Summer School – Expectation vs. Reality
I spent two weeks teaching summer school this month. It was fun, though not what I expected.
- I expected that students would be resentful of spending time at school in July. Actually, all of my students seemed happy to spend more time with their peers.
- I expected to see students to have little enthusiasm for English. Actually, the students did enjoy the story. In fact, what they really lacked in the course was sufficient attention from the teacher.
- I expected students to get really bored of spending seven hours / day with me. Actually, they stayed focused and invested in the winter course all the way to the end of the course.
- I expected that I would have to work hard to motivate the class. Actually, each lesson consisted of an demonstration followed by a practice and task. The students couldn’t wait to work.
In the end, summer school was a really great experience for me and for the class. We established a productive learning environment that was fun, safe, and focused. I hope that it will stay with them as they move on to the next grade this fall.
