This is the theme of our summer camp here at CELA (Concordia English Langauge Academy, the elementary portion of Concordia). Every Monday in the morning, we have VBS followed by English class. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we have English lessons and activities. On Friday, we take the students on a fieldtrip. The students range from First to Sixth Grade. There are three classes that each consist of a variety of these ages, so it can be quite a challenge teaching a variety of English abilities.
The camp is traveling to three countries: Scotland, India, and Mexico. For each country, we will talk about the history, culture, and interesting travel locations. This past week, we have talked about traveling and the process of reserving and taking a plane to a foreign country. Next week we will talk about Scotland.
The VBS portion of Monday went very well. We had the entire group (about 60 kids) together for the story, which was Jesus visiting the temple when he was young. After the story, we split them into their three groups for recreation, Bible verse, and songs. I joined Amy in leading the Bible verse, which they were able to memorize in twenty minutes quite well. When we asked them questions about the meaning of the verse, some of the kids were able to answer pretty well. I hope as the weeks progress, we will receive more inquisitive questions and answers.
I am teaching a group of about twenty students. I have an assistant, which is great. His name is Isaiah, he is an American/Taiwanese student. He is very helpful in keeping the younger boys in line (seven year old boys everywhere have this universal ability to wiggle while in a class).
The first day was quite a challenge for me I have to admit. I do not have a formal teaching degree like my fellow two volunteers. I do not have the same experience like the other teachers here. However, I love working with kids, and I've reaffirmed my belief that kids everywhere are the same in a lot of ways: the desire to learn something that interests them, the wish to have fun in any situation, and the joy on their faces when the realize something new. I want to be able to make this camp fun while helping them learn more about English and their Lord, so I have been very attentive in learning the best ways to teach in this culture as I go along.
The second and third days of teaching went much better. I am still trying to find my groove in how to present the information in a way that all of the ages in my class can understand. I am also trying to find ways to challenge the students with a better understanding of English without neglecting the needs of the others.
The kids are great! It has been such a contrast from working in the Cree culture, where freedom for children to explore and learn on their own is the norm. I love Cree culture, but it is an adjustment to engross yourself in a culture where you will not be able to get every child to sit down and listen to you. Taiwan is completely different. The first day, I told my students "Alright class, everyone please take their seats." Five seconds later, every child was sitting, eyes focused on my every move. I was shocked! It took me a moment to grasp what had just happened. There is no tolerance for anything but this in the classroom. The classroom environment is something that I am still getting used to compared to my past experiences.
Today, the students practiced all of their airport skills by boarding a plane to Scotland on CELA airlines. The camp leaders built this amazing plane using two of the classrooms. There was First, Business, and Economy classes, each with different seats and snacks. The students were placed in families and received money for class participation. Depending on how much they had, they could purchase different tickets. I a flight attendant working at the ticket booth and the plane. It was fun to see the students really engaged in the process, thinking hard about what they should ask about the flight and how to answer questions at customs. Another twist on our flight was that it was hijacked by one of the teachers! Me, Ryan, and Cana were quite surprised that the teachers wanted to include this in the lesson, but it is their camp, so we obliged. It ended up quite adorable, probably the cutest way to hijack a plane. The teacher said the reason he hijacked the plane was that he missed his mom and wanted to return to Taiwan. Before he could take control, a police officer (another teacher) stops him. It was so funny, when he tried to hijack Economy, the seven year olds would have none of it. Before he could take a hostage with a fork as his weapon, three of the boys jumped on him and took him to the ground. It was so cute "Quick, let's get the teacher!" I think they enjoyed the opportunity to attack a teacher.
Tomorrow we are going to a real airport to show them all the things we have learned. It will be quite interesting leading 60 students through the airport.
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