Training

What did the whiteboard marker say to the blackboard?

Nothing! Whiteboard markers don’t chalk.

19th-22nd January 2020

After a night of lesson planning and preparing ourselves for what is set to be a grueling few days, we got our taxis down to the learning centre and found the most uncomfortable seats imaginable. These seats were the type of wooden benches you used to have the privilege of sitting on once you made it to year six in Primary School during assembley, but this wasn’t year six and it certainly wasn’t a privilege.

Have you ever had to stand in front of ten peers, twenty to thirty years old, and try to teach them a lesson built for 7 year olds? Well, we have and thats how we started our first full day of training demos. We all agreed that trying to teach each other was a lot scarier of a thought than trying to teach kids. That was lesson number one: Do not be scared. After sitting through five of the same lessons over and over it was time for lunch and time to explore a little before heading back to do the same thing, but with less lessons to choose from and less games to play. Lesson number two: Everyone loves a good game.

After our first full day we got to pick up our uniform and our materials for day two, actually having to teach a real life lesson! Would somebody actually like to tell me who thought this was a good idea?

After some last minute preparation in the morning it was time to head off to my first school, for not only my first lesson but my first double lesson, oh and my second one too. The first went…okay. I had control of the class, they enjoyed the games and the overall lesson as far as I could tell. I walked away feeling confident, but in the words of the famous Admiral Ackbar “It’s a trap!” My second class was not as easy, the class was in a smaller room and much louder with a lack of control in its core. Someone had decided to tell them they were going to be heading home half an hour early but hadn’t given me the same memo. So when I was just finishing my first word of the day they all got their bags and stood up screaming. Ah the joys of the Tet holiday. However, it could have been worse, I could have got a taxi to a school, sat and waited ten minutes for the lesson to begin and then be told the lessons cancelled and have to get a taxi home. Oh wait, that was Beth’s day not mine!

The only true reward after finishing my first proper day of teaching was getting the news that our new place was ready. We are finally moving in to our new, official home. Once the stress of the first actual class had gone by, the rest of the week seemed to fly. From a few more training sessions to a Q&A with the current full time teachers and finally sorting the next materials we need to start with after Tet. After our little photoshoot as a new group it was time for us to head home, pack our bags and head to the airport. Time to enjoy the Tet holiday.

– Dan