One great quote I live by--as a teacher--is that "a good teacher tells, a great teacher shows, and an excellent teacher inspires." I love creating different class activities that my students can have fun while learning. I wan to inspire people, that's why I am teaching; I don't want to teach them what to think, but how to think.
We have a lot of fun in class. Often, some peeps would come up to me after class to tell me how much they enjoyed learning through the activities. This day, I heard a compliment so interesting that I had trouble responding to it right away.
We were talking about Social Media and its connectivity. I made a game that involved personalities, perceptions, and the usage of different types of social media. Everyone had a great time and the class was full of energy and laughter. After the activity was over, a sweet lady (one of the nicest you would ever meet) in the class turned around--her eyes were full of excitement--and asked me, "How did you come up with this idea? This is great!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it! This idea just came to me right before the class, I thought it would tie in the lesson very well." It is always nice to hear positive feedbacks.
Her eyes opened even wider. "M," she put one hand on my arm. "You are so inspirational, just like President Obama!"
"... ... ..." I didn't know how or what to respond to her. My close friends and family members would tell you that I enjoy talking about politics even more so than the average American; its delicate, sensitive, yet cut-throat characteristics excite me. Think before you speak, I reminded myself. "...well, thank you?"
Inspirational and no need for teleprompter,
~Miss Communication~
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
You've Been Punked!
I like to make my students sit in a semi-circle--I believe this kind of setting encourages communication in the classroom. On the first day of class, most people appear a little shocked to hear that they have to get up and sit in a way that they can see each other. Since they can't say "no" to the new professor on the first day of their new class, they have to move. They drag the chairs and talk to each other, try to figure out who is going to sit where.
Secretly, I love watching them making that decision together; I get to see how they interact with each other. They always begin as strangers, and they always progress as friends.
It never takes long for them to get used to this kind of seating. They would come into the classroom, move the chair to a semi-circle without any reminders, and sit in their favorite spot. Some classes even wanted to take their finals in this seating, said that they "love it too much."
One time, I noticed that the class was sitting further from me than before; and it lasted for a week. So I told them I have seen that they were moving away from me, and I want them to get closer to my desk. (In a very loving way, of course.)
I was stuck in the horrible H1 traffic one day, so I was running 5 minutes late. When I arrived at my classroom, I noticed that the door was closed. I pushed the handle and tried to open the door, and found that it was locked from the inside--and I heard giggles.
They locked me out of the classroom! Like a tardy student, I politely knocked on the door.
Then there was silence. About 30 seconds later, someone opened the door for me. I found my students sat in complete darkness (we had no windows in the classroom), and they have all moved their chairs and surrounded my desk. I could see that they were trying to hide their laughs and giggles.
"Very funny, guys!" I laughed and got to my desk, that's when they busted out in laughing. After we joked about this for a bit, they moved their chairs back to a more comfortable distance.
They told me I've been punked, I gladly accepted.
Loving the semi-circle seating,
~Miss Communication~
Secretly, I love watching them making that decision together; I get to see how they interact with each other. They always begin as strangers, and they always progress as friends.
It never takes long for them to get used to this kind of seating. They would come into the classroom, move the chair to a semi-circle without any reminders, and sit in their favorite spot. Some classes even wanted to take their finals in this seating, said that they "love it too much."
One time, I noticed that the class was sitting further from me than before; and it lasted for a week. So I told them I have seen that they were moving away from me, and I want them to get closer to my desk. (In a very loving way, of course.)
I was stuck in the horrible H1 traffic one day, so I was running 5 minutes late. When I arrived at my classroom, I noticed that the door was closed. I pushed the handle and tried to open the door, and found that it was locked from the inside--and I heard giggles.
They locked me out of the classroom! Like a tardy student, I politely knocked on the door.
Then there was silence. About 30 seconds later, someone opened the door for me. I found my students sat in complete darkness (we had no windows in the classroom), and they have all moved their chairs and surrounded my desk. I could see that they were trying to hide their laughs and giggles.
"Very funny, guys!" I laughed and got to my desk, that's when they busted out in laughing. After we joked about this for a bit, they moved their chairs back to a more comfortable distance.
They told me I've been punked, I gladly accepted.
Loving the semi-circle seating,
~Miss Communication~
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Shedding Tears in Class
I still remember the day that popular girl cried in front of my PE teacher in middle school. It was a windy day in Fall, dust was blowing from the ground, mixed with leaves, kept brushing against my legs. Beijing's Fall is strikingly beautiful, the city is surrounded with mountains covered in red and gold leaves, clouds seem so high in the sky, and every once in a while, a team of traveling birds would fly toward the south. Even the air smells different in Fall--it's a mixture of fresh fallen leaves, burning branches, thin air, warm wool, and a bit dust...it's a smell I am still trying to discover in today's perfumery.
On that particular day, my young, just-out-of-college PE teacher called out this girl's lies. Here is the story: every time we had PE, some girls in my class would use "the friend of the month" as an excuse to get out of running laps. I was never keen in running, but I never had the guts to use that excuse to skip running. I was too embarrassed to tell the teacher--and the rest of the class--my monthly cycle. The girls who were excused would sat on the bleachers, chewed gums, gossiped, and checked out boys, while I tried hard to catch my breath with every single running step, with the taste of dust in my mouth.
Some girls would use this excuse every two weeks; they thought being a man, our PE teacher would never know. Especially this girl, she would use this excuse every week.
They thought wrong.
I assume that my PE teacher finally got fed up, so when this girl walked up to him again in the beginning of the class and presented her lame excuse, with flashed red cheeks--either from anger or embarrassment--he said, "Look, I know it is impossible for any girl to have period every week for a month!" She stood there and cried.
I don't ever want to make my students cry, even if they present me with some of the most lame excuses. But toward the end of last semester, a young man cried in front of everyone in class.
We were going over Persuasive Speeches and I divided them into teams to put together an informal team presentation. Each team drew a speech pattern they had to follow, and they all had one specific purpose for the speech: to persuade Professor L that our Communication class is the best among all six. Pro. L was observing my class, so they thought this would be a fun topic for practicing persuasive speech.
The class had great energy. So far, the speeches were great--inspirational, humorous, or even somewhat exaggerating. Then this team got up and started their presentation. Following a Narrative pattern for their speech, R began. "Once upon a time, there was a young boy named A from Sweden, he left home and came to America, by himself, to attend college," then he pointed at A, indicating the next part of the speech. I was eager to hear from A about his personal story.
"When that young boy arrived in America, he didn't know anyone, didn't have any friends, he was alone. On the first day of registration, he really didn't know what classes to take. He needed 3 more credits and saw that there is still room left in a Communication class. So he took it and didn't think much of it, he wanted to use it to fill his credits," A slipped his hands into his pockets, his eyes moistened. "little did he know he love this class, he looks forward to it. Not only he made many friends in this class, it has become a family." His eyes turned red, tears were rolling out of the corners. The entire class went silent, then quickly followed by various "aw's" and sniffling. Prof. L was wiping her eyes, too. I stood there, my heart was touched and wrapped with warmth; the memories of myself when I first came to the U.S. rushed to my mind...I tried hard not to cry in front of the class.
It's time like this I once again ensure myself that I have the best job in the world.
Have you ever witnessed someone shed tears of joy?
~Miss Communication~
On that particular day, my young, just-out-of-college PE teacher called out this girl's lies. Here is the story: every time we had PE, some girls in my class would use "the friend of the month" as an excuse to get out of running laps. I was never keen in running, but I never had the guts to use that excuse to skip running. I was too embarrassed to tell the teacher--and the rest of the class--my monthly cycle. The girls who were excused would sat on the bleachers, chewed gums, gossiped, and checked out boys, while I tried hard to catch my breath with every single running step, with the taste of dust in my mouth.
Some girls would use this excuse every two weeks; they thought being a man, our PE teacher would never know. Especially this girl, she would use this excuse every week.
They thought wrong.
I assume that my PE teacher finally got fed up, so when this girl walked up to him again in the beginning of the class and presented her lame excuse, with flashed red cheeks--either from anger or embarrassment--he said, "Look, I know it is impossible for any girl to have period every week for a month!" She stood there and cried.
I don't ever want to make my students cry, even if they present me with some of the most lame excuses. But toward the end of last semester, a young man cried in front of everyone in class.
We were going over Persuasive Speeches and I divided them into teams to put together an informal team presentation. Each team drew a speech pattern they had to follow, and they all had one specific purpose for the speech: to persuade Professor L that our Communication class is the best among all six. Pro. L was observing my class, so they thought this would be a fun topic for practicing persuasive speech.
The class had great energy. So far, the speeches were great--inspirational, humorous, or even somewhat exaggerating. Then this team got up and started their presentation. Following a Narrative pattern for their speech, R began. "Once upon a time, there was a young boy named A from Sweden, he left home and came to America, by himself, to attend college," then he pointed at A, indicating the next part of the speech. I was eager to hear from A about his personal story.
"When that young boy arrived in America, he didn't know anyone, didn't have any friends, he was alone. On the first day of registration, he really didn't know what classes to take. He needed 3 more credits and saw that there is still room left in a Communication class. So he took it and didn't think much of it, he wanted to use it to fill his credits," A slipped his hands into his pockets, his eyes moistened. "little did he know he love this class, he looks forward to it. Not only he made many friends in this class, it has become a family." His eyes turned red, tears were rolling out of the corners. The entire class went silent, then quickly followed by various "aw's" and sniffling. Prof. L was wiping her eyes, too. I stood there, my heart was touched and wrapped with warmth; the memories of myself when I first came to the U.S. rushed to my mind...I tried hard not to cry in front of the class.
It's time like this I once again ensure myself that I have the best job in the world.
Have you ever witnessed someone shed tears of joy?
~Miss Communication~
Monday, February 27, 2012
My Goal Number Six
"#6: To FINALLY start a blog."
For years, after the New Year's Eve celebration, while my energy generated from good food, fireworks, and the midnight kiss still rushing into my head, I like to sit down and make a list of the things that I would like to do/change for the next year. Believe me, I have always been a person who is against making any type of "New Year Resolutions," since I know most people give up on theirs by the beginning of February. Being a goal oriented person, I don't like to start anything I know I'm not going to finish, so when I make my list every year, I make sure I do them--yes, it's like a bucket list for the next 365 days.
Some things are the same for every year. To save money, to stay healthy, to call home more often, to read more books...but when the idea of starting a blog once again sparked in my mind, my pen paused for a second. Am I really finally going to start a blog? I have been thinking about starting a blog about my teaching for two years now, and it's the time to finally to make it a reality. I mean, you can only think about doing something for so long, after a while, you drop the idea, or you turn it into a reality.
It doesn't seem like I will ever drop this idea.
I have been teaching Communications since I started grad school in Fall, 2006. For someone who once swore that she will never ever go into teaching as a profession, I learned--first handed--the truth behind "never say never." My parents were both teachers for 30 plus years; growing up, I always saw them grading, planing, and sharing their teaching experiences. Everything they did seemed exhausting. However, once I started teaching on my own, I finally understood why my parents loved their job--it's the constant desire to make a difference in someone's life, the chances you have to inspire your students; and at the same time, to be inspired by them.
Often, I would talk about the musings I find in teaching to my friends and family, and that is why I want to start a blog dedicated to all the inspirations I get from my classes. This will be a place for me to record, reflect, and celebrate my love for teaching.
Let the celebration begin!
Crossing off my goal #6,
~Miss Communication~
For years, after the New Year's Eve celebration, while my energy generated from good food, fireworks, and the midnight kiss still rushing into my head, I like to sit down and make a list of the things that I would like to do/change for the next year. Believe me, I have always been a person who is against making any type of "New Year Resolutions," since I know most people give up on theirs by the beginning of February. Being a goal oriented person, I don't like to start anything I know I'm not going to finish, so when I make my list every year, I make sure I do them--yes, it's like a bucket list for the next 365 days.
Some things are the same for every year. To save money, to stay healthy, to call home more often, to read more books...but when the idea of starting a blog once again sparked in my mind, my pen paused for a second. Am I really finally going to start a blog? I have been thinking about starting a blog about my teaching for two years now, and it's the time to finally to make it a reality. I mean, you can only think about doing something for so long, after a while, you drop the idea, or you turn it into a reality.
It doesn't seem like I will ever drop this idea.
I have been teaching Communications since I started grad school in Fall, 2006. For someone who once swore that she will never ever go into teaching as a profession, I learned--first handed--the truth behind "never say never." My parents were both teachers for 30 plus years; growing up, I always saw them grading, planing, and sharing their teaching experiences. Everything they did seemed exhausting. However, once I started teaching on my own, I finally understood why my parents loved their job--it's the constant desire to make a difference in someone's life, the chances you have to inspire your students; and at the same time, to be inspired by them.
Often, I would talk about the musings I find in teaching to my friends and family, and that is why I want to start a blog dedicated to all the inspirations I get from my classes. This will be a place for me to record, reflect, and celebrate my love for teaching.
Let the celebration begin!
Crossing off my goal #6,
~Miss Communication~
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