Good Cop, Bad Cop

It's official: I'm a mean teacher. Well, maybe this statement is just true in foreign countries.

So every Monday, we teach English with another volunteer at one of the local schools. The thing is, of the 20 or so volunteers here, Shawney and I are the only ones who have any background in education. (Fortunately, this is made up for the fact that many of the other volunteers have backgrounds in public health, nursing, etc... all of which are VERY beneficial, also!). I don't mean to generalize or be mean in ANY way (after all, I would know NOTHING about public health or nursing), but, as you can imagine, the educational background of our group (or lack thereof) doesn't necessarily provide the best teaching situations. As a result, I find that the "good cop, bad cop" scenario is played out nearly every Monday... and nearly every Monday, I'm the token "bad cop".

Yesterday, I got to a point where I just let the other volunteer go to town with our lesson while I stood, arms crossed and eyes glaring, next to a handful of students in one class who were playing an apparently fun game of "Here's a punch. Pass it on." In another class, I walked around collecting their drawings, origami, doodlings, etc. Last week, there was a class that was so disrespectful, that they gave Shawney and I thumbs downs to show how much they disliked us and our idea of classroom management (mind you: neither of us have taught in this class before). I kid you not, ten year olds were saying, "MEGHAN? SHAWNEY?" and then putting their thumbs down at us. Although this provides for a hilarious story (which everybody in the house just loves. Whenever somebody isn't doing something desirable, all we do is say their name and give them a thumbs down. A laugh is guaranteed!), I've come to the conclusion... that it's not fun to be mean all the time! I love teaching, but I'm looking forward to teaching my own class again. And to students who speak my own language fluently. (With that being said, please know that as a whole, the students in Thailand are extremely well-mannered, respectable, and independent. Respect of elders and people in authority is HUGE here and I can definitely tell in many of the classrooms that I walk in. But, just like in any American classroom, if a teacher gives them an inch... well, there's no coming back. Clearly.)

With that being said, I can't believe that I only have a few more days left of actual volunteer work. For every six weeks of work, we get two days of vacation and I get to start cashing them in at the end of next week. Before that point comes though, there's still a lot left to take care of! Although I love what I'm doing here in northern Thailand, this teacher is ready to stop being mean, to stop working so hard, and to relax at the beach for my last few days here. Ahh -- I can't wait!