a classroom no-no

a few days ago i was teaching my third and fourth graders in an elementary school how to say their birthdays in English. After gauging their ability level, it seemed all 10 of them were able to say their birthdays for the most part, so i went around the circle and asked them to answer "When is your birthday?" out loud.

when it was this one boy's turn, he just stared at me in fright, and couldn't seem to say anything. so i tried to break it down for him, saw the slip of paper i asked everyone to write their birthdays on, and tried to help him pronounce his month and date. he just sort of murmured "uhh... uuuh.." without forming any real words. after about 15 seconds, i decided that i should move on and went on to the next person.

as i went down the line, i had the typical reaction that almost all my students have. that is, if there's an adult around who can help them, they won't try to think about what to say first. they will immediately look to the adult for help.

just my luck, the principal was watching all my classes that day, so she was speaking into each student's ear when it was their turn. it normally wouldn't bother me that there was an adult helping them out because that means less of me using my voice (which is really the only valuable thing i have to offer all my schools), but the fact that she was the kind of adult that because she thinks she has such a grand mastery of English and the children dont, that she assumes that the children need her help. i honestly believe that if given a moment, these kids can produce what i'm asking. literally, if the child didn't start responding within half a second, the principal would start feeding them what to say. and it reallllly started to bug me. the kids just look to the principal, she tells them slowly what to say, their turn is over, and the child can happily forget what i've been working the last 40 minutes to teach them. splendid.

call it tough love, but i think if you put someone on the spot, they'll remember those moments better. if you ask someone to achieve something in front of the class and they do it successfully, it'll stick. kids and adults alike will relive it over and over again and they'll remember what they did. in the same way, i believe that if these kids can try and say their birthdays just once in front of the class, just so they can hear their own voice speak in english apart from their voices drowned among their classmates when asked to respond as a mass, and they accomplish that feat, that it'll stick and at least they'll be that more likely to remember what they learned.

what probably bothers me most are the kids who don't try. i know these kids are only 9 years old, but that's not an excuse to not try. the kids who look immediately to that adult behind them... those are the ones that break my heart. i believe they can do it. i wish they'd have a little more confidence in themselves.

anyway, back to my earlier reference about the boy who didn't say anything on his turn to say his birthday. after class, i talk to my English teacher/correspondent at that school, who's the Special Ed teacher there. he told me in english that that boy, "He can't speak Japanese."

well, that changes things a little. he looked full japanese to me too. maybe he just moved here.

and then he goes on to correct himself in japanese. it wasn't that the kid couldn't speak japanese. it's that he can't speak. at all. my first encounter with a mute. i still dont know much about that kid's situation, but i'm really curious how teachers know if he's learning anything without feedback...

anyway, the teacher apologized for not pointing out his 2 special ed kids and warning me ahead of time not to put them on the spot like that. i apologized for being a jerk, and took a mental note to be careful the next time i return.

but this kid got me thinking. the other special ed kid was one of the people who immediately looked to the principal for help. that's fine. she's a special ed kid. hence, she needs more help. but what are the normal kids' excuses? if you're a capable human being, act that way. how am i supposed to know who's special ed or not if everyone acts the same damn way? what distinguishes the normal from the special needs kids? they're not all helpless. i know they're not. kids, here is my bottom line: if you're capable, then try. you may actually learn something in the process.

rant over.