What you are reading now is the first blog I am writing, and I am happy that I am finally doing this. I was quite hesitant about whether I should start blogging, I have been a teacher for over 4 years and love it! During these years I have accumulated a lot of knowledge about teaching that I would like to share with my fellow teachers and educators. But I was not sure how I should start and how I should go about it. During one of my visits to my former employer after having a little chat with her about the idea of blogging she loved it and encouraged me to start writing and sharing blogs. “Look Sarah, you have worked for me before and I have seen how you teach and interact with your students, especially the little ones. You taught students of different age groups and from different countries and cultural backgrounds both online and in the classroom. To be honest I think you should definitely start blogging and sharing your knowledge and teaching experiences. I am sure it will be a great way to connect with other teachers and students and also it will be a great opportunity for you to learn more Sarah!” I was moved by those words and I was also grateful that there is someone who encouraged me and supported me in starting something I wanted to start for a long time. And so, here I am writing my very first blog.
As I mentioned before, I am an ESL teacher. My teaching journey started 4 years ago. During the first year, I was teaching the third, fourth, and fifth grades. The first year was quite challenging as I had to deal with much more than just teaching inside the classroom. I thought that’s all I had to do as a teacher and I kid you not, when I say that that’s all I thought there was to it! But you know what they say, teaching is only 50% of the job. That is 100 % true. There is definitely a lot of lesson planning, grading, correcting papers and worksheets, preparing lessons for different grades, and oh so much more.
In my second year as a teacher, I started teaching kindergarten. At first, I thought, it’s okay Sarah, it's just kindergarten, it’s going to be very easy. They are just 3-5 years old. But soon enough I figured out that it was so challenging as I had to deal with so much more than just teaching them vocabulary words and songs; I had (just like all kindergarten teachers) to teach basic life skills alongside academics and had to maintain a classroom of young children throughout the whole day. All of that was challenging for me during that first year. I am sure all the kindergarten teachers out there will relate to this. However, It was really worth it! Being around those little kids for a whole year made me realize how much I LOVE teaching. YES, YES.. It was hard and challenging but I loved the connection and interaction I had with kids and I chose to keep teaching kindergartners for the next year.
My experience with my third year teaching was fabulous and here is why. My boss was amazing, he was a teacher for over 33 years and he knew what teachers go through, he knew the struggles we face daily, and how many responsibilities lie on our shoulders as educators. I remember he would observe some of my classes and give me accurate feedback after my class was over in the most humane considerate manner. My colleagues were so helpful as well. They were always there for me when I needed help with something. I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to work in such a supportive and encouraging environment.
My fourth year was the beginning of a new journey because I had to leave my country and go teach in another one, so far from home and so different as well. I got my first teaching job in China.
I was all excited about it but also nervous, I knew even before leaving my country that I would be teaching kindergarten in a training center. You might think at this point “Why Sarah wasn’t nervous when she taught kindergarten students for 2 years already”. That is true, one might think after spending 2 years teaching kindergarten you can get the hang of it. But imagine teaching little kids between the ages of 3 and 5 who don’t speak your language, who don’t understand your instructions, and who don’t understand English. It was very difficult during the first 3-4 months for both my students and myself. Aside from the fact that our cultures and backgrounds were totally different, other factors made it challenging. Some kids were completely new and had never been to a kindergarten before. I had students crying in the classroom and asking to go home, I had kids who would ask for their parents to join the class, and also kids who were fighting. I am grateful that I had assistants who would talk to the kids in their mother tongue (Chinese) and try to comfort them.
After some months my little ones got used to their foreign teacher, they just love joining my class and can’t wait for the next one. My Chinese kindergarten students made me realize that no matter where in the world I am teaching, or how different I might be from my students, kindergarten is the grade that I want to keep teaching and having fun with. And that’s what I am still doing up till now. I am still teaching, loving, and enjoying every class, every song, and every event or activity with my kids. I know I said so much about myself but I felt that it was necessary. That’s what this blog is supposed to be about (an introduction to me and my experiences as a teacher).
Now I would like to mention what the future blogs will be about...
Here you can find anything related to teaching especially teaching kindergarten, I will be posting about different topics (storytelling for kids, classroom games and activities, classroom management, tips for first-year kindergarten teachers, fun activities, crafts, and many more).
Well, my blog now comes to an end! Thank you so much for reading it. Don't forget to leave your questions, and comments or share about yourself and your teaching journey. I would love to connect with you and get to know my fellow teachers. If you want to know more about me make sure to follow me on Instagram: @teachersarahscorner and Facebook: Teacher Sarah’s Corner
Thank you and I am proud of you dear teachers.