My introduction to teaching

It has been a lively month at San Alberto Magno as I´m sure every month is during term time. My introduction to the world of teaching has been a roller coaster ride with some notable highs and a few hitches. I slotted straight into the Spanish lifestyle and I could see myself going back there to teach in the future.  It has been a hectic and eventful period that has left me thoroughly exhausted and with a vault of unforgettable memories. I have been given a massive confidence boost in terms of my own teaching ability. When standing in front of a class becomes part of your daily routine you learn to harness your nerves and to channel them.  On top of this it has been a great opportunity to experiment with different teaching and classroom management strategies some of which were less successful than others but the only way to move forwards is through trial and error.

From the moment we boarded the school bus for the first time, I and my other colleagues felt like celebrities as the children were fascinated by us. Walking through the school we would hear our names being screamed in high pitch voices from every corner of the playground. On the bus back to Elche one of the children noticed I was chewing gum and asked if they could have chicles. I reluctantly gave one to her, remembering what the paramedic had said during our first aid training about how chewing gum should be banned. This turned out to be a huge error as children have excellent memories and they would continue to ask me if I had chicles on every bus journey for the remainder of the month.

Whilst teaching at the school I had plenty of opportunity to experiment with different classroom management techniques. In some of the early classes I struggled to get children to stay in their seats and found it difficult to keep them engaged. This was partly due to my lack of preparation. For instance, I planned to do an activity in my first class with year 5 that required me to draw a spider diagram of my own interests and hobbies on the board. However I did not have the opportunity to do the necessary board work before the lesson as I had come straight from another class. I turned my back on the class for a few minutes to draw it and all hell broke loose. Children were getting out of their seats and changing the settings on the electronic white board whilst I was trying to draw. From this point on I always made sure that I had the board ready before the students arrived in the class room and that I never turned my back on them for a second.

A game that I often played with my students was one in which you are out if you say the word 10. Students sit in a circle and take it in turns to say either one or two consecutive numbers. After one student is knocked out, the next student starts from 1 again. This game was hugely popular and the excitement level would reach chaos when only 2 people remained left in as students would crowd round chanting the name of the person they wanted to win. After I witnessed the effect it had on them I used it as an incentive for them to behave during the class by telling them they might be able to play it at the end.

After one particularly tough class in the opening week in which the children were distracted, Michael advised me that I should play to the competitive aspects of the children’s nature in order to get them to behave. One way to do this is to separate the class into two teams and operate a points system. I found this trick very helpful as the other children keep the trouble makers in line for you.

In one of my free periods on Wednesdays I would come into a kindergarten class to help out one of the staff who I became friendly with. We would usually get them to play simple games such as throwing hoops over cones or playing catch. On one Wednesday the teacher whose class it was could not come in so we arranged for me to take the class. When I entered the class and found myself alone with 15 5 year olds I must admit I felt quite daunted. I had planned to play some simple games as I had done before with the other teacher but I could not get them organised. The amount of energy and noise they emitted collectively was overwhelming and for the first 15 minutes they were getting out of their seats and fighting over objects. Then I remembered that I had some A4 paper in my bag and I started to put paper down in front of each seat at the tables. One by one the children began to sit down and start drawing and within a few minutes order was restored. At the end of the day two infant classes would be put together to have their hair brushed and sprayed with cologne before they were sent home. This was very difficult for the member of staff who had to do this by herself every week. On the last Thursday I came in to the classroom to help out. Again the classroom was like a playground with children running around and shouting. Whilst the other member of staff ran around frantically after individual children in an attempt to spray their hair, I sat down and started drawing a cartoon monkey and one by one the children all gathered round the table to watch me. This made it easier for her to spray them all together as they were kept still. After I had drawn it I began to label each part of the monkey and then they all started to fight about which one would get the drawing so I made photocopies for all of them. When I gave them out I could see that they were all studying the pictures and the labels and digesting the information so I was glad that I had actually managed to do some teaching in such a chaotic classroom.

In the evening I taught some adult classes at Top School which provided a refreshing change from San Alberto Magno where I was often instructed to do exercises from text books, as I could plan whatever I wanted for an hour. In the first adult class I taught I opened with an introductory exercise in which students are faced with a grid containing answers to questions about their teacher that they must guess. This engaged them effectively as they seemed genuinely interested to find out about me. Then I asked them some questions about the two teachers who usually took the class, getting them to describe their physical appearances and personalities and asking if they thought either of the teachers had ever committed a crime. If they had, which crime and why and did they get caught? This was followed by a brainstorm of different types of crime in which lots of phrases and language surrounding the topic of crime came up. The class contained only two students whose level of English was lower than I had expected so I had to adapt my lesson plan in order to cater to their ability. Brainstorming a topic on a board is helpful for students at this level as they lack vocabulary and often express themselves in a longwinded way because they don’t know a specific word.

In conclusion, I’m grateful to have been a part of the Leonardo Project which has been an invaluable experience with many twists and turns. I will miss Spain, the students at San Alberto Magno and all of the other trainees who I got along so well with. 

Tom Fisher