First Day of School
Today was my first day teaching since I left for Enping in July. I teach adult school. Students don’t have to come to my class. There are many adult school classes to choose from. In some ways I have to treat my students like I was in a private school. The first year I taught adult school I had a couple of classes cancelled because I didn’t have enough students so I am alway concerned about the enrollment. My first class had me worried. They’re almost all elderly and they are starting to have health problems. However, when I got to class I had 15 students and then four more arrived later. The school likes to have at least 15 students to have a class so 19 felt very good.
My second class is for another district. The attendance was about 8-10 when I left in July, but that was summer vacation so I thought the attendance would go up. WRONG! Two new Spanish speaking students met me before class and said they wouldn’t be able to come to class today, but they’d be there tomorrow. Ten minutes into the class, I had ZERO students! I went to the office to get the clerk to print up a list of student phone numbers so I could call them and find out why they weren’t there. As the list came out, two Spanish speaking students showed up with a baby. (Babies aren’t allowed, but they were sisters so I let them stay with the baby for the day. I had a chance to call one student who said he and his wife would be there tomorrow. Four of the students were talking about moving before I left. The other 12 I haven’t had a chance to call. As of today, I will have three Spanish speaking students tomorrow (the mother will stay home with the baby) and two Armenians (who also speak Russian). Where did my Russian speaking students go? I wonder…
Bruce,
After I saw your diary, I felt you are like a salesman. Are you a tutor ?Last time you said you taught in two schools. Is this your part-time job ?
You says “Students don’t have to come to my class”,where do you teach
these students ?
Comment by Victor — September 10, 2005 @ 9:36 pm
I teach for two adult schools. Adult schools were started at the end of the 1800’s to teach the many immigrants that were coming into our country adn needed jobs. The government doesn’t give the adult schools as much money as they do for the schools that teach children. If they hired teachers full-time, they would have to pay them more money and give them benefits. The adult schools hire almost all part-time teachers so they don’t have to pay them benefits. Since they only hire part-time teachers, if you want more money you have find a job with another school district and work there part-time. I work part-time for two school districts.
When I said, “Students don’t have to come to my class” I meant that school is optional; it is not a requirement. Since it is not a requirement, I have to make sure I teach in a way that makes my students want to come to my class. That means I do have to be more of a salesman than a teacher who teaches younger students who are required by law to come to the class.
Comment by Administrator — September 11, 2005 @ 2:04 pm