third of three!

22 September 2011

I would just like to start this entry off with an apology to every teacher I have ever had – elementary, junior high, senior high, college, and especially substitute teachers. I may not have been the worst student ever, but I’m sure I did some pretty bad things.

Think back to high school. Remember those days when a substitute teacher came and the chaos that ensued? All of the students got excited because this new teacher was basically fresh meat, prime for torture. Subs come into classrooms not knowing the basic rules, anyone’s name, or how the class interacts. I assume they’re also a little out of the loop in regards to the other teachers at the school unless they’re regulars (I’m making that up though, sorry). Subs have no power over students’ grades and have very little disciplinary power from what I remember, and therefore the students have no incentive to behave well. Sure, the regular teacher can come back and scold them, but there’s no real immediate incentive.

Well, friends, welcome to my world. I feel like a substitute teacher in America, except I’m not a sub – I’m here full time. Take everything you know and/or remember about substitute teachers and add in not understanding the language or culture of the students. I don’t know or understand anything. I’ve tried everything I could think of these past few weeks and nothing I can think of has made a difference. The moment a Mongolian teacher leaves, chaos breaks out. Since I don’t understand what they’re saying, they can pretty much say whatever they want to and I don’t know the difference. I don’t think they believe that I have any control over their grades, so when I gave one of my classes a test this week, nobody bothered studying. Let’s just say the grades were less than stellar and they all just laughed when I told them how they did. I know I’m supposed to be all Peace-Corps-resourceful, but I honestly can’t think of a single thing to do. I’ve considered asking one of my counterparts to sit in on my class and just help with classroom management. I’ve also considered asking one of them to give the class a little talking-to. But the problem I see with both of those options is that it further undermines any potential there is of them taking me seriously. Why bother taking the American seriously when one of the Mongolian teachers can just swoop in and explain any grammar that wasn’t understood because they couldn’t bother listening or studying? Or when one of the Mongolian teachers is ultimately the one they are held accountable to? I honestly have no idea what to do so I’m taking suggestions. Help me out here people, my coping mechanisms for this frustration are unfortunately limited.