The words "open class" can strike a mixture of fear, confusion and exasperation into the heart of any ESL teacher. An "open class" (universal in Asia, if my experience is any indication) is a class in which parents are invited to come and watch (read: come and judge whether their money is being well spent). We are now coming into the final week of our three week season of open classes.
The idea of an open class terrified me in Korea. They were brought up constantly, but never happened. The concept hung over us as our classes dwindled in our poorly run, under staffed and over funded campuses. But here, in China and at ALWAYS, I was actually stoked for it. I have complete confidence in my classes. Oh, what a few years of aging does for the psyche (also, I had a bad ass TEFL education at The Language House) . As a side note, I'm looking forward to thirty. I joke about it a lot (I have a few big things I really, really want/need to accomplish in the next three years), but I look forward to the greater clarity that a few more years will bring.
So far Ian and I have received good reviews in our open classes. It's been fun, but tiring. Most kids are excited to have their parents see what they're doing in class. Of course, our classes are always energetic, but when there's a row of parents in the back staring at you, you don't let your energy drop for even moment. It just takes a little more out of you.
Other than that, it has been an uneventful weekend. On Friday, it finally hit me full force that I'll soon be doing pretty much everything without Ian. Which is the opposite of now. It bummed me out (understatement alert).
But, here are a few random pictures from the last few days.
The idea of an open class terrified me in Korea. They were brought up constantly, but never happened. The concept hung over us as our classes dwindled in our poorly run, under staffed and over funded campuses. But here, in China and at ALWAYS, I was actually stoked for it. I have complete confidence in my classes. Oh, what a few years of aging does for the psyche (also, I had a bad ass TEFL education at The Language House) . As a side note, I'm looking forward to thirty. I joke about it a lot (I have a few big things I really, really want/need to accomplish in the next three years), but I look forward to the greater clarity that a few more years will bring.
So far Ian and I have received good reviews in our open classes. It's been fun, but tiring. Most kids are excited to have their parents see what they're doing in class. Of course, our classes are always energetic, but when there's a row of parents in the back staring at you, you don't let your energy drop for even moment. It just takes a little more out of you.
Other than that, it has been an uneventful weekend. On Friday, it finally hit me full force that I'll soon be doing pretty much everything without Ian. Which is the opposite of now. It bummed me out (understatement alert).
But, here are a few random pictures from the last few days.
And! It's your lucky day, because here's another video of kiddos dancing to Western pop music.
When Reeves gets excited, he hops up and down on his "good leg," which has earned him the nickname Bunny. The poor kid only really has one "normal" leg (with his injuries and a slight deformation of his right front shoulder which makes it a little shorter). That said, he's been standing on four legs more and more lately. I'll get another video of him in his jorts (wheels) up sometime this week. In the meantime, here's his bunny hop.
We'll be headed to a Friendsgiving that one of the expats is throwing tonight. With no access to turkey, she's chosen to serve the next best thing, nachos. It should be great and I'll try to get some decent pictures.