more confidence and understanding when better organized and efficient. The students will have a better experience and we can run on that track together speaking in the new language of course.