While I am not the most chatty person on the Internet, there are certain blogs that I love to read. One of my absolute favorites is Deb’s The Monster In Your Closet blog. I love how her writing makes me think and helps encourage me. It is from her writing about blogging that I realized […]
You know something that I just realized? I’ve been assisting in Tae Kwon Do classes long enough that the students who will test for their black belts this fall were white belts when I started. One student in particular, I remember as a low belt; reflecting on his progress reminds me of how much things […]
“This is confusing!” The student gaze me a beseeching look, obviously not understanding that section of the form. With every new belt rank, students must learn a new form. Every form becomes a bit more complicated, a bit more advanced. The area that this student was struggling with was a common hang-up for new students. […]
Recently, I learned that by taking an additional 3 classes, I can teach ESOL as well as English. Yes, please! My excitement extends beyond merely having more qualifications to increase my chances at finding a job. I LOVE working with students from different cultures. My dojang (Tae Kwon Do school) is, I believe, the most […]
Excited, scared, stressed, thrilled … that’s my life right now. Next fall, I will officially enter the education program. I will officially be in the school system, working with students (in an ACADEMIC manner, not just TKD!). There’s a lot to do in preparation for this, and that’s stressing me out. I’m so ready to […]
Lately, I’ve been working with several students who do not want to follow directions. They want to play, and will gladly entertain themselves rather than follow the drills. I found myself leaning towards trying to gain compliance; I caught myself saying things like “I need you to focus right now.” That brought me up short. […]
“You can’t do it.” I frequently heard that phrase when I chose to become a teacher. Not only because I was exceedingly shy, but also because I wanted to do more than teach English; I wanted to teach students how to have good lives. I wanted to teach how to persevere and overcome obstacles. […]
It amazes me how much the students can cheer me up, just by being themselves. My own problems seem to melt away, allowing me to live in the moment. A little girl grinned up at me, as if inviting me to share in a joke. I didn’t actually KNOW the joke, because she doesn’t […]
Seeing students improve makes my day! There’s this one student that I’ve been working with over the past couple of months. Granted, I’m not the only one who’s worked with him, so I know my part of helping him improve is probably very small. However, I have seen the little shifts that occurred while […]
The student wasn’t getting the correct foot position for side kick, so I tried to explain what he needed to do. First, I tried to tell him: heel up, toes down. Then I watched him for any signs of improvements as he kicked. (As students typically cannot get it completely right immediately, I watch for […]