Well, I did a demo today and finally got the (teaching) job I wanted… Senior High… Tomorrow I will be going in to sign the contract…
Now, I have plenty of experience teaching people from 3yrs old up to 60, but never in such huge classes… I swear that there was at least 30, if not 40 students in that class… and of course, all the admin were at the back watching… that’s nerve wrecking…
anyway, my question is this… how do you go about controlling such a big class? While I’m not expecting any real problems, advice would be most helpful… It’s this age group and this size class that I have the least experience with…
Well, the first time I faced a class of about 75 students, I showed up in my BDUs, told them how it was going to be, and that I was going to give them my best but that I wouldn’t take the tiniest bit of shit from them, and how if they wanted to fuck around they could drop the class NOW and go take introduction to basket weaving, otherwise I would fail their sorry asses. Quite a few students dropped the class right off, and after that we had a very nice term. When the term ended, my students had the highest marks, and I got very good feedback.
1st write down what rules you want in class. The give them to the students. Never waver from them. And never hesitate to enforce them. Otherwise you’re screwed.
I agree with the other posters here. Start off strict and don’t let the students RIDE you. Also, remember that Taiwanese students are used to the old teacher-centered style of teaching. If you plan to teach a student-centered class, you will need to make this explicit from the very beginning. Make sure they understand that you expect them to participate in class and their grade will be based on their participation. You might get a Taiwanese colleague to explain this in Chinese so they are clear what you want them to do.
I can recommend a couple of books that I think will be extremely helpful:
carry a big water gun…perhaps even a tazer for the rowdiest of kids…then just spray or zap them when they are getting out of line.
Just joshing you of course.
I agree with the other posters. Make your expectations and demands known at the very beginning, do not waver, do not allow pardons, and above all grow a second pair of eyes in the back of your head (really freaks them out)…seriously, learn to “feel” your students vibes. You can sense a trouble maker or a even a timid and shy student before they even speak. Single them out and make a mark on them, let them know your eyes are on them. If you get a group of rowdies, do not let them settle into a nitch in the class. Break them up and assign seats. Boy girl boy girl always works well.
For the shy ones that dont like to talk or you never see the whites of their eyes because they are always looking down; move them to the front of the class and stick em right next to the class genious. Tell them to talk to you (when called on) as if they were sitting way in the back. Works like a charm.
What worked for me in JR high gigs was arranging the desks into groups. Instead of facing 30 plus students in rows I would have to walk up and down, I would have 6 groups of five arranged in squares I could visit. I did a lot of group-style activities where every member of each group was given a role. For example, I would write a question on the board and assign four members to generate answers, one to record and another to report to the class. The seating arrangement also facilitated team games and activities that the kids enjoyed a lot. I was lucky in that, in the classes I taught, discipline was not a serious issue.
My experience with senior high students is that you rarely have dicipline problems. Jr. high, well that’s a different story. I taught 20 classes of 36-48 students a week (try that on for size, exhausting), I always just laid down the rules and when I had to punish, I use a measured response that was just serious enough to the student and entertaining for the rest of class.
well… i picked up the books today to have a browse through them before the semester starts (they haven’t finished writing the schedule yet)… much more detailed and easier to follow than other books i’ve used before… i think i may enjoy teaching in this school…
… as much as i love teaching the little ones, it’ll be nice for a change to not have to look over my shoulder every minute in case the school gets raided…
Well… the nerves are starting to come… got off the plane back in tw yesterday (didn’t get HOME till 1 this morning tho), and i’ve got my first day of school tomorrow… while there’s no classes, i will use the whole day for writing lesson plans… i’ve written up 3 sample plans so far just to get an idea on how to write them, and i don’t think i’ve ever written such detailed lesson plans before unless it was for a sub.
oh. and my friday schedule is awesome… one class for the whole day… pity i have to stay in the school for the day tho… i am allowed to leave for 2 hours each day, but that’s it… so i think a PSP purchase may be necessary for those long fridays ~_~ ahahaha…
any more tips ppl? i’ve got a mix of both senior AND junior high…
Find out who their leader is and put him/her in a headlock then use my favorite fisnishing move…The Piledriver!
Seriously though,
Listen to the other posters, they seem to know what they are talking about. I also suggest you take other suggestions from the books that were recommended to you.
When I had large classes, I did single out “the source” of the rowdyness and explained to the whole class what our relationship was going to be while looking directly at the ringleader of the group. Worked for me in the past.
Like anything else, you will get a feel for it and you will do great I am sure.
Quite a few students dropped the class right off, and after that we had a very nice term. 
When the term ended, my students had the highest marks, and I got very good feedback.