“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” ― Henry Ford tweet
Innovation is a spectacular thing. It has led to great inventions like cars, computers, phones and amazing medical treatments.. Without thinking outside the box we’d still be cutting people’s heads open to alleviate headaches, bloodletting our sick and offering heroin and mercury as sound medicine.
I could go into the US’s current debacle in congress and the ACA but seeing as how my current residence is already at an international standard of affordable healthcare I’ll relate this to teaching instead.
Teachers are often forced to think outside of the box and find new creative ways to bestow knowledge on our youngsters.
Teaching ESL is in some ways more straightforward than teaching back home. The main thing for Kindergarteners is to get them speaking in my native tongue. We do a lot of choral response and I have some resources through the school. I don’t agree with all the workbooks and supplement our loose curriculum but it all comes naturally. That being said there are certainly times when I need to get creative, and I don’t just mean with my next art class.
Its not just about reading and speaking; the kids need to connect the words with their meaning. We do a lot of role playing and games that help elaborate on the words. Plus its Kindergarten so we always need to get creative to maintain their focus. Outside of that I’ve got a few extra special students who work best in a less traditional setting.
I haven’t invented anything new or come up with anything as profound the Model A. In fact most of what I’m using are lessons borrowed from another teacher or my experiences in classrooms back in the states. I HAVE done things with my classroom that my administration couldn’t have thought of and parents didn’t ask for. We’ve turned bland lessons provided by my syllabus into exciting games. I’ve incorporated slideshows, music and more into everyday math, science and phonics lessons. Lastly, I’ve recreated lessons I observed and implemented back in New Jersey.
As a result of not just giving this school a “faster horse” the students are becoming more fluent in English speaking and writing. It really is enjoyable when a kid who a month ago could barely read English letters is able to decode new words and is going nuts of his new sight words!
