The power within teachers can not be ignored.
We teach, we model, and we demonstrate behaviors and attitude that are appropriate and proper.
We
love, we care and we protect the students that are placed in our
classrooms. We are changing their lives from the moment they walk into
our classrooms. We have power that can't be ignored.
There
are even more in an Immersion classroom setting than a traditional
classroom. I made this comparison because I have been in tradition
classroom teaching 2nd grade for 6 years.
Immersion
teachers are not only teachers or language teachers but also care
givers. We are resources of new knowledge, new culture, and love for
learning.
Young children spend more time with teachers
than with family members during weekdays. Think about it, they come to
school for 6.5 hours a day. They go home at 3:15 or 3:30. If they go to
bed ideally at 7:30 or 8pm, they only have 4 or 5 hours to spend with
their families. Within these hours, they will also be doing homework,
eating dinner, watching TV, playing sports, and getting ready for bed.
From Monday to Friday, teachers play a very important roll in students'
lives. They hear us, see us, and learn from us.
Since
we have more time with the children, we especially in Immersion
classroom need to create a true immersion environment for our students.
Fill in their daily learning with meaningful conversations, repetitive
language, content related language, thinking out loud, and
encouragement.
See ourselves as caregivers and provide
a fun learning environment. Make it fun is not just for the children,
is also for the teachers. Students spend more time with teachers means
teachers get to be there with students all the time so we need to make
it fun for us too.
For the long hour teaching, we need to make the learning fun, meaningful, and sustainable. We can do it because we have the power.
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