Stop. Talking. Please

Stop. Talking. Please.

Written on 3/16/2015.

"Stop talking please." I must repeat that at least ten times each class, sometimes its feel like its all I say. If my students don't at least know that phrase by the end of the semester, I'll know they must have been absent for most of my classes.

As a 6eme teacher, I have to be very, very patient. 6eme is similar to 6th grade. The students are experience there first year at the CEG (Middle School) and can be a bit of a handful. They haven't been taught skills like how to take organized notes, write things that will help you remember even if they aren't on the board, how to study, or, evidently - that being quite and behaved during class is important.

Part of the reason is that I am a vazaha (foreigner) and because I don't know all of the classroom culture, the students think they can get away with a lot more. The truth is, they can. Friends of mine said it well the other day, when they stated, "You can't be mean with 6eme. You have to be caring. You have to be patient."

Let me tell you, they test my patience everyday. But I am learning to be patient. It took a little bit of time but I have been trying hard to correct them rather than punish them. I remind them that they need to listen in class and write good notes instead of talking because they need to learn. I move students instead of kicking them out. I try to encourage them to learn rather than discourage them from talking.

But, I am still human. And saying "Please stop talking" over and over again does get discouraging.

Not only that, but I recently gave an exam and was very discouraged by the amount of cheating. We were told in pre-service training that cheating is very common here. Especially having another student read your answers because its such a collective community atmosphere and its seen as helping your friend out. Some students also wrote all of the answers on little pieces of paper, or read there notebooks.

When I first noticed all the cheating while I was grading (and some before), I wanted to scold them all immediately and send all the cheaters into the office. But I reminded myself that these students were not taught study skills. They probably have cheated before and gotten away with it. It worked once, it'll work again.

So instead, I thought I would do what I came here to do - teach. I attempted to turn it more into a lesson on how to study. Instead of creating a cheat sheet, they could practice with exercises on another sheet of paper. Instead of copying a friends entire quiz, they could study with their friend.

And lastly, I reminded them that when they cheat, they don't learn it. They might be able to cheat a few times, but eventually you won't be able to and you will find you don't know the information. But, if you pay attention in class and study before the quiz, you'll get a better grade right now, and get a better grade later.

I'm sure cheating and chatting will be a continuous struggle but I must remind myself the importance of being a caring, patient teacher. And in the end, that too will be more beneficial to my students then me being strict and mean. They will learn how to behave better, learn English better, and hopefully be able to reach higher levels of education.

Yay! Teaching!