There are several different types of English teachers here and they could be divided under both categories.
When I first moved here, a guy I lived next to told me this line. “It’s not how hard you work, but how smart.”
I’ve come to realize that ‘working smart’ here in Taiwan can mean a variety of things. It could mean how to waste time in the classroom under the guise of having students individually repeat sentences. Or it could be manipulating the boss while doodling around during work hours on the computer. Or it could mean that you are providing just the ‘right’ amount of worksheets that cover an exercise that the kids need to practice yet never resulting in them grasping the concept of the grammar practice, hense they are getting English exposure but just not growing.
Then there’s the working hard. You put in time. You buy suppliments that your school won’t provide. You correct papers and take the time to work with your students so you personally know that they grasp the concepts that you are teaching. You are constantly striving to improve your techniques, and willing to learn new ways to reach them so that they enjoy their lessons. Along with keeping them motivated in an enviroment that isn’t standardized.
So which is better? Working hard or Working smart?
Teaching is exhausting work if you really care about it, and if you really care about your students.
I think that if you came here with the genuine desire to teach because you are a teacher and know your calling, you’ll work hard. I think that if you came here with the sole purpose of trying to finance something or pay back for something, then you are more likely to go for working smart.
Some folks who are “working smart” simply don’t know any better, but they are too careless or have found folks at their branch who set the pace as glorifying such apathy, so they don’t engage themselves in any professional development.
I prefer working hard. It’s easier if you just imagine what you would need to learn. If you have that empathy, you can’t make any choice but to work hard. If you know how much money parents are paying to do this for their kids, you must work hard. If you realize how tough it is to be a young Taiwanese person, you will work hard. I don’t think I am the best teacher out there, but slacking for cash ain’t right.
I understand the separation, but I think that blurs the original meaning of “work smarter, not harder” (as it was taught to me in an episode of [Duck Tales].)
I’d just leave slackers totally out of the equation (ie all the people that were described as “smart workers” in the original post.) The remaining people that genuinely want to do a good job could also be categorized as working hard or smart.
Working smart would be (to me) working in an organized fashion. Working hard would be putting in extra hours and doing extra work because of a lack of organization.
Some other elements of “working smarter, not harder” would be doing what you can to increase your hourly (smart). Scooting between 3 different jobs spending 1.5 or more hours a day driving (hard). Living close to your job(s) to minimize travel time and cost (smart). Opening your own language school (smart/hard/ and a little crazy ).
I’d just call a slacker a slacker and wouldn’t give him the title of smart (but that’s just me.)
I’d categorize myself as a slacker -> hard worker -> smart worker (currently working on that ).
I find it easier in the long run to just work hard putting extra effort into your long term preparation and goals. I have a good idea what I’m going to do and how I do it about a month before it happens. I spend a hard week once in a while making worksheets and tests and trying to learn new ways to present the material. Then I take it easy on the day I teach it. So I guess i work hard so I can work smart.
I always found it really difficult to show up unprepared for anything. That’s very hard and not smart at all.
I do spend too much unpaid time preparing and commuting. That’s not smart but seemingly neccessary. I could be maximizing my hours by getting more work near my house, but I also know what it means to burn out. And that’s not smart. I want to work more though. Need tons of cash!
I’d feel pretty smart if I saved more money. But I might have to work too hard to do it. Slacking is more tiring than actually doing the job.
[quote=“miltownkid”]
Working smart would be (to me) working in an organized fashion. Working hard would be putting in extra hours and doing extra work because of a lack of organization.
Some other elements of “working smarter, not harder” would be doing what you can to increase your hourly (smart). Scooting between 3 different jobs spending 1.5 or more hours a day driving (hard). Living close to your job(s) to minimize travel time and cost (smart). Opening your own language school (smart/hard/ and a little crazy ).[/quote]
Does anyone else out there find that the Taiwanese teachers and bosses are willing to work hard, but not “smart”. I know this is a horrible generalization and doesn’t apply to all, but I’ve noticed a lack of ability to plan ahead more than a week ahead of time with a lot of the local staff I work with.
It’s always “Go, Go, Go” with no time set aside for planning and preparation.
No, it’s not just you. Lots of Taiwanese generally wait until the last minute to make plans. I have a new class, or a class is cancelled because of a school trip, or there’s a public holiday? I get told about it the day before it happens.
I agree with miltown. Doing the least amount of work possible isn’t “working smart” - it’s being a financial leech sucking money out of people’s wallets by suckering them into thinking you’re working. There are many leeches out there in various job markets. Calling them smart for fooling fools is akin to calling bullies brave for never losing a fight (when preying on those who are weaker).
There are those English teachers who work really hard, but not smartly because they think they can walk into a classroom with nothing more than knowing the concept they want to teach. They work hard because they struggle to work out the materials needed and how they will teach the lesson while also trying to achieve classroom management. The students don’t know what they’re supposed to do and because the teacher did not review the materials ahead of time, they give wrong instructions or don’t know what the tasks are. They have no idea what the students are supposed to do exactly and learn the task at the same time as the students do. Their classrooms a little chaotic (or very chaotic) and they end the day complaining about how hard their job is and how out of control their students are.
There are those English teachers who work really hard and smartly. They work out the details and the materials they will teach ahead of time so they can walk into a classroom knowing exactly how things should flow. They have already anticipated some difficulties that may come up and have some ideas of how to help the students understand the concept if it’s not clear to them right away. The students are already in a routine so they know what is expected of them during every stage of class. The teacher puts in extra time to go over the materials first and plan each step so they work harder than Joe Slacker, but because the classroom is well-thought out, it tends to go so smoothly that the teacher ends the day thinking of how well things went and how much was accomplished.
A lazy teacher works neither hard nor smartly. As a matter of fact, what a lazy teacher does can barely be considered work at all. Make photocopies and supervise students filling them out? A Xerox machine and a camcorder could do the exact same things and they don’t require a health plan.
I worked “hard” for a few years, and now what used to be hard is easy. I know I teach better and get better results, and I do way less work than I used to. I don’t really need to spend a lot of time preparing any more, as I have routines that have proved effective and my students and bosses seem to like.
I guess some time spent working very “hard” can turn you into a “smart” teacher (good smart, not slacker smart). If you try to be smart from day one you are just cheating everyone.
I think this just about sums up my feelings. First time teachers know very little and need to put in some hard work to break through. Once you have been doing it for a while you know what works and what doesn’t, where to find good resources and how to prepare efficiently. This doesn’t mean just re-hashing all your old activities, but just getting what you want done in a more efficient manner.
That’s the only way I’ve rolled for my time here up until recently (unprepared.) I don’t think I did a bad job, but I wouldn’t exactly catergorize it as a good job either (a hard job?).
The last two weeks this semester is the first time I’ve written out a teaching plan ahead of time (a M-F one) and it’s turned out wonderfully. I also get any photocopies I need prepared for the week on Monday, so I don’t find myself scrambling the day of.
I think the smarter not harder line is one that goes well with (Taiwan) teaching.
For me, working smart means saving all of my lesson plans on my computer and saving copies of all of my handouts in binders s I can adapt them to future classes as need be. And spending some time every week looking for new things to do in class, and saving them in folders so I don’t have to scramble before class.
Working hard means having to create the same materials over and over because I don’t have them organized and saved.
The two should not be mutually exclusive. On the contrary, you should strive to do both.
Working hard just means putting in the effort. If you aren’t putting in the effort then you should start.
Working smart just means planning so that you can accomplish the same goal with less effort, or improve on your results.
But when you work smart and reduce the amount of effort you need to achieve one goal that doesn’t mean you should just slack off the rest of the time. It just frees up your time and energy to do more things that you could not have otherwise.
If you find a way to do an acivity in groups and allow for more student-centered activities (more repetitions, more practice, less time the teacher is instructing the whole class) that doesn’t mean the teacher should just passively observe. The teacher should be working one on one. Or, if everything is going smoothly, start preparing the next segment ahead of time.
If you are already working hard, work smarter but keep working just as hard as before. If you’re not working hard yet, do it.
[quote=“ImaniOU”]
There are those English teachers who work really hard, but not smartly because they think they can walk into a classroom with nothing more than knowing the concept they want to teach. They work hard because they struggle to work out the materials needed and how they will teach the lesson while also trying to achieve classroom management. The students don’t know what they’re supposed to do and because the teacher did not review the materials ahead of time, they give wrong instructions or don’t know what the tasks are. They have no idea what the students are supposed to do exactly and learn the task at the same time as the students do. Their classrooms a little chaotic (or very chaotic) and they end the day complaining about how hard their job is and how out of control their students are.[/quote] It’s often I feel that this could apply to my situation. While I have good classroom management skills, and know how to keep the kids focused, here’s the problem.
The textbook that I am to teach from is “The complete blahblah blah of Reading”. It’s a good suppliment book that a parent would buy for their kids in the States, but just horrendous to use as a textbook. :fume: It’s frustrating because the kids in my “A” class can complete the assignments in 2 mintues. And the kids in my “D” class take longer to grasp the concepts because they aren’t at that level. Now, I’m not complaining about having to do extra work. What bothers me is that I have 4 different levels of classes, that must be prepared for and all the suppliments must be able to expand upon the lesson, yet in a manner that I know can improve their learning. Add to the fact that my school doesn’t provide suppliments, or have an assessment level to which I can guage whether or not my kids are meeting requirments that would show if they are learning correctly or at the level they should be. ARHHHH , help !!!
[quote]
There are those English teachers who work really hard and smartly. They work out the details and the materials they will teach ahead of time so they can walk into a classroom knowing exactly how things should flow. They have already anticipated some difficulties that may come up and have some ideas of how to help the students understand the concept if it’s not clear to them right away. The students are already in a routine so they know what is expected of them during every stage of class. The teacher puts in extra time to go over the materials first and plan each step so they work harder than Joe Slacker, but because the classroom is well-thought out, it tends to go so smoothly that the teacher ends the day thinking of how well things went and how much was accomplished.[/quote] Much agreed, but then have you(not you Imaniou but in general)had that day where the lesson was well-planned and completed. But the next day, you go in and do a warmup/review only to hear the sound of silence in your classroom? Again, another arhhhhh!
Good posts here. Hope that more discussion comes, as it could lead to working out some kinks, at least for me that is.
I started at a kindy and last week started doing adults in the evenings. As far as the kindy goes, I share Namahottie’s feelings that sometimes it just seems weird when everything is well-planned and goes well one day, but the next day… It just falls apart for some reason. I’d like to figure a way for that not to happen.
But, my main question is this:
How do you know when it’s not a case of not working hard or smart enough?
How do you know when you just should stop working?
I’m putting in a lot of time preparing for my adult classes, and it just doesn’t seem to be going well at all. I don’t feel any sort of connection with my students or the material I’m supposed to be teaching.
I dunno. I understood “hard versus smart” differently the first time I heard it. I think any proper teacher works hard in the sense of applying himself/herself to the task and helping the children understand it. I also choose to eliminate the “slackers” for sake of argument.
In this analogy, I interpret working “hard” as having an 8 to 6 job where you are always busy, but only spend about 5 hours actually teaching kids. You arrive home exhausted, having been working for ten hours (as you are not allowed to leave the school property during school time, or maybe for an hour during nap time) and probably can’t teach at your full potential on account of sheer exhaustion and frustration. You collect about 60 grand at the end of the month, which works out to just over $250 an hour. Should have stuck with the babysitting job “back home”.
Working smart means having all of your working hours spent teaching or preparing to teach, and having all of your non-teaching hours as your own. Certainly, there may be homework to grade, tests to grade and lessons to prepare, but if you’re a good (“smart”) teacher, you should have the planning skills to know how much of your time these tasks will require and to set that time aside accordingly, when you see fit. Your school should expect you to be there shortly before and shortly after you teach; the school is paying you to teach, and you are theirs during your class time and other times when they see fit to pay you to do things when and as they like. The rest of your time belongs to you. Full-stop.
Sounds reasonable. Of course being the school owner having the teacher leechers sucking a fraction of $$$ outta de parents whilst I sit in London having a pint works fine for me.
Many of the so called teachers in Taiwan are unemployable back in their home countries. So let them come to Taiwan and leech out a living.
[quote=“Persephone”]I’m just now starting my third week of teaching…
How do you know when you just should stop working?.[/quote]
Let’s start with the question you asked yourself…
How do you know when it’s not a case of not working hard or smart enough? How do you know when you just should stop working?
The answer is here
Teaching does not come naturally to many people. It’s a gift some have and some others don’t. Now apply that to teaching in a foreign country in a language to people who don’t understand your meanings or your culture and you’re in a whole new world of hurt.
Kids need to be entertained. They have the attention span of a knat. If you want to teach kindy kids then just be a 4 year old and you’ll do fine.
Many adults just need to be ordered around in the classroom. Don’t let them sit there and be silent statues. Take charge … if you can’t… your screwed.
A lazy teacher works neither hard nor smartly. As a matter of fact, what a lazy teacher does can barely be considered work at all. Make photocopies and supervise students filling them out? A Xerox machine and a camcorder could do the exact same things and they don’t require a health plan.[/quote]
Heh! You must have hated your teachers back home, because I remember doing a lot of that kind of thing back in grade school. “Today is drawing day! Take out your colored pencils and let your imagination run free!” It seems to me that a lot of people who sneer at English teachers in Taiwan as being substandard compared to “real” teachers back home have short memories. How many teachers did you have in highschool who thought that popping in a video of Ken Burns’ “Civil War” and handing out a five question pop quiz was “teaching”?
Anyway, when I supervise students doing bookwork, more often than not I have my hands full, because students are always coming up to me either asking questions about how to do it, and handing the answers back to me to correct in red ink. Writing and reading are as important as speaking and listening, so don’t write in-class bookwork off. Ideally you should spend about 10-15 minutes per class doing workbook activities (as you shouldn’t spend more than 10 or 15 minutes on any activity, the kids will get easily bored).
I’ll tell you what the worst kind of foreign language teacher is (this applies to adult classes, mostly), that’s the teacher who thinks they’re working hard and doing a great job because they spend most of the class instructing. WRONG. The students aren’t going to improve their English if you stand there bloviating for an entire class without giving them a chance to speek or practice. I believe the communicative approach is best for conversation classes. The more you speak, the worse the class; the more the students speak, the better the class. I’ve seen many newbie teachers make this sort of mistake. Most of the vocabulary flies over the students’ heads, and the teacher doesn’t stop to make certain that the students understand what he’s going on about.
To a lesser extent this applies to kids’ classes as well. It’s not “lazy” to step back for a few minutes and have the kids practice an activity on their own, without you spoonfeeding them the language and expecting them to be little parrots. Of course this approach goes completely against the traditional Taiwanese concept of “teaching” which mostly consists of the students sitting in silence while the teacher parrots dry facts that the students are expected to regurgitate verbatim. No thinking stimulated, only the memory area of the brain is engaged. It’s sad to see as a teacher who’s taught all age groups, to see Taiwanese students actually regress as they get older, because they’ve been in the system too long - the younger the kids are, the more creativity and willingness to speak, but as they grow into teens, their brains turn to stone and they suddenly become too shy to say anything because they’re afraid of making mistakes.
If you’re really working smart, there are no written lesson plans or extra work other than teaching. There is some planning though, I’ll admit. I use an in-class computer, TV, internet, etc. Without these, I’d be running out of ideas and resources.
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It just falls apart for some reason. I’d like to figure a way for that not to happen.