What I Do in School

In my blog, I very rarely talk about my work. It is a big part of my experience over here, but for some reason I tend to skip over the details of my time in school. I usually just write about random events or island thoughts that come about, but it is probably a good idea to let you all know about my actual job here in Chuuk.

I am a teacher in elementary school. Well I am kind of a teacher. My official title is Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TESL) Instructor. However, the goal of my Peace Corps program is not just to teach school. If I just come in for a couple of years and teach a class and then leave, my impact is minimal. The only positive effect I have is on the few kids that I get to interact with. So the purpose of our program was expanded; the plan is for us to work with the local teachers and make a sustainable impact.

My real job as I see it is to not to teach English. It is to help the local teachers become better English teachers. This is much more challenging than teaching a class. Creating grammar activities and grading vocabulary tests is the easiest part of my job. Standing in front of a group of kids and telling them about pronouns can present its difficulties, but its really not that tough.

Changing the behavior and habits of experienced teachers however is no easy task. Uprooting an inefficient and ill-equipped system of education and replacing it with new ideas is hard to implement. But this is basically what we are trying to do. I spend most of my efforts trying to integrate techniques, lesson plans and ideas for the other teachers to learn from.

I work with the teachers from 5^th-8^th grade. I teach 45 minutes of English with them alongside. Then they teach another 45 minute period of English following my lesson plan. This allows them to observe my teaching methods first and then practice using lesson plans in their second period. It gives the students a good mix of varied instruction and helps them understand the topic that we are covering.

This set up puts me in a slightly precarious position because it assumes that I am an expert in education. They view me as an expert and I act like I know what I am talking about. But much of the time, I kind of make it up on the fly. Much of the stuff I do is just borrowed from teachers that I had when I was attending school in America. I just use common sense and my knowledge of the American education system to come up with new ideas about the organization and functioning of the school. I also have a large stash of books and guides about teaching English provided by Peace Corps. However, the number one tool that I use to teach the students and the teachers is logic. I look at a curriculum topic or classroom issue and just figure out a solution. I usually don’t know it’s the right solution until I try it, but so far most things have seemed work pretty well. The job is full of frustration and problems, but overall I feel that I have been making a good impact.

My principal and many of my teachers are very willing to work with me. We have made dozens of changes in our school system and countless more in the classroom. I have changed the daily schedule, implemented Open House and Back to School Nights, started athletic and farming projects, written a School Improvement Plan, and had countless meetings with the staff about how to improve our teaching.

But the best sign of success that I have seen is an increase in student performance. I have a handful of students who were failing when I arrived and now are getting A’s and B’s. Our national standardized test scores increased 600% in the last year and we set a school record for having the most students pass a prestigious high school entrance exam.

To my pleasant surprise, I actually do feel like somewhat of an educational expert after these couple years of teaching. Dealing with a pile of problems and coming up with novel solutions has taught me to analyze education from a variety of angles and I have learned plenty in the process. My teaching style in the classroom has proven to be effective and many of the other teachers are emulating my techniques and classroom demeanor. From my work, I have contributed a few things to the teachers and students of my school that I hope will be sustainable.

I am not very good at organization or neatness. I am not very good at planning. I am not very good at following guidelines. What I am good at is explaining things logically and making things fun. Good explanations ensure that changes happen and students learn. Having fun ensures that students come to school and are motivated to be in the classroom. These are my two contributions to my school and I hope they have a lasting impact.