When I first found out my practicum placement my reaction was excitement and then hesitation.
Wait, they use first names to address teachers there. That’s going to be a bit of a culture change.
While I was focused on losing the, in my mind, affectionate moniker of ‘Mr. Willems’, I didn’t really contemplate the section that informed me I would be teaching ESL. I figured it would essentially be an English classroom—my traditional area of focus—with a few students who really struggled at reading.
Turns out I was a bit off.
The program that I was thrown into was not quite what I was expecting. It is a unique classroom that deals specifically with refugees from Nepal. Students who have been in the country anywhere from two years to two weeks enter in to the classroom to essentially learn how to adapt to Canada. The curriculum is unique, as the students have had almost no formal education in their lives, and the assessment is altered, as the students are not realistically able to view graduation as an option.
In my five years of teacher education I have not had a single class on how to teach a classroom where the students don’t speak English, the culture and religion are vastly different from anything I have known, the students are dealing with the impact of living in refugee camps their entire lives, and the outcome and assessment is entirely relational.
I met with my cooperating teaching and he warned me that the job was really spontaneous—we couldn’t plan in advance because our classroom direction was steered almost entirely by the students and their individual needs. He warned that there would be a lot of counseling—these students have a sordid past. He warned that it’s a bit of unique bubble—the program is essentially separate from the school as it is run through the district not the administration. He warned that the culture shock may be large—these students have often no idea how to respond appropriately to Canada.
I warned him that I was a teacher who had a preference for flying by the seat of his pants, had a passion for travel and unique culture, a dislike for red tape, and a personal belief centered around caring for others above all else. I warned him that this was my dream job.
I was set.
I just had to work on the fact that literally the only thing I knew about Nepal is that it is the home of Mt. Everest. And that I have zero knowledge on how to work with students who have come from refugee camps. And that I haven’t the faintest clue on how to plan a unit without a curriculum or an outcome.
But other than that I was set.
Wait, they use first names to address teachers there. That’s going to be a bit of a culture change.
While I was focused on losing the, in my mind, affectionate moniker of ‘Mr. Willems’, I didn’t really contemplate the section that informed me I would be teaching ESL. I figured it would essentially be an English classroom—my traditional area of focus—with a few students who really struggled at reading.
Turns out I was a bit off.
The program that I was thrown into was not quite what I was expecting. It is a unique classroom that deals specifically with refugees from Nepal. Students who have been in the country anywhere from two years to two weeks enter in to the classroom to essentially learn how to adapt to Canada. The curriculum is unique, as the students have had almost no formal education in their lives, and the assessment is altered, as the students are not realistically able to view graduation as an option.
In my five years of teacher education I have not had a single class on how to teach a classroom where the students don’t speak English, the culture and religion are vastly different from anything I have known, the students are dealing with the impact of living in refugee camps their entire lives, and the outcome and assessment is entirely relational.
I met with my cooperating teaching and he warned me that the job was really spontaneous—we couldn’t plan in advance because our classroom direction was steered almost entirely by the students and their individual needs. He warned that there would be a lot of counseling—these students have a sordid past. He warned that it’s a bit of unique bubble—the program is essentially separate from the school as it is run through the district not the administration. He warned that the culture shock may be large—these students have often no idea how to respond appropriately to Canada.
I warned him that I was a teacher who had a preference for flying by the seat of his pants, had a passion for travel and unique culture, a dislike for red tape, and a personal belief centered around caring for others above all else. I warned him that this was my dream job.
I was set.
I just had to work on the fact that literally the only thing I knew about Nepal is that it is the home of Mt. Everest. And that I have zero knowledge on how to work with students who have come from refugee camps. And that I haven’t the faintest clue on how to plan a unit without a curriculum or an outcome.
But other than that I was set.