Messages by Susan

The duty of the classroom Monitor is described by Betty, a Chinese English teacher, this way:

Dear Susan:
I am glad to hear from you. In my opinion, the job of the monitor in a class is to be a good example and a good guide, to lead the class to having a good attitude towards studying, and also help teachers to have good classes.
best wishes!
Betty

Meet Join, the Monitor for Class 28, Grade Two. Join is one of two Monitors in his class. His English name is Join and his Chinese name is Qiu Fang Xi. Some of the students take on English names of famous movie stars, pop singers, basketball players, computer game characters, inanimate objects, or, as in Join’s case, verbs.

Glenn, an industrious ESL teacher, was preparing an elaborate set of lessons plans for his detailed semester plan when Billy, his colleague, came by and asked him why he was doing this. “I see no reason,” Billy remarked. “There are no classes for at least another week and besides no one ever checks our work. In fact, at the moment I can’t see any point in what you are doing at all.”
“True,” responded Glenn, “but when the school term resumes, I’ll have other things on my mind than scrambling for ideas.”

It is too late to prepare for action after the school bell chimes.

An ESL teacher was envious of another teacher’s seemingly convenient location, and she thought that her satisfaction with her job was due to the vicinity in which she lived. Therefore, she deserted the high school students in her northern location, where she used to find her livelihood, and travelled to the big city. After arriving, she took to the busy streets for a long walk but it was in vain. Her mood remained as bleak as ever, and she herself left the country because she could not find her customary sense of belonging.

A change of scene cannot bring about a change of nature.

The Little Red Gem Rated by freedom [From CANADA - 3/1/2010]
The most helpful part of the book was the first chapter. In it, the storytellers describe the communist system inside the classroom. Every classroom has an invisible hierarchy that a teacher needs to know about. I taught ESL in China for four years and used the information about the ''players'' in the classroom. Some of the stories were funny and some were eye-openers. It's a quick read on the plane to China.


http://www.bookfinder4u.com/customer_reviews.bfu?isbn=142515915X