Back to reality

I cannot remember the last full week of school we had.  We have had the New Year, English camps, sports days, half days, meeting days, and the list goes on and on.  The students (and the teachers) have been enjoying it.  We have known that whatever the schedule may be, it will probably be changed, and we will probably have less classes.  This week was a wake up call.  We have a full five days of classes, and my kids are horrendous.  But for once, my students weren't the only ones.  All of the foreign teachers have been talking about how horribly the students are behaving.

On Monday night my entire class had to write "I will behave in T. Meaghan's class." 25 times for homework.  The students continued to be so bad, that those who didn't finish had to write 50 the next morning!  The second grade foreign teacher, Allen, whose classroom is next door, pulled me aside yesterday and told me he was having problems.  He asked if I would take a student for him.  Of course I agreed!  He told his class that if they misbehaved they would be kicked out of second grade and put back into first.  Sure enough, he knocked on my door during the next period and I had a new student.  She was horrified.  She was completely embarrassed.  She was forced to sit through my class until Allen came in and she apologized.  And apparently, Allen's students have been perfect angels since.  My students were very surprised.  I had just finished telling them that I could send them back to kindergarten, and when Allen's student walked in, they knew I was serious.  The problem is, nothing lasts with my kids.  While the second grader had an impact on them, they forgot almost immediately.

Now, I understand all of these things seem a bit ridiculous.  The punishments here are nothing I had imagined.  I give lines, make students stand on one leg, have students hold a book in each hand at shoulder level, stand on their chairs, and hold hands with the people they talk to.  But nothing works.  The English Program is the Rich Program.  The students are spoiled brats.  They are usually raised by a grandparent or hired help.  Instead of disciplining the kids, they just give them what they want to shut them up.  My students talk on their cell phones in the middle of class.  They hit each other, kick each other, stab each other, you name it, and they do it.

I thought a point system would work.  I give out stickers to each team when they are good.  If the team is bad, the students have to move a sticker from their team's board to T. Meaghan's board.  Well, the students couldn't care less.  They don't want the candy or toys or movies they could win with stickers.  They have everything at home, and they don't have to be good to get it!  So yes, I give lines.  I give ridiculous punishments.  I try to embarrass my students because it is one of the only things that works.

Amazingly, the Thai teachers have control of the students.  How?  The Thai teachers do nothing but lecture.  They have the students sit and recite paragraphs from their textbooks.  Why do the students behave?  Because the Thai teachers hit.  My Thai teacher is rarely in the classroom, but when she is, the students are silent.  She walks in, pulls a few ears, hits a few students in the head, and everything is quiet.  Gosh, if only I could hit them...

Just kidding.  I don't want the students to respect me because I physically abuse them.  Instead, I will just wear them down with 15 pages of lines and standing on one foot for an hour.  That'll get 'em.

Today the students were better.  Not great, but better.  The photos I have attached were taken today.  The first photo is my new way to deal with toys.  I simply take the toys, and tape them to the board.  These are all of the toys I collected in my first period.  The sentences written on the board are from notes I intercepted in that same period.  It was a very productive math class.

The second photo is of the school building behind mine.  The students simply throw trash out the window.  No wonder this country is filled with rats and smells disgusting.

I promise, life isn't that bad.  I am happy.  I am enjoying work.  This week has been the exception, and I had to write about it!