TeacherTalk

Four All Who Reed and Right

2007-05-18T23:17:00.000+07:00

One of my students in a tone of frustration asked me the question: "Why is English so hard to learn!?!" It was more of a complaint rather than a question, but I did answer her. "It's one of the most difficult languages to learn," I said, "So, just keep working at it and one of these days, without realizing it, you'll get it right! (You hope!)"

Why did I sound so skeptical? Just read what a good friend of mine sent me not too long ago and you'll know what I mean.

"We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes; but the plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice; yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always men, why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen.
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet, and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, and the pural of cat is cats, never cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him; but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

Let's face it. . .English is a crazy language!

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. And, English muffins weren't
invented in England.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly.
Boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea, nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends, but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid
of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
In what other language do people recite at a play ad play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that
run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down;
in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

Now, do you see why I say that English is one of the most difficult languages to master? Can it be mastered by non-native
English learners? Of course! Many have done so and without going crazy first! Just keep working at it and use the language as much as you can and you'll find that someday you'll be saying "English? Piece o' cake!" (And that's without an s for pieces, nor cake, please!)

What Teachers Make

2007-04-20T21:36:00.000+07:00

Some time ago, a friend sent this to me, and I want to share it with all the teachers. . . even non-teachers that I know.

What Teachers Make
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man,
a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's
a kid gong to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was
to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those
who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point, he said to another guest, "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be
honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want
to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began . . .)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't
make them sit for 5 wihout an IPod, Game Cube or movie rental. . .

You want to know what I make?
(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table).

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.

I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to
know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given,
work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued).

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up
high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.

You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

What do you make?

"TEACHERS MAKE EVERY OTHER PROFESSION!"

It's all about passion. . .

2007-04-15T20:52:00.000+07:00

I am a teacher. Not that I chose to be one. I would say that the teaching profession pointed its finger at me and before I knew it I became one. My dream and the work that I did while I was in college was to become a social worker. With the enthusiasm and high aspirations of youth, I wanted to work for the needy, the disadvantaged, the troubled. . . Only that's not the way it worked out.

I had a date with a good friend for lunch and she asked that we meet at the high school where we had both graduated. She had already been teaching there for a year and the meeting she had to attend before we could go and do our thing was to go over policies and get new assignments for the new schoolyear. I got there early and when the Principal saw me, she asked me to join the group of teachers who were already gathered there. "It's better than waiting out here in the hall," she said, "and besides, you know many of them." So I followed her in. I did know many of those who were there; one or two had been classmates, several of those there were my teachers in high school. Still, feeling like the only outsider, I sat quietly in the back of the room.

When it came for the teaching assignments to be distributed, I suddenly got the surprise of my life. The Principal called my name and introduced me as the new teacher on the block, and then she added: "This is the first she knows of it. I still need someone to teach Literature to the third year students, and I have just found the person I need." I was flabbergasted! But I didn't protest. I loved Literature. . .and I still do. Besides, everyone who knew me seemed to be happy that I would be joining them.

Later on, I talked to the Principal and told her that I wasn't ready to teach, I never learned how to teach, I wouldn't know where to start and was about to come up with more excuses when she interrupted me and asked: "Do you still have that passion for Literature that you used to have?" I had to admit that I never lost it. "Then you'll be fine," she assured me.

And that's how I became a teacher. Throughout the years I learned all about teaching and learning. I had my ups and downs when I had to learn how to make a lesson plan, learn about methodology, prepare my lessons with care and what has always been my cross--correct papers endlessly. I learned from my colleagues, yes, even my Principal stepped in to assist and I continued to read and learn. But mostly, I learned from my students, and I did my best for them, and when they responded by doing their best, I felt I had to do even more. I learned that when I taught them with passion, they too learned with passion. And it is that symbiosis that has kept me going to this day.

That was many, many years ago. And still, I continue to teach. Although I might no longer move around the room as quickly as I did when I was younger, the voice is still there and when I teach my little ones, we can still sing our songs and do our dances together to the right beat. The passion remains and so I keep on going.