I AM That Teacher

Midterms are next week, and while I'm confident that most of my students will do well, I always hold high expectations for them, and passing my class requires hard work on their parts. I don't offer extra credit, and what you earn is what you get, regardless of how adorable your little face is.

BUT...I'm starting to notice the things I do that frustrated me in school, and now..I am that teacher.



In my defense, it's a rhetorical question, and they usually don't know how to tell me in English anyway, so..yeah.



They should know the hard way; it will be on the test.



If you're raising your hand, I know you know the answer. Just because you're cute doesn't mean I'm going to let you fly under the radar and hide in the back of the class. Speaking is part of your grade, too, you know.



Sometimes...there is no other way to explain it. If it comes to that, I'm not against having one of the knows-every-answer-to-every-question students translating the word or definition into Thai for the class.



Or, in this case, "In English, please!"



*long discussion about difference between 'can' and 'may'*



Well, yes. They should have. They're old enough to do that.



We do have a bell now, thanks to the scowling dictator in the white habit, and I can't say that I completely disagree with it, but it does make it irritating when it goes off as I'm trying to orderly dismiss my students.



This doesn't usually happen, but every once in a while there's a word in the wrong place, or the sections go A-B-D-E...it happens.



Seriously, there's no way you finished MY midterm exam in 10 minutes without making any mistakes or skipping an entire section. Check it again.



SO annoying.



Well..yeah. The kids need to not only keep their classmate accountable to getting their exam done after school(the next day, because they were likely absent the day of the test), but it also reinforces the everyone-gets-their-grades-when-everyone-has-finished-taking-the-exam.



This is Thailand. Your understanding of the material, and my credibility and value as a teacher, are assessed almost completely by your exam scores and whether or not you finished all of your homework this year. So whine all you want, but if you don't do the work, it shows up in your scores. If you know how to do it so well, your homework shouldn't take you more than 15-20 minutes.