Recognize your power

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.