Recently I went to the internet in search for some ideas for games and activities that would help an 8-year-old student learn tablature (a method for writing music for guitar or other stringed instrument players). I was surprised to find nothing useful for a kid, so I decided to do something that I thought I'd never do which is to post some of my ideas for music learning games online so other teachers can take advantage of them. I figured if there isn't much online with regards to teaching tablature, then the music teaching methods I've recently developed largely on my own based on some teaching philosophy I learned while teaching throughout college, studying for my TESOL, and teaching in Istanbul might be beneficial for some teachers out there. And once I come up with some ideas about tablature I'll try and remember to pass those along as well.
Also, just a word to clarify: I don't believe music should be taught from the page. We absorb music mostly through the ear and we create it mostly by a combination of listening and feeling. Written music is largely a way to a) communicate efficiently with other musicians, and b) preserve information that might be lost or forgotten. I wouldn't teach written music except when the student has reached a point where he or she has learned more than I feel is beneficial to have completely memorized.
Anyway, onto some of the teaching methods!
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1) Spin is one of my favorite games to play with a group of students, although it doesn't work very well one-on-one. You need a lot of space to play this one, but, as you'll see, I often try and utilize the entire room as often as I can with these exercises.
I have my students, who at this point know two or three guitar chords, strum one chord while sitting in their chairs. Then I name another chord and yell, "Spin!" Everyone (including the teacher of course) stands up with the guitar and runs around his or her chair. After sitting down again, the first student to correctly play the chord I named earns a point.
The point of the physical action of "spinning" is to encourage students to forget the shape of the first chord - indeed, the shape of any chord - and start completely from scratch when sitting down, forcing them to reconstruct the chord shape without any finger positions from previous chords as references. Also, and more importantly in my mind, the spinning enhances the student's physical connection with guitar chords as well as the mental connection. And of course this game can be played with musical forms other than chords and with instruments other than the guitar. Later the students can take turns being the leader, which allows the teacher to make "mistakes" and "get caught" by an alert student leader, further reinforcing relationships with the chords.
2) Up and Down Game is a quick game that works well when the student leads, designed to familiarize a student with the difference in the sounds of an up strum and a down strum on guitar. It can also be used with ultimate beginners to introduce the concept of low notes and high notes.
It's very simple: if the leader strums up, the followers go up (usually they sit down at the start). If the leader strums down, they go down. If the leader strums up and the followers are already on their tiptoes (I try to discourage standing on chairs and tables), then the followers have no choice but to jump up, which can be very fun for a student who wants to repeatedly strum up and force their teacher to bounce up and down - even more fun if the teacher pretends it's torture! If the leader strums down and everyone's already lying on the ground, they have to press their cheeks into the ground. And - best of all! - if the leader strums up and down and up and down as fast as they can, then the followers look like bunnies, crouched and hopping in place.
This game can't keep a student's attention for too long, but it accomplishes one of my favorite things: pairing a concept with a physical action. This game is based somewhat on a great method called Total Physical Response (TPR), which essentially attempts to create connections in students' minds between certain ideas (be they vocabulary words, names of the guitar strings, letters of the alphabet, or what have you) and specific physical actions they either performed or witnessed. This game is a very simplified extraction of that method.
3) String Stations is a way to help a student become acquainted with the names of the guitar strings, although it could be applied to just about any particular concept.
First the students create 6 full page drawings - one for each string - with a large name of each string in the middle, EADGBE (the two Es can be Etop and Ebottom or whatever nomenclature works best for the student). If there are multiple students, divide the work between them. The students use the letter to draw a picture of a word that starts with that letter: E is for elephant, A is for apple, and so on. The students should make each of their 6 pictures very distinct from each of the others.
Then tape these pictures to surfaces all around the room. Use as much space as there is! Make sure the students know where these "stations" are, or even let them make the stations themselves. Then the teacher plays an open string, and the students race to the corresponding picture. This can be a lot of trial and error for students who are new to string names, but it's amazing how fast they catch on. And as they get the hang of it I can play the next string as they're arriving at a station, making them run nonstop throughout the room.
I've found this game works great for a couple different reasons. First, by utilizing the wide room, it provides a nice contrast to focused sit-and-play. Likewise, this game can wear students out (or rile them up depending on who they are) and prepare their minds for a coming focused exercise. This game also includes art, which facilitates even another connection for students between the music concept and something of their own design. It's very important to me that my students make their own unique meaningful connections with the concepts at hand, and this use of artistic creativity as associated with a musical idea creates that kind of meaningful connection. And, once again, this game is quasi-TPR, forcing the learners to associate a string's name with a physical area of the room.
4) Hidden Chord Stations uses the same kind of stations idea as the String Stations, but in a hide-and-seek context. Again, it isn't limited to teaching chords, although that is where I have used it most often.
The student can prepare papers with the names of chords on them, designed to mean something particular for the students as in the above exercise. Then, while the students are out of the room or with eyes closed, the teacher or another student hides the papers throughout the room. When the students search for the papers, each time they find a paper they play the appropriate chord before searching for the others.
Alternatively, using some origami folding skills, the teacher can have the students (or prepare beforehand) fold the chord papers into unique shapes. Here I find it important to use multiples of the same chord, using the same origami and pen colors for each page, further creating a connection in the students' minds between the exercise and the specific chords. I also like to put the chord name somewhere hidden so students have to search for it. Eventually, after enough times through this game, students know which origami shape corresponds to which chord without needing to search.
This activity has many of the same merits as the String Stations game does, although there are some important differences. Unlike with String Stations, this game requires more calm focus from students and less running around, even though the hiding places utilize the entire space. Hidden Chord Stations is often best followed by a game that uses more of a direct TPR focus, or just something that helps students get their yah yahs out. Finally, this game flows directly into songs very well if you have enough chord papers to cover each of the song's sections. Like a puzzle, the students can arrange the origami chords, once found, into the correct order for the song, creating what's basically arrangeable written music. (I plan on using a similar technique to tackle my tablature problem.)
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That's enough for now. I hope someone finds some of these ideas to be useful, and if so I might decide to post some more, perhaps directed at instruments other than the guitar or different age groups that aren't so proficient with pen and paper. In the meantime, enjoy these activities!
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Education System Of Ages
Today's Doonesbury comic so brilliantly sums up my teaching experience in Turkey as well as the direction of education for the wealthy. My favorite is panel 6.
True, I hadn't been teaching in university, but the end result was nearly the same: a school where the point of education was to placate students and parents (and retain their tuition for the following year). Real learning and growth wasn't nearly as important as the appearance that learning and growth were taking place. Who knows what kind of world it will be when the students from that system enter the workforce. Good job, for-profit education!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Inception Revisited
Today was the last day of school, and the least emotional last day of anything-child-related I've ever seen. Everyone's worn out, everyone's ready for summer, and no one is missing anyone else to the point of tears - the only tears I saw came when report cards were handed out. I did get a bouquet of yellow flowers from a 4th grader, but most of my things are in boxes now and I had nowhere to put them, so I gave them to a friend after school. Later today a good handful of us English teachers are getting together for an expensive dinner with canlı müzik to say goodbye to the 8-strong of us who aren't returning.
At the beginning of my stay in Turkey, before school had even started, I wrote a post comparing teaching with the hit film "Inception." I essentially argued that the characters' nearly impossible goal of planting an idea in someone else's head in a way that feels authentic and original to that person was a teacher's daily job. Our task is to help students understand new meanings on their own terms, meaning we can't spell things out for them or feed them a steady stream of facts, but instead we must allow new information to enter our students in the way they learn best; in other words, they take knowledge and make it their own. The teacher is just a guide.
When I made it into the classroom and thrust myself into a full year of teaching at this school, all the theories evaporated into the idealistic past. In the reality of the classroom in this school (as Turkish teachers complain as well) was constant noise, disrespect, and essentially anarchy. A successful lesson wasn't one where students truly learned something new but one where they all just shut up and stopped throwing things for a few minutes, providing for just a brief moment the environment that makes it possible to learn. Anyway, I could go on and on about how difficult "teaching" was (the Turkish teachers agree with me when I say we aren't teachers because they actually stop us from teaching - they say it's like day care, but I've worked day care before where students allowed themselves to learn). I think I must have in other posts even though I've held off criticizing my school publicly while I was working there.
So did I perform inception this year? Surely I didn't do it every day as I'd hoped would happen. I certainly gained a new appreciation from one of "Inception's" character's belief that the mind can always trace the genesis of an idea to its source and therefore expel a planted idea. Because I taught 12 and 13 year old students I quickly got used to my words and ideas being rejected simply because they were mine. Many of my students really wouldn't have let themselves retain anything if they thought I was the source. Here's an example: at the end of the year we watched a film adaptation of a book we read, and one girl complained every class as if she'd rather have done worksheets than watch this film. But once the picture started she couldn't look away, even though I gave her permission to do a quiet activity instead. Even if she subconsciously enjoyed it, her conscious mind would never let her admit this to her friends or herself.
Sometimes an idea gains its power because the mind knows where it came from. Sometimes a thought who comes from a person you deeply admire or a friend or maybe even someone you don't even know but had a particularly provocative thought can be incorporated into a life. And it is argued of course no idea is completely original to begin with, so even if we're not quite sure where a thought came from that doesn't mean it's unique. And there were a handful of students who were, thank goodness, inspired to excel in their English lessons - not the ones who needed it the most, sadly - either by family tradition, personal diligence, interest in English language entertainment media, or, as was the case for a couple, because of me.
So I guess I did perform inception... to an extent. I never actively put forth the idea that English is fun and interesting in such a direct manner to anyone but their parents; such a proclamation would instantly trigger a classroom full of pre-teen rebellious instincts. But my energy and youth (not tooting my own horn - those are my two strongest attributes as a teacher that almost make up for my inexperience) brought a couple of students - just a couple - to that conclusion all on their own. A couple of specific grammar points came through by way of inception as well, but that was rare. It's true: inception is hard! Maybe not as hard as was dramatized in the film, but still hard. And it does impart knowledge that stays with a student in an emotional process - that's why it has to be the teacher's goal, even if at times it feels out of reach.
At the beginning of my stay in Turkey, before school had even started, I wrote a post comparing teaching with the hit film "Inception." I essentially argued that the characters' nearly impossible goal of planting an idea in someone else's head in a way that feels authentic and original to that person was a teacher's daily job. Our task is to help students understand new meanings on their own terms, meaning we can't spell things out for them or feed them a steady stream of facts, but instead we must allow new information to enter our students in the way they learn best; in other words, they take knowledge and make it their own. The teacher is just a guide.
When I made it into the classroom and thrust myself into a full year of teaching at this school, all the theories evaporated into the idealistic past. In the reality of the classroom in this school (as Turkish teachers complain as well) was constant noise, disrespect, and essentially anarchy. A successful lesson wasn't one where students truly learned something new but one where they all just shut up and stopped throwing things for a few minutes, providing for just a brief moment the environment that makes it possible to learn. Anyway, I could go on and on about how difficult "teaching" was (the Turkish teachers agree with me when I say we aren't teachers because they actually stop us from teaching - they say it's like day care, but I've worked day care before where students allowed themselves to learn). I think I must have in other posts even though I've held off criticizing my school publicly while I was working there.
So did I perform inception this year? Surely I didn't do it every day as I'd hoped would happen. I certainly gained a new appreciation from one of "Inception's" character's belief that the mind can always trace the genesis of an idea to its source and therefore expel a planted idea. Because I taught 12 and 13 year old students I quickly got used to my words and ideas being rejected simply because they were mine. Many of my students really wouldn't have let themselves retain anything if they thought I was the source. Here's an example: at the end of the year we watched a film adaptation of a book we read, and one girl complained every class as if she'd rather have done worksheets than watch this film. But once the picture started she couldn't look away, even though I gave her permission to do a quiet activity instead. Even if she subconsciously enjoyed it, her conscious mind would never let her admit this to her friends or herself.
Sometimes an idea gains its power because the mind knows where it came from. Sometimes a thought who comes from a person you deeply admire or a friend or maybe even someone you don't even know but had a particularly provocative thought can be incorporated into a life. And it is argued of course no idea is completely original to begin with, so even if we're not quite sure where a thought came from that doesn't mean it's unique. And there were a handful of students who were, thank goodness, inspired to excel in their English lessons - not the ones who needed it the most, sadly - either by family tradition, personal diligence, interest in English language entertainment media, or, as was the case for a couple, because of me.
So I guess I did perform inception... to an extent. I never actively put forth the idea that English is fun and interesting in such a direct manner to anyone but their parents; such a proclamation would instantly trigger a classroom full of pre-teen rebellious instincts. But my energy and youth (not tooting my own horn - those are my two strongest attributes as a teacher that almost make up for my inexperience) brought a couple of students - just a couple - to that conclusion all on their own. A couple of specific grammar points came through by way of inception as well, but that was rare. It's true: inception is hard! Maybe not as hard as was dramatized in the film, but still hard. And it does impart knowledge that stays with a student in an emotional process - that's why it has to be the teacher's goal, even if at times it feels out of reach.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A Day In Green Bursa
Before I do my little piece on my day trip to Bursa, I want to get this out of the way:
Today is the general election in Turkey. If AK Parti wins enough of the vote, it will gain the power to change the constitution. I've never lived in the place of such an important election; even when the government collapsed while I was in Italy, it wasn't nearly as devastating as a huge AK Parti victory might be. I'm holding my breath.
Now, on to Bursa:
Yesterday I left with a fellow teacher, Paola, at 6:00 am to catch an early ferry to Bursa. I've always been interested in the birthplace of Iskender Kabap, and it's close enough to Istanbul to be able to see in a day trip. However, Paola wasn't going to sight-see. She's an oral examiner for Cambridge, and she was going with a group of examiners and ushers from British Side, a language school and organization that administers English exams. I was just tagging along because I don't know how to take the ferry to Bursa.
It turned out that they needed some help ushering the students to the examination rooms, so I decided to work for them for half the day before heading into the city and being a tourist. It was a gratifying feeling to earn my passage to and from Bursa and to work in very tangible way for that day's trip - There's something special about working for that day's dinner, so to speak. Plus, Bursa is really beautiful. It's built crawling up a huge mountain, Uludağ, which is about 8,500 feet tall and is a national park famous for skiing in the winter. Bursa's nickname is Yeşil Bursa (Green Bursa), and you'll see why in the pictures:
The historic clock tower that looks out over the city.
Inside the Koza Han
Inside the Grand Mosque. This is an incredible mosque for two reasons. The first is those amazing and huge calligraphy tablets that are everywhere, on every wall and every column. Most of them seem to point upwards.
The second reason this mosque is so special is the ablutions fountain, actually inside the mosque. The dome it is under lets in an unusual amount of natural light for a mosque, and it gives both the feeling of openness and welcoming.
This was not so welcoming: a sign showing which way to the women's prayer area, which is tiny and only facing a couple of the amazing calligraphic tiles (or whatever those things are called).
Another example of how big those things are.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Sick Day
Yesterday, with only 8 teaching days left in the school year to go, I took my first sick day of the year. It's a little disappointing that I wasn't able to go the entire year without taking a day off - it's a personal goal of mine to have a better attendance record than any of my students, just as I had a better attendance record than my professors in college. But my voice just wouldn't work and it made me really crabby in a situation that should be more fun than work. Exams are over and many students have started early vacations, bringing many of my classes down to 12 or even less students (I had a wonderful class of 7 the other day).
In a normal work environment I would have taken many more sick days, but the culture here looks down on taking time off for illness. For example, I was feeling terrible on Monday and decided I'd try teaching to see if I could make it through the day and take off if I couldn't. When I decided I needed to leave half way through the day, my department head convinced me to stay for the rest of the day, where I strained my voice so badly that I didn't even have to wait for the next morning to announce that I wouldn't be coming in. If I had just taken my half day off, I would've been able to work yesterday.
This mentality is in line with the students who, with a spot of scrapped skin that's not even bleeding, throw a tantrum until they're allowed to go to the nurse's office, from which they return 15 minutes later with their hand wrapped in gauze. When you're sick, even just a little bit, the answer is similarly 0verblown: medicate, medicate, medicate, but don't stop working! When I was sick earlier in the year with a normal flu I was given 3 separate antibiotics. Now that's just unnecessary.
Now let's see if I can make it through the rest of the week without making myself any worse.
In a normal work environment I would have taken many more sick days, but the culture here looks down on taking time off for illness. For example, I was feeling terrible on Monday and decided I'd try teaching to see if I could make it through the day and take off if I couldn't. When I decided I needed to leave half way through the day, my department head convinced me to stay for the rest of the day, where I strained my voice so badly that I didn't even have to wait for the next morning to announce that I wouldn't be coming in. If I had just taken my half day off, I would've been able to work yesterday.
This mentality is in line with the students who, with a spot of scrapped skin that's not even bleeding, throw a tantrum until they're allowed to go to the nurse's office, from which they return 15 minutes later with their hand wrapped in gauze. When you're sick, even just a little bit, the answer is similarly 0verblown: medicate, medicate, medicate, but don't stop working! When I was sick earlier in the year with a normal flu I was given 3 separate antibiotics. Now that's just unnecessary.
Now let's see if I can make it through the rest of the week without making myself any worse.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
New Turkish Football Champions
On Sunday Fenerbahçe won the Turkish League Championship. I really couldn't care less about the football teams ("soccer" for all y'all Americans out there), but as it's one of the three main rival Istanbul teams (along with Beşiktaş - who won the Turkish cup but didn't get crowned champion - and Galatasaray) it's impossible not to get caught up in the crazy all-day-all-night celebrations going on throughout the city. And yesterday in school many students and at least one teacher came dressed in Fenerbahçe garb. Not to mention the fact that the class bell was changed to the Fnerbahçe rally song. So whenever the song came on, supposedly signalling the start of a lesson, Fenerbahçe fans would dance and shout while non-Fenerbahçe fans would scream in apparent agony. And of course I had to break up an impending fight or two.
Can I say WTF? For those of you who don't know, these Istanbul team loyalties are diehard in a way Boston Red Sox fans only pretend to be when the Yankees are in town. So when the school deliberately chose to celebrate one team over the others, it broke the school into three factions (and the fourth silent group who just doesn't give a shit about football) and intentionally shoved two of those factions' faces into the dirt. Thank you, school, for encouraging this type of behavior in our students. Of course I don't mind supporting a team, but not in this disrespectful and confrontational way.
Can I say WTF? For those of you who don't know, these Istanbul team loyalties are diehard in a way Boston Red Sox fans only pretend to be when the Yankees are in town. So when the school deliberately chose to celebrate one team over the others, it broke the school into three factions (and the fourth silent group who just doesn't give a shit about football) and intentionally shoved two of those factions' faces into the dirt. Thank you, school, for encouraging this type of behavior in our students. Of course I don't mind supporting a team, but not in this disrespectful and confrontational way.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Semester's End
There's no time to talk, barely enough time to share photos. I remembered to bring my camera to the last day of school before the holiday, and I got some nice pictures I can remember my students by once this crazy adventure is over. Here they are:
Now that vacation has started I'm not going to keep such good care of this blog. I hope you can forgive me if the best I can do is a few picture collections when I have the time to stop for an hour or so (like right now). I'm currently in Sultanahmet, Istanbul, but in a couple days I'm going to be headed for Selçuk, then Izmir, then Goreme in Kapadokya, and finally back to Istanbul with a few days to mentally prepare for the second semester (in which there are very few, if any, breaks from school).
Now that vacation has started I'm not going to keep such good care of this blog. I hope you can forgive me if the best I can do is a few picture collections when I have the time to stop for an hour or so (like right now). I'm currently in Sultanahmet, Istanbul, but in a couple days I'm going to be headed for Selçuk, then Izmir, then Goreme in Kapadokya, and finally back to Istanbul with a few days to mentally prepare for the second semester (in which there are very few, if any, breaks from school).
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Proud Of My Students
Here's the bad news:
This morning I got my finger stuck in the door of the school bus. I'm pretty lucky it was as minor as it was, but the tip was mutilated pretty bad. It was kind of fun in a way, trying to stay calm and keep it together in front of the kids, asking for tissues and water in English, then remembering that I needed Turkish. Okay, fine. It wasn't very fun. It was ridiculously painful, and there's still a dull pain under the bandage as I get ready for bed. But it must have been kind of funny for someone else to watch our poor Hostess Abla (the woman who coordinates the bus I ride) juggle the first aid kit that she probably hasn't used very often as well as welcoming the kids and ushering them to the back of the bus, away from the action.
Needless to say, I went to the nurse as soon as we got to school (don't worry, Mom, I do have some common sense). A couple of my 5th grade students were there, a girl who twisted her ankle and her friends, and they were all a great help with the nurse, who speaks less English than I speak Turkish. They were very good with translating the medical instructions into English for me - take this pill when it gets really bad; come back every day to change the bandage, and during the semester vacation it should be better; hold your hand like this on your chest for 15-20 minutes. And the best part was that these were not my best English speakers (though all good students, of course!), and they were still able to work between the two languages in this outside-the-classroom real-world situation.
It made me feel confident that most of my students are going to leave my class functioning on a high level of English. I mean, isn't this kind of situation that I'm training them for in the first place? It gave me a new confidence in the job I'm doing here.
And here's the good news:
Semester holiday is coming soon. Haha! All you fools who've been back to work after MLK day, writhe in jealousy! I will be seeing the beautiful sights in Turkey while you slave away in your offices or whatever it is my readers do... flying to space, curing cancer, forging world peace, or whatever other awesome things you're up to. I'm on vacation in 3 days!
As I said, I will probably not be writing much during my 2-week holiday. However, on Friday we have a half-day at school and it's casual dress, plus no real classes. I'm not going forget my camera again, and when I don't you can bet I'll post the pictures of my beautiful English-speaking students for all of you to see.
Now, get back to work! Haha!
This morning I got my finger stuck in the door of the school bus. I'm pretty lucky it was as minor as it was, but the tip was mutilated pretty bad. It was kind of fun in a way, trying to stay calm and keep it together in front of the kids, asking for tissues and water in English, then remembering that I needed Turkish. Okay, fine. It wasn't very fun. It was ridiculously painful, and there's still a dull pain under the bandage as I get ready for bed. But it must have been kind of funny for someone else to watch our poor Hostess Abla (the woman who coordinates the bus I ride) juggle the first aid kit that she probably hasn't used very often as well as welcoming the kids and ushering them to the back of the bus, away from the action.
Needless to say, I went to the nurse as soon as we got to school (don't worry, Mom, I do have some common sense). A couple of my 5th grade students were there, a girl who twisted her ankle and her friends, and they were all a great help with the nurse, who speaks less English than I speak Turkish. They were very good with translating the medical instructions into English for me - take this pill when it gets really bad; come back every day to change the bandage, and during the semester vacation it should be better; hold your hand like this on your chest for 15-20 minutes. And the best part was that these were not my best English speakers (though all good students, of course!), and they were still able to work between the two languages in this outside-the-classroom real-world situation.
It made me feel confident that most of my students are going to leave my class functioning on a high level of English. I mean, isn't this kind of situation that I'm training them for in the first place? It gave me a new confidence in the job I'm doing here.
And here's the good news:
Semester holiday is coming soon. Haha! All you fools who've been back to work after MLK day, writhe in jealousy! I will be seeing the beautiful sights in Turkey while you slave away in your offices or whatever it is my readers do... flying to space, curing cancer, forging world peace, or whatever other awesome things you're up to. I'm on vacation in 3 days!
As I said, I will probably not be writing much during my 2-week holiday. However, on Friday we have a half-day at school and it's casual dress, plus no real classes. I'm not going forget my camera again, and when I don't you can bet I'll post the pictures of my beautiful English-speaking students for all of you to see.
Now, get back to work! Haha!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Translating A Word
Today me and a coworker looked at a number of definitions for the Turkish word "Fenomen," the title of my latest First Regrets song. The consensus is that the definition is actually "Phenomenon," not "Talent" as I had originally thought. Now I can see how obviously they link up I feel I should have guessed the meaning from the beginning, though I know from Spanish to avoid false cognates (Embarazada does NOT mean "Embarrassed!" Also, in Turkish "Pasta" means "Cake," so I've been afraid of going to Italian restaurants and ordering the wrong thing.). Still, I put "Talent" into the lyrics, and now it just sounds kind of dumb. Whoops!
While "Fenomen" has a fairly straightforward translation because of the similar origin to the English word, most words are not so easy to find other language equivalents. This is how I've always felt language learning goes, in three stages: 1) Translation. Tatlı = sweet, both in the noun and verb form. 2) Finding the differences between the usages of that word. Tatlı can also be used to describe something little and cute, like a puppy. Also not a great thing to say to a girl (tatlısın) because it has deeply romantic connotation. 3) Automatic association. Tatlı doesn't mean sweet - it means tatlı.
I'm going to have some dessert now. Cheers!
While "Fenomen" has a fairly straightforward translation because of the similar origin to the English word, most words are not so easy to find other language equivalents. This is how I've always felt language learning goes, in three stages: 1) Translation. Tatlı = sweet, both in the noun and verb form. 2) Finding the differences between the usages of that word. Tatlı can also be used to describe something little and cute, like a puppy. Also not a great thing to say to a girl (tatlısın) because it has deeply romantic connotation. 3) Automatic association. Tatlı doesn't mean sweet - it means tatlı.
I'm going to have some dessert now. Cheers!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Visit From A Basketball Celebrity
You might remember me complaining in an earlier post that I was disappointed that I missed Utah Jazz star Mehmet Okur's visit to Bahçeşehir College last year. Well, today I was in for a surprise: Kerem Tunçeri, the starting point guard on the Turkish National Team, dropped by for a question-answer seminar with our students. Okur didn't play in the FIBA international basketball tournament because of injury (as has been the case for much of this year's NBA season, too), so Tunçeri is probably more of a celebrity in this country. The students were pumped up to see him - one burst into tears when he wasn't chosen to ask a question after the first 5 minutes, then burst into tears again when Tunçeri didn't have time to give signatures to the students outside of our basketball team (one clever student got him to sign his basketball when no one was looking).
Tunçeri is most famous for his game-winning basket (I like this video better but I don't know if it works in the States) in the final seconds against Serbia in the semifinals of the 2010 FIBA world basketball tournament, allowing Turkey to advance to the finals and play against the United States (thanks to Kevin Durant, that was the end of Turkey's run).
Two of my 5th grade girls were so smitten that they couldn't focus in our lesson - one was devastated that he's married, and a boy from the basketball team was taunting her by saying how Tunçeri patted his head during the photo shoot with our basketball team.
How can I even try to have a lesson after such an exciting day?
On another note, I fixed the email subscription problem. Now if you enter your email in the email subscription box on the left, you should be alerted every time I post something new, and NOTHING ELSE! Finally!
(P.S. When a lot of people look at that video, they insist that Tunçeri stepped out of bounds and the basket shouldn't count. Well, folks, that's what happens when Serbia plays such awful defense while Turkey has home court advantage.)
(P.P.S. I'm taller than Tunçeri. That's so weird!)
Tunçeri is most famous for his game-winning basket (I like this video better but I don't know if it works in the States) in the final seconds against Serbia in the semifinals of the 2010 FIBA world basketball tournament, allowing Turkey to advance to the finals and play against the United States (thanks to Kevin Durant, that was the end of Turkey's run).
Two of my 5th grade girls were so smitten that they couldn't focus in our lesson - one was devastated that he's married, and a boy from the basketball team was taunting her by saying how Tunçeri patted his head during the photo shoot with our basketball team.
How can I even try to have a lesson after such an exciting day?
On another note, I fixed the email subscription problem. Now if you enter your email in the email subscription box on the left, you should be alerted every time I post something new, and NOTHING ELSE! Finally!
(P.S. When a lot of people look at that video, they insist that Tunçeri stepped out of bounds and the basket shouldn't count. Well, folks, that's what happens when Serbia plays such awful defense while Turkey has home court advantage.)
(P.P.S. I'm taller than Tunçeri. That's so weird!)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
New Year's Photos
The view from my apartment window on a foggy 2011 night
At long last I had a prep lesson the same time as my coworker Melek (meaning Angel), a social studies teacher who also is the homeroom teacher my 6-D class. If you don't remember, I totally forgot my camera during the New Year's Eve celebration at school, and ever since I've been trying to mooch off Melek's photos of the occasion. Now that we finally met up and I got hold of her photos, I can share the cream of the crop with you. Since these are Melek's photos, naturally she's going to appear in a fair amount of them. Enjoy!
Me with the 6-C girls: Seren, Beril, Melek Teacher, and Başak
Atilla (5-D), Emre (5-B), Ege (5-B), Erkan (5-B), and Melek Teacher. Atilla and Emre are on the basketball team.
Me, Cem (5-B), Melek Teacher, Alara (6-D), and Efecan (5-A). I don't know why Efecan looks so rigid.
Sabri Mert (6-D), Yiğit (5-A), Cem (5-B), Mehmet (5-C), Mertcan (5-C), Efecan (5-A), Melek Teacher, Oğuz (5-A), Arda (5-A), Kemal (5-C), and Bora (5-C). Yes, Mertcan and Efecan are twins.
Berkay (5-B) dancing like it's 2011
There is no way to accurately label this photo. These students are mostly from 5-B, but Hürkan with the Town Universe shirt is from 6-D.
6-D in their classroom. Ibrahim, Tuvanna, Hürkan (blurry and blocking out Özgecan), Baran, Sabri Mert, Bartu, Melek Teacher, Alara, Ekin, Ece S, Aleyna, and Ece E behind İdil. Beliz is sitting in the front. 6-D is my very artistic class and many of the students draw comics in class all the time. I love it. I tell them that they can answer the questions in comic form instead of sentence form if they want, as long as there's English. Sabri Mert, Hürkan, and Baran are the most prolific graphic novelists in the group (along with Atilla who wasn't here this day).
The music students. I don't know anyone in the top row because they're in 7th grade. From the second row: Başak (5-A), Berkay (5-B), Mert (5-D), and Göktuğ (5-C). From the bottom row: Sena (5-A), Enes (6-B), and Baran (5-B). Enes is on the basketball team.
Kızlar! On the far left is Gülen (6-A). Top row: Güneş and Aybüke (6-C), Setenay (6-B), and Beliz (6-D). Bottom row: Nehir (6-A), Merve (6-B), Melek Teacher, and İdil (6-D).
My dancers! These are the 4th grade winners, my students from 4-D. In the back are Deniz and Berkay. In the front are Orhun and Berk. Berk was really the star, and this photo catches him in the middle of some heavy duty breakdancing as Orhun tries to keep up. This group was better than any of the 5th grade or 6th grade groups, in my opinion.
These are the winning dancers from 5th grade. In the back are Neslihan (5-D) and Şevval (5-A). In the front are Mina (5-A) and Zeynep (5-A). Memory tells me there was a fifth dancer, but sadly I don't remember who she was. Neslihan was the star of this group, collapsing into the splits at a key moment of the song.
The dance winners from the 6th grade. In the back are Deniz (6-A), Naz (6-B), and Cansu (6-C). In the front are Gülen (6-A), Renan (6-B), and Aysu (6-C). Cansu and Aysu are twins. I think I teach 3 pairs of twins in total, but they're the only two who are in the same class. Renan is the daughter of one of my coworkers.
I also have couple pieces of news to share with you all. First, electronic artist Flying Lotus just came out with this super cool technology that I think musicians should start adopting, assuming it works efficiently. According to this article, Flying Lotus is giving away his music, but only to people who can prove they bought his latest CD, Cosmogramma. If you go to this website called Trigger, you can take a webcam picture of your copy of Cosmogramma, using image recognition software to unlock a collection of exclusive tracks to the CD. I don't know how soon it will be before these tracks leak to the public anyway, but I think this is a great idea and is a creative way to add incentive for actually buying albums.
Unfortunately I can't try it out myself. My copy of Cosmogramma is in the US.
And finally, when I log off I'm going to record some lyrics, the last thing standing between my newest song, "Centuries Old," and your computer. Heck, by the time you read this you probably be able to hear it right now on my First Regrets MySpace page. If not, try again in an hour or two. I'm really close.
UPDATE: The song is now up on the First Regrets MySpace page. Go there now.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Busy Start Of 2011
After getting food poisoning and throwing up for the first time since grade school (I can count the time in terms of decades!) on New Year's Day, I've met 2011 head on with a surprisingly difficult workload. This week is the week of speaking exams, a deceptively difficult excuse not to have to teach. Yes, at first I was excited to have the chance to deal with the students one on one rather in their destructive and gratuitously loud groups, but giving 40 students a 6-minute speaking exam turns out to be much more trying on my patience (my one-word resolution) than giving 5-7 lessons to 120-140 students. Partly because I have to give the same exact exam over and over and over again. By the end my head is aching with so much repetition that I feel like opening the window and yelling.
Needless to say, Socrates doesn't understand why I'm not in the mood to pet him when I get home.
It also means I've had no time to acquire the New Year's Eve photos from my co-teacher friend... so unfortunately we'll have to wait for those, too.
Luckily, for 2011 I've vowed patience.
Going out for some deep breaths now.
Needless to say, Socrates doesn't understand why I'm not in the mood to pet him when I get home.
It also means I've had no time to acquire the New Year's Eve photos from my co-teacher friend... so unfortunately we'll have to wait for those, too.
Luckily, for 2011 I've vowed patience.
Going out for some deep breaths now.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year Postponed
In America, the New Year is at a very strategic place, namely half-way through the school year. That means there's been a little bit of relaxing vacation time, and therefore time to think about the great and not-so-great events of the past year and our grand hopes for the year to come. New Years Resolutions abound, self-reflection ensues, followed by a strange mixture of optimism and fear.
We don't get that here in Istanbul. I worked today, New Year's Eve, and it turns out people work tomorrow too. In fact, we don't have a semester vacation until the very end of January. We're still right in the thick of things, making it a little harder to find a clear mind and enough time for some serious heavy-duty reflection.
When we in the English department exchanged gifts, we each shared a one word wish for 2011 (someone had already chosen peace and health, so I, put on the spot, went with "fun"*). Many people chose health or wealth, making me wonder if their Turkish connotations are similar.
Anyway, if you have a moment to add a comment, please be so kind as to share a one word New Year's wish with my other readers. I'm curious to know what you all want. And while we're at it, think of a one-word New Year's Resolution as well - mine's "patience." Thanks!
I should say before I sign off, when I say I "worked" today, I use the word in the loosest sense. Today was a half day, and there were no lessons, just a dance party, a raffle, and a concert. All I had to do was watch and mull over how dumb it was to forget my camera (I'm going to borrow some photos another teacher took, so hold your horses folks). Plus it was casual day, so everyone dressed in jeans - but it was announced in Turkish so I came dressed as always, suit and tie. I wore the shirt my "secret Santa" gave me, but later untucked it and yanked the tie off to fit in more with the other casually-dressed teachers. Some of my students took the initiative to dress sloppily, while others, largely the girls, wore the jewelery and dazzling clothing they'd always wanted to. Having to wear a uniform to school each day must be a real drag.
I can't believe I forgot my camera.
*P.S. I think it's definitely a symptom of my generation to rate "fun" so high on the priority list. Sometimes I think it's strange that we live in a world where one of the worst things to be is bored. It's even strange to me that boredom exists at all; it's not natural.
We don't get that here in Istanbul. I worked today, New Year's Eve, and it turns out people work tomorrow too. In fact, we don't have a semester vacation until the very end of January. We're still right in the thick of things, making it a little harder to find a clear mind and enough time for some serious heavy-duty reflection.
When we in the English department exchanged gifts, we each shared a one word wish for 2011 (someone had already chosen peace and health, so I, put on the spot, went with "fun"*). Many people chose health or wealth, making me wonder if their Turkish connotations are similar.
Anyway, if you have a moment to add a comment, please be so kind as to share a one word New Year's wish with my other readers. I'm curious to know what you all want. And while we're at it, think of a one-word New Year's Resolution as well - mine's "patience." Thanks!
I should say before I sign off, when I say I "worked" today, I use the word in the loosest sense. Today was a half day, and there were no lessons, just a dance party, a raffle, and a concert. All I had to do was watch and mull over how dumb it was to forget my camera (I'm going to borrow some photos another teacher took, so hold your horses folks). Plus it was casual day, so everyone dressed in jeans - but it was announced in Turkish so I came dressed as always, suit and tie. I wore the shirt my "secret Santa" gave me, but later untucked it and yanked the tie off to fit in more with the other casually-dressed teachers. Some of my students took the initiative to dress sloppily, while others, largely the girls, wore the jewelery and dazzling clothing they'd always wanted to. Having to wear a uniform to school each day must be a real drag.
I can't believe I forgot my camera.
*P.S. I think it's definitely a symptom of my generation to rate "fun" so high on the priority list. Sometimes I think it's strange that we live in a world where one of the worst things to be is bored. It's even strange to me that boredom exists at all; it's not natural.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Best You Can Isn't Always Good Enough
Note: Gratuitous generalizations to come shortly.
There's a lot about America I'm critical of, as my readers probably know, but one thing I love about it is the philosophy that if you work hard enough anything is possible. It's a wonderful thing to believe, that no matter what you're born with it's within your power as a human being to achieve whatever you want. It's also a cornerstone of my teaching philosophy; I make it clear that I value the hardworking student far more than the student who's naturally good at English but slacks off.
As the Radiohead song goes, "You can try the best you can, you can try the best you can. The best is good enough." (P.S. I know they're not American)
But today I saw a perfect example of how, while this is a good belief to embrace, it's important to realize the world doesn't follow it like a law of science. At lunchtime the results of yesterday's dance competition were posted, announcing who had made the finals (taking place on December 28). The 4th graders I had been raving about yesterday dominated the 4th grade class - only one 4th grader from another classroom will be represented in the championship dance-off. But one of my students, a quiet but curious 5th grader, was in tears because her team had failed to advance. I remember after seeing their dance that they had some good ideas and obviously cared a lot about their presentation, but they just weren't great dancers. That was all there was to it.
Did she fail because the others worked harder than she did? I don't believe it for a second.
And this is the biggest problem with this charming belief in self-ability: When we (Americans) sees a person who hasn't met success, we're inclined to believe it's largely their own fault. They didn't work hard enough; it was their choice. This is especially true with respect to poverty. In our economic system we believe that a poor person could, theoretically, improve their situation through hard work and perseverance. This is simply not true.
In addition, this creates a sense of ownership replacing where generosity would be. If we have money, we're inclined to believe we've earned it, so we're less willing to give to charities - it's our money that we worked for and therefore deserve. Why give to someone who doesn't work as hard as us? Why do they deserve it?
I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank goodness for religion, because otherwise it'd be very difficult to find generosity built anywhere into this capitalist mindset.
With the finals coming up on Tuesday, a lot of hardworking dancers are going to be left crying after finding that their best wasn't good enough. Because as much as I'd like to be in control of my future success, flipping it on with hard work or off with laziness, the world simply doesn't work that way.
It's amazing how obvious that statement seems, but still I find myself instinctually forgetting it in everyday life.
There's a lot about America I'm critical of, as my readers probably know, but one thing I love about it is the philosophy that if you work hard enough anything is possible. It's a wonderful thing to believe, that no matter what you're born with it's within your power as a human being to achieve whatever you want. It's also a cornerstone of my teaching philosophy; I make it clear that I value the hardworking student far more than the student who's naturally good at English but slacks off.
As the Radiohead song goes, "You can try the best you can, you can try the best you can. The best is good enough." (P.S. I know they're not American)
But today I saw a perfect example of how, while this is a good belief to embrace, it's important to realize the world doesn't follow it like a law of science. At lunchtime the results of yesterday's dance competition were posted, announcing who had made the finals (taking place on December 28). The 4th graders I had been raving about yesterday dominated the 4th grade class - only one 4th grader from another classroom will be represented in the championship dance-off. But one of my students, a quiet but curious 5th grader, was in tears because her team had failed to advance. I remember after seeing their dance that they had some good ideas and obviously cared a lot about their presentation, but they just weren't great dancers. That was all there was to it.
Did she fail because the others worked harder than she did? I don't believe it for a second.
And this is the biggest problem with this charming belief in self-ability: When we (Americans) sees a person who hasn't met success, we're inclined to believe it's largely their own fault. They didn't work hard enough; it was their choice. This is especially true with respect to poverty. In our economic system we believe that a poor person could, theoretically, improve their situation through hard work and perseverance. This is simply not true.
In addition, this creates a sense of ownership replacing where generosity would be. If we have money, we're inclined to believe we've earned it, so we're less willing to give to charities - it's our money that we worked for and therefore deserve. Why give to someone who doesn't work as hard as us? Why do they deserve it?
I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank goodness for religion, because otherwise it'd be very difficult to find generosity built anywhere into this capitalist mindset.
With the finals coming up on Tuesday, a lot of hardworking dancers are going to be left crying after finding that their best wasn't good enough. Because as much as I'd like to be in control of my future success, flipping it on with hard work or off with laziness, the world simply doesn't work that way.
It's amazing how obvious that statement seems, but still I find myself instinctually forgetting it in everyday life.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
End Of The Veli Toplantesi Of Doom
My body and mind are ravaged, but I've managed to make it through in one piece. I have met with most of the parents of my 190-some students. I have accomplished something.
Today at lunchtime there was a dance competition between the troupes of the 3rd-5th grades. I love seeing my students in different settings, as with the basketball players, because it helps me to understand what helps them learn and what excites them about life. Today I was thrilled by how my fourth graders danced. There were two groups, one girls and one boys, and when the boys danced I recognized the song I heard played every time I come into their classroom, "Beggin'" as performed by Madcon. They kicked a$$. One of them was a natural breakdancer. After the performances the class teacher gave each of them a big kiss of each cheek. It was really a lot of fun!
Right after lunch I had my fourth graders, and we basically talked about dancing the whole time. They'd earned a period to calm down after performing so well. They told me they had made the finals, so soon enough I'll get to see them compete against my 6th graders. Best of luck to all of them!
Today at lunchtime there was a dance competition between the troupes of the 3rd-5th grades. I love seeing my students in different settings, as with the basketball players, because it helps me to understand what helps them learn and what excites them about life. Today I was thrilled by how my fourth graders danced. There were two groups, one girls and one boys, and when the boys danced I recognized the song I heard played every time I come into their classroom, "Beggin'" as performed by Madcon. They kicked a$$. One of them was a natural breakdancer. After the performances the class teacher gave each of them a big kiss of each cheek. It was really a lot of fun!
Right after lunch I had my fourth graders, and we basically talked about dancing the whole time. They'd earned a period to calm down after performing so well. They told me they had made the finals, so soon enough I'll get to see them compete against my 6th graders. Best of luck to all of them!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Objective Proof That Girls Are Better Than Boys
This is a little something I discovered as I was teaching comparatives and superlatives to my 6th grade class:
You can usually identify a comparative by the -er at the end and a superlative by the -est at the end. The three levels for "good" are "good, bettER, bEST." So, going from there, hER must be bettER than him. Girls must be better than boys.
My 6th graders were - and still are - very opinionated about this. But for me, this is irrefutable proof.
Kind of.
A note about the Christmas tree I've mentioned in a previous post: AftER talking with my students I learned that in Istanbul it's common to celebrate the New Year by decorating a tree. This actually caused a lot of confusion in the students regarding Christmas - a lot of them thought it was just anothER word for a New Year's celebration!
Today I was in parents meetings from 4:15-8:00. No break, just a steady stream of parents. And I didn't even get to see the parents of all my students! I felt so bad for the young woman who was translating for me. She was wilting like a too-cold flowER by the end of it all. And the bEST thing is we get to do it all again tomorrow!
I'm dizzy.
You can usually identify a comparative by the -er at the end and a superlative by the -est at the end. The three levels for "good" are "good, bettER, bEST." So, going from there, hER must be bettER than him. Girls must be better than boys.
My 6th graders were - and still are - very opinionated about this. But for me, this is irrefutable proof.
Kind of.
A note about the Christmas tree I've mentioned in a previous post: AftER talking with my students I learned that in Istanbul it's common to celebrate the New Year by decorating a tree. This actually caused a lot of confusion in the students regarding Christmas - a lot of them thought it was just anothER word for a New Year's celebration!
Today I was in parents meetings from 4:15-8:00. No break, just a steady stream of parents. And I didn't even get to see the parents of all my students! I felt so bad for the young woman who was translating for me. She was wilting like a too-cold flowER by the end of it all. And the bEST thing is we get to do it all again tomorrow!
I'm dizzy.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
On - I Mean "Off" - Facebook
I've decided to terminate my facebook account, and I'll do so by the end of this week. I've had so many random strangers messaging or friending me, not to mention "friends" I don't even know inviting me to events I'd never go to. The only advantage I see is the chance to easily share photos with a ton of people. Now that I'm not playing concerts anymore, which was the reason I got a facebook account in the first place, there's really no advantage to it. So I'm cutting it off. See ya.
Coming soon: Next week is parents' meeting week. It's going to ruin me. They last from 4:00 until 7:30 with no break and, rumor has it, no food. I will perish, especially on Monday when I teach all day long (I've heard teaching seven lessons in a day is illegal in the Sates, but that's definitely not true here). Needless to say, I probably won't be making many posts next week.
Also, an ammendment to yesterday's post: The Christmas trees are popping up everywhere. I'm very confused.
Coming soon: Next week is parents' meeting week. It's going to ruin me. They last from 4:00 until 7:30 with no break and, rumor has it, no food. I will perish, especially on Monday when I teach all day long (I've heard teaching seven lessons in a day is illegal in the Sates, but that's definitely not true here). Needless to say, I probably won't be making many posts next week.
Also, an ammendment to yesterday's post: The Christmas trees are popping up everywhere. I'm very confused.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Middle School Basketball
Today after school there was a basketball game for the middle school boys, so, on a whim decided to stay and watch. It was a lot of fun, even though the Bahçeşehir team got mangled pretty bad (final score: 46 - 70). It was great to see my kids in another setting, and I also got to meet some of the parents afterward. And I got to wonder if I was watching the next Mehmet Okur, that maybe someday the name of one of my students would be known in homes all over America for his basketball playing.
Actually, Mehmet Okur did visit Bahçeşehir Koleji last year - I'm a year too late! That picture above was taken in the Bahçeşehir Koleji gym. All the kids in it are too old to be my students, but one of them, the blond one, is my coworker's son. I'm not going to lie: I'm a little bitter about missing this.
I arrived at the game early, so I got to watch the warm-ups. Strangely, the coach wasn't even present. Instead it looked like the stretches and exercises were being run by one of the students, and everyone followed his lead as obediently as if he were the head coach. He called the drills, led the stretches, even helped the others who were struggling. The other team was not run like this at all, very coach-centered, always correcting the students' mistakes in form and execution.
But the most amazing thing was who was leading the warm-ups. It was a kid who can't be left alone for a second in English class; if you so much as make to turn away from him, he starts mouthing off with the others around him. He never brings his materials to class, you can't get him to work unless you're standing over his shoulder the whole time, he's habitually late - generally, he's what we call in the teaching industry a "trouble child" (though I realize I'm exaggerating his charges to emphasize the point I'm making here). He's definitely not the one to whom I'd say, "I'm going out for 10 minutes. Can you teach the class until I get back?" (Just for the record, I've never said that to anyone.) And yet that's exactly what he was doing. And he was good at it.
I'm so glad I got to see this part of his personality.
Unfortunately, he was an awful basketball player.
Actually, it was surprising to me who were the good players and who weren't. We know the common stereotype about the popular jock (like the kid running the warm-ups) who's not very good in class but excels in physical activities. In this game - the player who wowed me the most, scoring about half the 15-player team's points as well as being the only one who ran back to play defense before a fast break - is also one of the best students in the English room. And it's not just because he's good at English; it's because he works his tail off. And it showed on the court.
But this was not a new Turkish basketball player's "profile." The next 3 best players (very far off from the star, but still good) covered the entire spectrum: one hardworking star student, one quiet struggling student, and one rowdy uncontrollable piece of trouble.
In the Turkish education system, physical education is much more important than it is in America, where it seems the teachers need no qualifications whatsoever. Here there is a strong emphasis on militant discipline, and PE is a big part of that, preparing the children for the time when they fulfill their mandatory military service. Thus the PE teachers have special status and exceptions: they lead all the ceremonies, with the exception of the singing of the national anthem which they co-lead with the music teachers, because their main job is to quiet the students; they're allowed to wear normal clothes while the rest of us have to dress in a suit and tie each day; they have equal sway in the şök meetings when the teachers gathered to discuss each student individually (I have 190 students... that was just about the longest week of my life).
Here, PE is much more than loosely-enforced exercise. It's a class, a class where you get graded academically just as you would in science or math, or English.
And, speaking of şök, the art and music teachers also had equal sway (I don't have any of the same students as the chess teacher, so I can't vouch for him). Meanwhile these are the programs getting cut first in American schools.
There's a lot about the Turkish education system I take issue with, but this emphasis on whole learning is something I can really get behind.
Actually, Mehmet Okur did visit Bahçeşehir Koleji last year - I'm a year too late! That picture above was taken in the Bahçeşehir Koleji gym. All the kids in it are too old to be my students, but one of them, the blond one, is my coworker's son. I'm not going to lie: I'm a little bitter about missing this.
I arrived at the game early, so I got to watch the warm-ups. Strangely, the coach wasn't even present. Instead it looked like the stretches and exercises were being run by one of the students, and everyone followed his lead as obediently as if he were the head coach. He called the drills, led the stretches, even helped the others who were struggling. The other team was not run like this at all, very coach-centered, always correcting the students' mistakes in form and execution.
But the most amazing thing was who was leading the warm-ups. It was a kid who can't be left alone for a second in English class; if you so much as make to turn away from him, he starts mouthing off with the others around him. He never brings his materials to class, you can't get him to work unless you're standing over his shoulder the whole time, he's habitually late - generally, he's what we call in the teaching industry a "trouble child" (though I realize I'm exaggerating his charges to emphasize the point I'm making here). He's definitely not the one to whom I'd say, "I'm going out for 10 minutes. Can you teach the class until I get back?" (Just for the record, I've never said that to anyone.) And yet that's exactly what he was doing. And he was good at it.
I'm so glad I got to see this part of his personality.
Unfortunately, he was an awful basketball player.
Actually, it was surprising to me who were the good players and who weren't. We know the common stereotype about the popular jock (like the kid running the warm-ups) who's not very good in class but excels in physical activities. In this game - the player who wowed me the most, scoring about half the 15-player team's points as well as being the only one who ran back to play defense before a fast break - is also one of the best students in the English room. And it's not just because he's good at English; it's because he works his tail off. And it showed on the court.
But this was not a new Turkish basketball player's "profile." The next 3 best players (very far off from the star, but still good) covered the entire spectrum: one hardworking star student, one quiet struggling student, and one rowdy uncontrollable piece of trouble.
In the Turkish education system, physical education is much more important than it is in America, where it seems the teachers need no qualifications whatsoever. Here there is a strong emphasis on militant discipline, and PE is a big part of that, preparing the children for the time when they fulfill their mandatory military service. Thus the PE teachers have special status and exceptions: they lead all the ceremonies, with the exception of the singing of the national anthem which they co-lead with the music teachers, because their main job is to quiet the students; they're allowed to wear normal clothes while the rest of us have to dress in a suit and tie each day; they have equal sway in the şök meetings when the teachers gathered to discuss each student individually (I have 190 students... that was just about the longest week of my life).
Here, PE is much more than loosely-enforced exercise. It's a class, a class where you get graded academically just as you would in science or math, or English.
And, speaking of şök, the art and music teachers also had equal sway (I don't have any of the same students as the chess teacher, so I can't vouch for him). Meanwhile these are the programs getting cut first in American schools.
There's a lot about the Turkish education system I take issue with, but this emphasis on whole learning is something I can really get behind.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Voleybol, Aralık, ve Zor Derslar
Two days ago, me and 9 other teachers in the primary school here played volleyball together after school. Only one of them knew English (it took a few plays to realize that "Ben! Ben!" meant "Me! Me!" and that I should stay away from the ball), so I was at a double disaadvantage, knowing neither Turkish nor the rules of the game very well (I had no clue how to keep score). In the end it didn't matter, seeing as most of us weren't familiar with the game at all. We do have two former professional players on our faculty, so I did get a little instruction and improved throughout the evening.
But there was this magical moment when I rose majestically above the net to spike the ball into the social studies teacher's face, and, with a purely menacing form and reckless abandon, completely missed the ball, letting it hit my face and roll down my body.
Luckily, the scouts weren't watching that play.
In other news, December is here! Snuck up on you, didn't it? I'm not a fan of this phrase, but time sure seemed to go by fast. Does this mean I have to start preparing my top 10 CDs list for 2010? But living all the way out here, I don't get to buy CDs!
But this autumn seems to have passed so quickly because, in my experiences here in Istanbul, the weather has been so consistently warm and dry that I can't get my head around winter's unmistakable presence - isn't that what December means? I thought I'd have seen some snow by now. Where's the snow? (= Where are the snow holidays?)
And finally, the last thing I want to mention before I go: the terrible at which we work our kids in these schools. Over the week-long Bayram holiday, my 6th graders had (no lie) 229 pages of homework. I don't know which teachers think it's a good idea to give that kind of workload over a vacation or what parents demanded their children study so hard each and every day, but that just seems unethical to me. Not to mention bad for the children - isn't leisure time at least as important as study time for children? They are learning just as much if not more by playing with each other and exploring the world around them than they do sitting in a classroom. No wonder they act out in the classroom: there's no chance for them to be children in their outside lives either!
And this trend isn't just over the holidays. We give them a test in each subject about once each month, and because of the number of subjects they have this ends up averaging to about a test each week. This doesn't make sense at all to me. What new knowledge can you gain about a student's abilities after a month? This policy, I've learned, is thanks to overanxious parents aching to monitor their children's every move.
Another case in point: Last Saturday I taught a 4th grade "support class," an optional class offered for struggling students who need help outside of class. As much as I hate the idea of sending kids to school on Saturdays, there are some students who surely benefit from the smaller class setting. But I was shocked at the ability of the students I found myself teaching: We completed over 3 lessons worth of material in just 2 lessons because they were so proficient in English. Only 2 or 3 of them actually seemed to need special English help, and they were robbed of the attention they needed by the good students overpopulating the classroom. The presence of so many proficient students in the support classnot defeated its purpose for the struggling students and increased the pent up energy and stress in the good students.
Then, as I was leaving at the end of the half-day, I saw some of my best students from the 5th grade, including one who had last month been recognized as one of the two best students in the school. I asked why they were here, and they said their parents wanted them to study more.
Parents, don't ruin your sons' and daughters' lives. Let them live! I'm proud to say I never give homework in any of my classes unless there's something we fail to cover in class because of misbehaving students. Seriously, so much of a student's life takes place in the school. They don't need school to come home with them too.
But there was this magical moment when I rose majestically above the net to spike the ball into the social studies teacher's face, and, with a purely menacing form and reckless abandon, completely missed the ball, letting it hit my face and roll down my body.
Luckily, the scouts weren't watching that play.
In other news, December is here! Snuck up on you, didn't it? I'm not a fan of this phrase, but time sure seemed to go by fast. Does this mean I have to start preparing my top 10 CDs list for 2010? But living all the way out here, I don't get to buy CDs!
But this autumn seems to have passed so quickly because, in my experiences here in Istanbul, the weather has been so consistently warm and dry that I can't get my head around winter's unmistakable presence - isn't that what December means? I thought I'd have seen some snow by now. Where's the snow? (= Where are the snow holidays?)
And finally, the last thing I want to mention before I go: the terrible at which we work our kids in these schools. Over the week-long Bayram holiday, my 6th graders had (no lie) 229 pages of homework. I don't know which teachers think it's a good idea to give that kind of workload over a vacation or what parents demanded their children study so hard each and every day, but that just seems unethical to me. Not to mention bad for the children - isn't leisure time at least as important as study time for children? They are learning just as much if not more by playing with each other and exploring the world around them than they do sitting in a classroom. No wonder they act out in the classroom: there's no chance for them to be children in their outside lives either!
And this trend isn't just over the holidays. We give them a test in each subject about once each month, and because of the number of subjects they have this ends up averaging to about a test each week. This doesn't make sense at all to me. What new knowledge can you gain about a student's abilities after a month? This policy, I've learned, is thanks to overanxious parents aching to monitor their children's every move.
Another case in point: Last Saturday I taught a 4th grade "support class," an optional class offered for struggling students who need help outside of class. As much as I hate the idea of sending kids to school on Saturdays, there are some students who surely benefit from the smaller class setting. But I was shocked at the ability of the students I found myself teaching: We completed over 3 lessons worth of material in just 2 lessons because they were so proficient in English. Only 2 or 3 of them actually seemed to need special English help, and they were robbed of the attention they needed by the good students overpopulating the classroom. The presence of so many proficient students in the support classnot defeated its purpose for the struggling students and increased the pent up energy and stress in the good students.
Then, as I was leaving at the end of the half-day, I saw some of my best students from the 5th grade, including one who had last month been recognized as one of the two best students in the school. I asked why they were here, and they said their parents wanted them to study more.
Parents, don't ruin your sons' and daughters' lives. Let them live! I'm proud to say I never give homework in any of my classes unless there's something we fail to cover in class because of misbehaving students. Seriously, so much of a student's life takes place in the school. They don't need school to come home with them too.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Teacher's Day
Sorry I've been out of contact lately. Last week was a holiday in Turkey, Kurban Bayram, and I was out of town in an undisclosed location (let's just say I'm a step closer to becoming a honest-to-goodness secret agent, and I'm jet-lagged like crazy right now). Kurban Bayram is a religious holiday where the family adopts an animal, usually a cow or a sheep or something like that, and raises it for a week. After growing attached to the animal, a part of the family like a pet, the holiday ends in its sacrifice. From what I've heard, this is meant to add weight to the sacrifice made to God.
I don't want to spend too much time talking about that. I've actually very little clue as to the nuances of Muslim religious practices, and I don't want to pretend anything different.
Anyway, I come back to discover that today is teacher's day in Turkey, one of Atatürk's great gifts to the Turkish Republic. I was given a sunflower, a seashell key-chain, a bag to hold coins, a refrigerator magnet, and lots of kisses and hugs from my beautiful students. It was kind of warming, actually, even if the students thought that their giving thanks to their teachers gave them license to act out in class.
Speaking of giving thanks, happy Thanksgiving, all you Americans out there! I had completely forgotten what is my favorite non-religious holiday (Passover being my ultimate favorite). Tomorrow I hope you all eat well, and please take a moment during your meal to be thankful that you have the opportunity to feast and that there are many people in the world who don't share that good fortune. And be thankful for lots of other things, too, of course.
And this brings me to another point: I've got some comments about the "Plant the Seeds" song and how depressing it was. Honestly I don't expect my readership to like it because it's so electronic; I gotta work with what's available to me. But I'm working on a new song that's going to be a much bigger crowd-pleaser, a cute love song. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!
Where in the world did that idiom come from? I don't want my eyes peeled! Gross!
I don't want to spend too much time talking about that. I've actually very little clue as to the nuances of Muslim religious practices, and I don't want to pretend anything different.
Anyway, I come back to discover that today is teacher's day in Turkey, one of Atatürk's great gifts to the Turkish Republic. I was given a sunflower, a seashell key-chain, a bag to hold coins, a refrigerator magnet, and lots of kisses and hugs from my beautiful students. It was kind of warming, actually, even if the students thought that their giving thanks to their teachers gave them license to act out in class.
Speaking of giving thanks, happy Thanksgiving, all you Americans out there! I had completely forgotten what is my favorite non-religious holiday (Passover being my ultimate favorite). Tomorrow I hope you all eat well, and please take a moment during your meal to be thankful that you have the opportunity to feast and that there are many people in the world who don't share that good fortune. And be thankful for lots of other things, too, of course.
And this brings me to another point: I've got some comments about the "Plant the Seeds" song and how depressing it was. Honestly I don't expect my readership to like it because it's so electronic; I gotta work with what's available to me. But I'm working on a new song that's going to be a much bigger crowd-pleaser, a cute love song. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!
Where in the world did that idiom come from? I don't want my eyes peeled! Gross!
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