|
|
Tiao, Justin (刁世邦)
My experiences with teaching were good. The first week at Chien-Tan was very tiring, but I had a great counselor (Teresa) that helped all of us through it. The first week was full of ups and downs. Some of the ups were making new friends and learning interesting things. We learned how to teach the kids and classroom management and stuff like that. Some of the downs were we had to sit through seminars for almost ten hours a day and some of the seminars were not interesting. Also, I did not get to sleep much. I slept late because seminars ended late and I had to get up very early each day. Most of the kids were very willing to learn, and they came to class prepared each day. With that being said, there were still some kids that did not want to be there, and they caused a distraction in class each day. They would not listen to us and were just being rebellious everyday. This was a huge problem because once one kid becomes rebellious, a rebellion in the entire class starts. For example, when we were playing a game, one kid did not want to play and insisted on sitting out. After about five minutes, we decided to just continue with the game, and a few minutes later, a girl said she did not want to play. When I told her she had to play, she just said, “if he does not have to play, then I do not have to play.” I did deal with this problem in an effective manner. I dealt with this by encouraging them whenever they did something right and by being strict when it became time to learn. My best experience teaching the kids was when we made milkshakes and I could just see the happiness on their faces. Our kids really loved trying American foods, American candy, and hearing about American culture. They really enjoyed hearing about our lives back home and looking at our houses and neighborhoods. Also, on this trip, I have met some really amazing people. For example, my teacher Sharon guided me through the entire teaching time. She observed our classes each day and gave us tips at the end of the day. Her tips helped me progress from an unconfident teacher to a teacher who was very confident in front of the class. I changed from this experience as well. Before teaching these kids, I did not have a lot of patience, but since teaching the kids English required a lot of love and patience, my patience improved. Moreover, this experience made me a better public speaker because I jumped at every chance to do public speaking. My public speaking was already pretty decent to begin with, but I am very happy that I got the chance to improve it here. Overall this was a pretty good experience.
One thing I would like to critique is the fact that there are people who do not speak mandarin in this program. The people who do not speak mandarin are not effective at all in the classroom, and they cannot communicate with the kids at all. They do not understand the kids, and the kids do not understand them either. Their teaching partner ends up doing all the work.
The last thing I would like to talk about is the tour. The tour was a lot of fun, and I would highly recommend anyone who does this program to go on the tour.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chu, Chu-Yuan (朱楚媛)
AID taught me much more than I had expected to learn. During the first week, I met the seven silly yet hardworking teammates that would accompany me throughout this unique journey. Together at Chientan, we learned the games and techniques we would need for our two weeks of teaching at Ruisui.
Before we knew it, we were in Ruisui Middle School giving our best in the opening performance. Each day was a new adventure as we introduced new topics and games to our kids. It was satisfying to see them enjoy the time we had together, but it was also challenging to come up with games and activities that were more interesting. At the same time, we were able to experience the rural life in Ruisui. Although there truly were a lot of bugs, it was nice to be among the kind people and the beautiful scenery. We were extremely lucky, as we went on several field trips during our two weeks at the school. We picked tea leaves and tried different types of tea at the Jiamin Tea Garden and visited the Ruisui Ranch with our students. These activities were enough to make our teaching experience unforgettable, but the most amazing part of my experience in Ruisui was my class of eleven middle school students. They were the most energetic, outgoing, and wonderful students I could have ever hoped to have. Despite the language barrier, they would always keep trying to communicate with the words they did know and they were always wiling to participate in the games my teaching partner and I had prepared for them. When my students pulled out their notebooks and started taking notes without my asking during class, I was so grateful for having these kids. Even during the weekends, our awesome group leaders, Phillip and Edward, took us on a tour of the most interesting places in Hualien. Whether it was hiking on the Baiyang Trail at the Taroko National Park or tie-dying a cloth with chopsticks and rubber bands, I had a blast with my teammates. When the time came to leave, we all agreed that we would miss our kids and would not mind staying the extra week to be with our students. Three of our students even showed up at the train station at five fifty in the morning to send us off.
The tour after we left the school was amazing. Our group went on the central tour. Though it was not the same without my kids, we still had lots of fun. From doing an aboriginal group dance to climbing the Sky Stairs at the Wenwu Temple, my group and I had lots of fun and learned about Taiwan at the same time. Thank you to AID for giving me the chance to meet these wonderful counselors, friends, and students.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chang, Jasmine (張雅婷)
I was very excited to come to the AID program. Not only did I want to experience teaching, I had heard many great things about the program. I wanted to try it for myself.
The first week at Chientan was full of classes. It was tiring, but I learned many great strategies that I implemented in the classroom and will use later in life. My group members and I got to know each other before we went down to Pingtung. I also got to know my lovely counselor, whom our group called Cindy Mommy. She was supportive of us and took good care of us. Our teacher, Laura, also helped us in every step of writing our working journals and presenting.
My two weeks teaching in Pingtung were simply amazing. I did not know what to expect on the first day of class, but my students welcomed me with open arms. After I took attendence on the first class, the students immediately piled me with question about my life. They wanted to know where I was from, if I could play cards, if I listened to Jay Chou, and all sorts of other things. As soon as the first recess bell rang, the boys pulled me over to play cards with them. We bonded very quickly.
There is not a better class I could ask for. There was Jimmy, the chief trouble maker but a sweet boy at heart. Then there was David, a naughty but extremely smart boy. Nina and Cindy were two sweethearts who sat in the front of the class, trying to learn. Tina always sat in the corner and rarely spoke in class, but she made lots of progress in her English skills. There was Mark, the class president and the brightest of the bunch. Then came Max, another sweet boy who loved to play and take selfies with me. There's Linda, who is a cutie. And then Jason, the handsome boy of the class who always made funny remarks. There's Justin, who stuck with me and my teaching partner Alice like crazy. And Andy, who was rarely in class due to dodge ball practice. Finally, there was Vicky, the smart girl who sat at the back of the class. They made my classroom experience unforgettable.
My kids probably taught me more than I taught them. They taught me how to think like a teacher, always having the students' best interest in mind. They taught me how to act harsh when I needed to, even though I was facing their cuteness. They taught me how to think on my feet, changing activities when necessary. Most of all, they taught me how to love a big group of people unconditionally.
The actual teaching had its ups and downs. I've had to lecture the class about good sportsmenship, pull kids out of the room to give them an individual talk, and yell constantly for the class to quiet down. However, I still loved it. There was never a dull moment in class, as my class knew what they want to do when Alice and I could not come up with ideas. My class worked hard to remember spelling, which they were weaker at. When I needed them to be serious to learn a song for a closing ceremony, they were fully cooperative as well.
Besides my students, I also got to know the staff members and other students at the school. The teachers were so welcoming, making sure we had anything we needed for a comfortable stay. One teacher even did our laundry at her house when the laundry we did by hand wouldn't dry due to rain. They showered us with lots and lots of compliments, never complaining about how we taught or the mess we sometimes made. The other students were also kind to me. I spent lots of time solving Rubik's Cubes for some boys in the next classroom. They often visited my classroom to show off something they found or just to say hi. I even met them after school on the track field to hang out until dinner.
The entire school made me feel so welcome, it almost felt like home. However, the two weeks came to an end all too soon. The closing ceremony came before I knew it. While I was proud to watch my kids sing Make a Man Out of You, I did not want this to end. I had grown to love this environmemt and everyone in it, but now I had to leave. I could not help but cry when I told the students I love them. The kids then gave us a surprise gift that they prepared during daycare class and sang us a song, which I still watch the recording of.
Tour week so far has been great. While I find it more tiring than the teaching, I am glad to see many sight that I haven't seen before. AID has been an amazing experience that I cannot describe completely. What I can say for sure is that I am thankful for this experience and every teacher, counselor, and student that made it great.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tsai, Michelle (蔡函妤)
The first week of training was probably the most difficult and overwhelming because of the all the new people I met and all the lesson plan work that need to be done. The jet lag from the time change also made it hard to stay concentrated during the lectures and lesson plan making. During training week we were assigned teaching partners and we learned about different techniques and strategies for teaching. I ended up completely changing the lesson plan that I had made from before the start of the program during the week.
The best part of the trip was definitely the two weeks spent at the school. Our school was on top of mountain and was located in a very small town. The first weekend we arrived was spent planning our opening ceremony and we ended up staying up pretty late before the first day of school so it probably would have been a better idea to plan the opening ceremony earlier. One the first day during our pre tests, we learned that the kids were at a much lower level than expected. We ended up having to modify our entire lesson plan once again to adjust to their level. For the most part we had to create lesson plans the day before there wasn’t enough time to create a new weekly lesson plan in one day. This meant that we would usually teach a full day, have a reflection meeting on the day, and come up with the next days lesson plan everyday.
Since the dorm rooms available didn’t have air conditioning, we chose to sleep in the classrooms so that we could have AC. Sleeping in the classrooms meant that we would have to walk outside to use the toilets or shower and that we had to sleep on the ground. All the people in the town were very welcoming and we met many important people who treated us to tea or meals.
We only had around 4-5 students per class because of how small the town was so we were able to give special attention to each child. Three of our students were very talkative and energetic while the other two were hesitant to talk. This made teaching the two quiet kids difficult because it was easy to get caught up with kids that would reciprocate and had a lot of energy. By the end of the two weeks it was hard to leave all the kids because they treated us as big brothers and sisters and even surprised us with a touching song during the closing ceremony. The kids were so humble and appreciative, it was a big difference from kids that I have worked with in America.
Overall the experience of teaching kids is something I am so glad I was able to experience because I have met some of my favorite people through the experience and I was opened up to a new culture that I hope learn even more about in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sawyer, Jared (張杰瑞)
At first I was very apprehensive of the situation due to the chaotic nature of the rooming system in tapei yet upon meeting my team and realizing how incredible they were I dove right in. I loved these few weeks and they are indubitably irremovable from my heart. It's hard to determine what experiences deserve their mention on this reflection but my students impacted me in a way I have never experienced before. Their endless internal drive to want to try to learn English with me and their undying desires to But so tonight we learned aboriginal dancing right but it was more they performed for an hour then we danced then after my friends and I went back and played on the traditional instruments and took pictures with them itwasa family so the mom led but the dancers were all 15 and super hyper and fun. Then as they were all getting into the van to leave one of the guys points to one of the girls and calls me over and says handsome guy can she kiss you but my Chinese sucks so I heard hug not kiss cuz I didn't know what the word kiss was and assumed it must be hug. So I open my arms and she kisses my cheek and I'm like whoa. Then a minute passes and my friends are going crazy right. The guy asks me over again to get another kiss I was like sure and I turn my cheek so the aboriginal girl can kiss me on the cheek and she turns my face and kisses me on the lipsmake me happy and just have fun astounded me and made me never want to have to leave. Still, beyond that the people here also reside in a sentimental part of my heart
Everyone here came to help and thus they are all the most endearing people you'll meet. Lastly, while the activities were fun they wouldn't be much without the conselours and all of the energy they bring with them. TAIWAN SUMMER AID 2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chu, Cindy (朱字行)
When I first arrived at the Taoyuan airport, I felt completely lost. Mandarin Chinese was spoken everywhere while I was only fluent in Cantonese (not particularly helpful at the moment). Even though the initial shock was frightening, I soon learned that I was not alone- some others couldn't speak Mandarin Chinese either! With this realization, I quickly felt more comfortable as the mentors and other volunteers spoke mostly in English. The counselors' effort in using English to get their points across was also very helpful and appreciated.
The training week at Chientan initially seemed boring, but it proved to be of great assistance when actually teaching the children. Before, I just thought it was common sense to do what the lecturers told us volunteers to do, but I didn't actually realize it would make a great impact on the way we taught and how successfully the children would learn.
The two weeks of teaching started out rough. The children had not yet adapted to the idea that the volunteer teachers had authority and aren't at their school just to waste time. As time passed and with the help of our mentor, the children behaved better and expressed interest in learning English along with some American culture. There are definitely moments of frustration as the English to Chinese communication between teacher and student aren't solid, but with patience, the students began to store basic teacher instructions into their memory. Each night, the other volunteer teachers and I would stay up fairly late to work on the next day's lessons and activities. From this, I learned that it's always better to have too much planned than not enough (showing movies is an awesome idea) and that it's a good idea to send the kids outside if they are too energetic to sit still in a classroom. On a different note, the kids are too adorable not to love.
Lastly, I'd like to dedicate my enjoyment of this journey mostly to the AIDSummer program, my mentor Kurt, and the other volunteers at my school. I'm really grateful that I was given this opportunity to experience much more than just teaching children- such as living independently and forming tight friendships. As for Kurt and the other seven volunteers at our school, I never realized that we would eventually grow so close (even to our mentor) that it'd lead to crying in the end. Even though the program is over, we'll most likely remain friends for a long time. I love you all! <3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wu, Maylyn (吳芝穎)
This experience volunteering through AID was incredible and exceeded my expectations by far. Going into this program I was nervous about the fact that I had to teach English to middle schoolers and also because of the fact that we would be living in the country side. I was also worried about being away from home for so long. Once i got to the Chientan I was having so much fun with all the new people I met. And then, once we got to Makuang Junior High in Yunlin, it was an amazing experience. Our teacher, Peter made us feel so at home by providing us with everything we needed. The teaching part was not as daunting as I had expected because we were well prepared at the Chientan and also our kids were very cooperative. At first they were very shy and hesitant, but they soon opened up after some ice breakers and other learning games. Our school, the staff, and all the students made us feel so at home and every one there got very close to each other. We quickly became a family though we only spent a short time together. We shared so many laughs through games in the classroom, after lunch activities, and the ceremonies we had. The closing ceremony was so wonderful to watch and help our kids prepare for because they were all very comfortable with us by then and it was a lot of fun. It was incredibly sad to leave our school after the two weeks. I am still very amazed and surprised at all the bonds we were able to create and lasting friendships and such a short period of time! I hope I made as much impact on Makuang and its students as they have for me. If I could I would definitely do this again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lai, Julie (賴錦宜)
At first, I came into the camp extremely skeptical. I didn't think I'd make any friends and I didn't think that I would learn anything particularly life-changing. The first week was rough, but each day became better than the last. I became more close with my group members and my roommates and I made friends easily. My only complaints were that we barely could go outside that I even forgot I was in Taiwan, and that all we did was sleep, eat, and listen to lectures. My body felt like a potato but I found ways to work thag out later as the week went on. Once I got to Dong He elementary, I started to understand the big picture of the program. At Dong He, everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The security guard and a few of the workers there soon became one of our best friends there. I want to specially thank teacher Wendy for taking on this responsibiltiy to lead my group for two weeks. She is always so caring and cared for our health the most. Teaching the kids was something completely unexpected, though. The program emphasized the need for all this excitement in every single teaching plan, but I found that I had to play by ear and see what the kids were into instead. The kids I taught did not know any english aside from the ABC's so it was a little difficult in changing our lesson plans in such a small amount of time. My students were also the most rowdy of the kids so it made my experience a tad more stressful and irritable than others. However, I did learn how to keep my patience and I became better at handling kids. The best time I had was before and after school, when I would be with my team. The program also emphasized the extreme ruralness of the schools, but my school was barely rural at all and we went into the city a lot. I was lucky for that. The school was still rural for me since I've never been to an area even remotely rural so I learned how to live in a place other than the urban setting. I also learned how to handle all my mosquito bites. Coming out of this camp, I made more friendships and I learned how to live and teach in a place less privileged than I am used to. I am grateful for this experience and I am so happy I came to this camp.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cui, YiChang (崔毅暢)
The teaching for the past 2 weeks have been arguably 2 of the most rewarding and enjoyable weeks of my life thus far. Initially I was very skeptical about the teaching, especially after the rather dull reaction that we received from the kids following our opening ceremony performance. However, during the course of the first week the enthusiasm of the kids and the speed at which they assimilated us into their lives was one of the most touching experiences I've been through. I really grew attached to them and it became more of a older sibling younger sibling relationship as opposed to simply teacher student. The kids were very bright and absorbed knowledge like sponges and their thirst for more was very evident and enjoyable. In addition, it put a smile on my face every day just seeing them show up and interact with us like the closest of their family members. It was a very heartbreaking moment leaving them after 2 weeks and I really wish that we could have spent more time together, but I leave this camp knowing that I have made a positive impact on 8 young minds as well as knowing that I have made lifelong friends despite me being the "teacher" and them being the "students". I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 weeks and I wish it could have lasted longer, but thanks for the unforgettable memories.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liu, Jessalyn (劉宇歡)
AID has been an amazing 3 weeks and it is an experience I will never forget. For the past three weeks I have had the pleasure of working with various counselors and dedicated volunteers who inspire me everyday. One specific group of people that continue to inspire me is my teaching group. At first, I was worried that our group wouldn't be able to connect as a team which ultimately would have led to a stressful two weeks. Thankfully, that was not the case. Right from the start at Chientan we all had the same common goal that we wanted to within the following two weeks. Due to this, our teaching weeks were smooth and successful. Within those two weeks of teaching I came to know my teaching partners better, my kids better, but most importantly myself. Though this program is meant for us, the AID volunteers, to teach the students English, I think it was a give and take experience where we learned a lot from the kids as well. The kids not only taught me about my teaching styles, but more importantly they helped me discover a side of me that I didn't know. Despite the fact that I was constantly pushed to the breaking point by their unwavering energy and piercing laughs, it helped me discover a newfound desire to create that sense of passion in them. The passion that creates the desire to learn, the desire to grow and the desire to enjoy every second that they had inside and outside the classroom. However, this desire directly transferred over to me as well. As the days went on, I discovered a passion to learn more about the kids, a passion to develop closer friendships with those around me and the passion to enjoy every second I had in Taiwan. Taiwan, specifically Jhutian, had become like my second home and it was heartbreaking to leave the school and the kids there. I hope that the kids learned as much from me as I did from them and hopefully my lessons will go on with them until they grow up. This whole AID has added to my life and who I am. I am very excited to see what else AID has to offer during these last few days and I'm looking forward to making even more memories with the wonderful people who constitute AID.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lii, Rebecca (李蓓佳)
The summer AID camp exceeded my expectations. When I first entered Chientan, I was very nervous because of the trouble of making new friends and getting along with everybody. When I went to Yunlin to teach the students, I thought that I was going to be unable to teach well. We had our lesson plans set up and ready, yet we felt very unprepared. The teacher at the school was kind enough to help us with anything we needed and to also provide us with the necessities to survive at the countryside. The new environment taught us different ways to survive and to live. The best new experience was learning how to wash our own clothes because my mom had to go through the same ways.The students were very friendly and also understanding. The beginning of teaching was difficult due to the lack of communication with the students. They were quiet and unresponsive. I thought the kids would be more active rather than shy. We began with ice breakers and a fly swatter game which got us closer to each other. The students grew closer to every teacher and the volunteers were there to help us. The two weeks of teacher passed by very quickly. The closin ceremony was a success and the children enjoyed their time. The most depressing day was the day before we had to leave. I never knew thatvi would get so close to the people at Yunlin. The volunteers slept over and the kids woke up early in the morning to say their goodbyes. The camp definitely allowed me to become more mature and diligent. I made connections that would last forever. The memories that I have made will stay with me forever because of this special experience. I have made new friends and family during the time at this camp. I could never ask for more than this experience in life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kuo, Nora (郭昕昕)
So AID is now asking us to sum up the program in 500 words? As far as I’m concerned, that’s not possible. From training to teaching to touring, the whole four weeks is one giant experience. Whether it’s good or bad, well — depends on the person, I guess. After the training week, my only thought was, “How am I going to be able to teach?” The first week made teaching look so difficult. I was already exhausted and we hadn’t even taught a single kid yet. And after two weeks, it was, in fact, pretty difficult — but nothing we couldn’t handle, it turns out.
My single thought after my first day of teaching: “I. Am. So. TIRED.”
Thoughts after two weeks of teaching: “Thank GOD that’s over.” “I’m ready to go home and sleep for a week.” “I’m never becoming a teacher.” “Oh my god I am never ever going near a third grader ever again.”
Despite all the physical and emotional toll of handling seventeen crazy crazy CRAZY third graders (as seen in my thoughts above), I was surprised to find that I would actually miss the kids when we left. What? I would miss the little monsters? Because they truly were monsters. Two girls wouldn’t stop screaming. Half of the boys wouldn’t listen. None of the boys or girls wanted to work together. Every day was a drama. At least one person cried. No one wanted to nap after lunch. Second day, two kids were sent to the teachers’ office for fighting — one of them ended up with a nasty knot on his forehead because his head was slammed into the floor by the other repeatedly. Is this enough to scare you away yet? I hope not, because as I was saying, I found myself actually sad to leave. Why? Why would I ever miss such insanity and chaos?
I said it was an experience, didn’t I? On our tour trip to the Feng Chia night market, my group and I met a man and his teenage son from Massachusetts. I’m not talking about this to be creepy or anything, because it’s totally relevant. We struck up a conversation and eventually ended up talking about the AID program. And you know what was most surprising? Despite all our little monsters, despite the chaos and exhaustion and frustration, despite everything that happened during our two teaching weeks — my exact words to sum up AID were, “It’s really fun and a great experience.” And then I was like you should totally do it next year!! to the son and his dad was like yeah that sounds like a great time and they were both pretty interested (so AID should pay my group and me for the advertising).
My main point, however, is that even though there were so many different experiences and so many highs and lows, deciding to be a part of the AID program was one of the best choices of my life so far. I’ve never taught English before, and I was able to practice my Chinese with my students because they only spoke Chinese (and honestly, even after two weeks of English class, I seriously doubt my teaching skills because they didn’t seem to have retained anything). I learned a lot — almost too much — about proper classroom management, and I caught an in-depth glimpse into the minds of nine- and ten-year-olds. It wasn’t pretty, but the whole experience and being able to work with such energetic and crazy kids was enlightening, humbling, and most of all, fun.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wu, Emily (吳宛恬)
I was apprehensive in the beginning; four weeks seemed like such a long time. Even though I would only be teaching for half the time, would I truly be able to? After all, the only teaching experience I had was on an individual basis with violin or my friends. Despite my worries, I found that I had been grouped with seven amazing individuals, as well as a lovable supervising teacher. Over the next several weeks I met many more equally incredible people. Teaching was never a chore since our students were adorably hilarious and quirky, and it was absolutely my pleasure to be able to work and play with them. I was surprised to find that they were all so responsible and caring, as my past experiences in middle school in the US, and in general, paint a different picture. The teaching assistants were ever helpful and always ready to pop in with a clever quip or an answer. Many times it seemed that they were the ones getting the most out of our English lessons. At Ruei-Suei Middle School, it always felt like I was part of one giant family, and I always knew I could find a home with my group of fellow teachers. In addition to all of these people, I'm particularly grateful to the adults and counselors that took care of us throughout these four weeks. They went above and beyond to look out for us and try to make sure things run smoothly.
Though I'm not sure how much our students actually learned, I certainly learned a lot from them and everybody that I've met, as well as from the program as a whole. I've found that though teaching can be difficult at times, it is immeasurably rewarding. We tried to pretend that we knew no Chinese, which proved to be far more challenging than I would have expected. I've also picked up a little more Taiwanese and Chinese, and I've learned a lot about the foods, cultures, and people of Taiwan. I'm grateful that I got to meet so many interesting people and have such a myriad of new experiences through this program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Huang, Isabelle (黃逸白)
Wow. This month both dragged and flew by. Despite the humidity, the heat, and the sun, and the local wildlife (ahem, flying cockroaches) this month has been more fun than I expected. The training week was very enlightening on what we, the teachers, would be facing for the next two weeks, as well as a great bonding experience for all of us in the group. Ruisui’s middle school ended up being far larger than I expected, and the classes far smaller. (Also, there was a gorgeous view from any room, seriously, wow.) I, along with Stephen, had class D, with a total of seven, and later eight students. The first day, they were so, so quiet. It was the weirdest thing – when I was in middle school, no one class had ever been that quiet. Ever. Perhaps it was that we were strangers and kind of intimidating. Everyone mumbled answer for the icebreakers, usually using each other’s answers as basis for their own (D class had the lowest English proficiency of the four classes). It was more than a bit frustrating as they didn’t really want to participate – until we pulled out the more active games, and instituted a points system. Pictionary was the best – they went nuts. The room dissolved into complete anarchy every time someone starting drawing something on the black board. It was great! :D
One of the issues everyone seemed to have, was that the girls and boys were so segregated. Not only did they sit on separate sides of the room, one of the boys, Clark, refused to ever tap any of the girls on the shoulder for any games. We assigned them to teams of four and four, and thus they had to work together, regardless of their squeamishness. While our students learned vocab very quickly, they didn’t retain it for very long. Depending on who it was – usually the girls paid more attention, and took notes – vocab words learned only an hour ago might be lost without the review games. Despite this however, the students seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves during the various activities we arranged for them –basketball and sharks and minnows, Halloween trick or treating and mask making, Easter egg hunting, dodge ball and kickball – and I’m glad that we were able to provide a small taste of what America is like, even though they might not remember the vocab.
The initial ploy of only speaking English was quickly dropped for class D, as sometimes not even the TAs understood what we were trying to convey. Most everyone else dropped it as well by the second week, as this did allow us to have normal conversations with the students – some of which derived immense joy from nosing into the guy teacher’s love lives (haha). By the end of two weeks our class was nowhere near as quiet as they had been on that first awkward day (Tina in particular kept demanding piggyback rides). After the water balloon fight, and consumption of Yi’s birthday cake, goodbyes took a few hours, and the next day some of the students came to see us off at 6am at the train station. (Aww.)
Seriously, much thanks to everyone involved in planning this – to Philip, animal-whisperer, fellow fan of the Stormlight Archive, and host teacher, (best of luck in the interviews), to Edward, bringer of breakfast, speaker of extremely good English, ninja-with-a-camera, and alt. military teacher guy (good luck in the flight attendant thing), to all the TAs, you guys rock, to all the not-really-TAs-but-decided-to-help-anyways, you guys rock too, the other alt. military guys, Homejay and the-guy-who-brought-the-postcards, and the lady-who-took-us-on-tours, thanks! And Paige too, yes. We love Paige! :)
Without all of you, nobody could’ve had as fun of an experience teaching as we did.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liao, Emily ( 廖孟瑄)
This teaching experience was really impactful to me because it gave me the opportunity to know what it is like to be a teacher. I have never been a teacher before and this gave me a chance to see what it is like to be one. Turns out being a teacher isn’t as easy as I had imagined it would be. I have a new found respect for all my former, current and future teachers. It's very hard to keep your students under control especially when they are 3rd graders with very short attention spans.
It feels good to know I made a difference in these kids' lives.
When I first got there, a lot of the students wore confused looks on their faces. I knew I had a lot of work to do. But after the two weeks, there was a visible improvement in their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.
I believe being multilingual is very important because it opens up your world to more different and diverse cultures. I know mine is broader because I know English, Chinese, and a little bit of Spanish. I’m so grateful of what I have and I would never take it for granted. I think it is important to give kids who are less fortunate than I am the same opportunity I was given. I’m so glad I was a part of this and I was able to bring two weeks of English to these kids.
On the last day, my adorable little students cried and begged me not to go. They asked if I would return next year to teach them and play with them again. I knew right then and there that I had accomplished what I had wished to do when I first applied for this program. I had this idea that I would bring English to these kids through fun activities and games in hopes of sparking their interest in the English language. I wasn't there to teach them how to speak English fluently in two short weeks, that’s not what this camp is about. I was there to give them the English speaking environment they wouldn't have had otherwise which I was able to provide by going to their school. My hope is that they continue to study English beyond these two weeks and study English to the point where they can be able to communicate with it. They are all talented individuals. I have faith they have what it takes to accomplish that.
This summer is definitely one I will remember for a long time because I got to meet lots of fellow volunteers from all over the world and I feel like I have became like a big sister to my adorable little students.
Thanks to all those people who made this trip memorable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gu, Melissa (顧芳芳)
I’d heard of this program from my sister, who attended two years earlier. She had quite a few stories to tell me about how long and difficult the journey ahead would be, and suffice it to say I was pretty anxious about the whole experience. However, I entered with an open mind, hoping that I would at least be able to learn something from it.
During training week I met my new group members, with whom I would eventually become close friends. Although the lectures were long and somewhat tedious, we made it through together, and did end up learning quite a few teaching techniques along the way. I didn’t feel altogether prepared for teaching, but I had a better idea of what to expect.
Soon enough, the first day of teaching was upon us. I was surprised to find that the students were well behaved and eager to learn. The main difficulty was that there were many different levels amongst the students, with some only knowing a fractured alphabet, and others knowing quite complex sentences. Throughout the course of the two weeks, my teaching partner and I slowly figured out how to strike a balance between helping out those who had a more basic level and challenging the upper level students.
Teaching was much more exhausting than I could have imagined, as every night was spent completing working journals and reflections, and planning the next day’s lessons. It was definitely a struggle to keep up the energy and enthusiasm when all I wanted to do was put my head down and sleep. There were also quite a few instances of crying students and some attitude issues, and it took a lot of coaxing as well as discipline to ensure that everyone was actively participating. Though we had our ups and downs, at the end of the two weeks, I was very sad that my time as a teacher was ending. Saying goodbye to the students was extremely tough, and I can genuinely say that I will miss every single one of them. This program has simultaneously been one of the most challenging and most rewarding experiences I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ll definitely remember it for the rest of my life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shih, Stephen (施承佑)
My previous visits to Taiwan have been interesting, especially visiting my relatives across Taiwan. However, this summer was different. This summer has been the most interesting of all as I attended the 2015 Taiwan summer AID program. After 3 weeks of being a part of this program, first as part of the workshop at Chientan and the next 2 weeks at Lishin Junior High School in Taichung as a volunteer teacher, I would say that I am humble and grateful to be a part of this year's summer AID program. I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to come to Taiwan and to have a chance to teach English to Taiwan students and to show them that learning English can be fun! All of the counselors, teacher assistants, teachers and our hosts have all been welcoming and very helpful to me and the rest of my group of volunteer teachers. I can say that I am fortunate to have had all their assistance and company as well as for the rest of my group. Most importantly, I want to reflect on all of the students that I had taught. All of the students were enthusiastic and were all nice to us volunteer teachers. They especially had fun when we played the review games in class, reviewing the vocabulary and the topics taught for that day, as well as all of the class field trips and in class activities. I feel that all of the students did really well on remembering and learning all the topics we taught them in class. And I am confident that all of their English language learning will continue to improve in the future. Having said all that, I am really going to miss our group of students and I also want to thank them for being a part of this program. I feel that this program would not have been possible without them being a part of this program. Lastly, if I were to give any advice to future prospective volunteer teachers attending future Taiwan AID programs, I would say a couple of things. First, if you are not familiar or not used to the environment around you then the key thing would be to try and adapt to changes. You can also try to make the best out of it. Next, if you find yourself stuck on something or need assistance, don't be afraid to ask questions. Just remember that everything you do is all part of the learning experience. Throughout my previous experiences visiting Taiwan, most of the Taiwanese people are very friendly and helpful especially to all foreigners. I think that it just might be part of the Taiwanese culture to provide assistance and hospitality to all. I would also say good luck to those future volunteers of future Taiwan AID programs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lii, Angela (李瑞佳)
I was very excited to be accepted in this program and to have this amazing opportunity to help those who are not as lucky as I have been. My experience in Jhutian Elementary School has been one of the best experiences in my whole entire life. I didn't think I would enjoy teaching the children, and I thought that teaching would be very tiring. Even though it ended up being tiring, the children really grew on them. In these two weeks, I have grown to love each and every one of them, and I'll be so sad that I can't teach them English anymore. I'm also sad that I won't be able to see their cute faces every day! They were all very smart and very cute. This experience has not only been for the children, but I think that I have also been heavily impacted. Teaching English to the children has opened my eyes up to how fulfilling and wonderful this opportunity has been. This will remain to be one of my greatest experiences, and I will never forget it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clark, Nathan (常念恩)
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at AID Summer 2015. Even though I showed up late a day due to issues with my airplane, I have appreciated the time I have been able to spend with the teachers in my group, B1-4. They have taught me about selfless service and taught me to appreciate the opportunities I have been given in the States, as well as the wonderful opportunity to come back to Taiwan to give back to my community. The students also have taught me to appreciate the English language and how lucky I am to have been able to learn English from a young age and have that skill. AID has taught me about serving others and what it truly means to give back. Although at times the trip was stressful and I was not able to resolve every problem quickly due to my lack of experience in teaching, I learned what it means to truly learn to care about people you have never met and learn to love them in only a short amount of time. I appreciate those at my school who allowed the program to be held at their school and supported us in everything we needed and in everything we did. Our supervising teacher from the school was extremely helpful and was understanding of our needs and really made us feel like home. I have truly grown as an individual and I have appreciated all the lessons that AID Summer has taught me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee, Jeffrey (李易恩)
When I first boarded the plane in O'Hare Airport, I had no idea what I was getting into. i had no idea the amazing friends that i would make, the amazing places I would go, or the unforgettable experiences that i would have. There's more on that later, but before I get ahead of myself, I would like to thank the entire AID Summer organization for creating this program and allowing me, out of all the other applicants, to come to Taiwan an experience it's beauty in it's fullest.
The idea of travelling to a foreign country is enough for most people to pack their bags right there and catch the first plane to that nation. Add on the possibility of helping the disadvantaged is merely just adding the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. Stacking on a free week-long tour of the nation just makes it feel like a dream. For me, this trip was just that. When I first learned of this program from my sister, I could not believe my ears because it sounded too good to be true! When I learned that my sister was indeed telling the truth, i knew at that moment that I had to apply and attend this once in a lifetime event. That I did, and when I learned that I was accepted, I was ecstatic and excited for departure day.
The week long experience at Chien Tan was god sent for an amateur teacher such as me. I knew nothing about teaching young children, much less teaching them in a different language. The classes at Chien Tan, though long, were all packed full of information and teaching ideas that I found myself using not a week later. The dedication and passion that the teachers displayed while teaching was more than admirable, and for that I thank the teachers at Chien Tan for putting their heart and soul into teaching is volunteers.
I had never known that anything could be as tiring as teaching. After the first day, in addition to sore leg and broken voices, my teaching partner and I knew that we were in for an arduous but fantastic journey. As much as Chien Tan taught us, there is no better teacher than experience itself. From the first day to the last, we were constantly challenged by our wonderful Lucy director teacher to make our classes the best they can possibly be and as much fun as they can be as well. Throughout the two weeks, I could visibly see my, and my teaching partner's teaching skills improve as a result of Lucy teacher's constant reminders. For that I thank you Lucy for making sure that we were the best we could possibly be. And who could ever forget the wonderful students that we had to privilege of teaching? Each and every on of our students worked incredibly hard to learn our ridiculously difficult language English. Though at times rowdy, I know that each one of them tried their best and through their performance on the Pre and Post test, I know they learned a great deal as well. For that, I thank my students; I know that each one of the will have a wonderful future.
To conclude my post reflection, I would like to once again express my gratitude to AID Summer and all those associated with this organization. Whether it is the green shirted volunteers who have withstood all of our troubles from day 1 or the teacher who made us into the best teacher we could possibly be, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. This trip has truly been unforgettable and I know that I will definitely utilize the skills that I have learned from this trip to improve my future and the futures of all those around me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lee, Brian (李敬文)
During my time at AID Summer 2015 program, I have learned a lot about not only Taiwan and its culture but also a lot about myself through this rich experience. From the very beginning of the program, I found everything to be very applicable because I used many of the various teaching techniques and games that the speakers presented to us in the first week of training. Although the lectures were sometimes boring, they were mostly necessary to help us prepare for the next two weeks of actual English teaching to Taiwanese kids.
Personally, the teaching portion of the program was the most rewarding for me. I could tell each and every kid in my class was eager and ready to learn English no matter how well or how poorly they already knew the language. Some students were already proficient in English while others could not speak a lick of English. However, no matter, it was extremely satisfying knowing that each kid in my class appreciated my efforts in teaching them by giving their best effort. In the first week of teaching, it was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable because the kids seemed to be shy and intimidated by us. Many of the kids would not speak unless we called them out specifically by using sticks with their seat number on it, but over time it gradually got better. As I asked questions, the students felt more at ease to answer, so flow of the classroom felt much better. I felt much more comfortable sharing my stories and answering any questions they had about basically anything. The second week was a lot smoother, and I even started bonding with many of my students because they were very curious about my life in America compared to theirs in Taiwan. Leaving the middle school to go on the week-long tour was a tearful experience as our teaching assistants and students came to say goodbye to us. Almost everyone had tears running down their face as we had all grown very fond of each other, and we were sad to leave them.
The tour after the two week teaching period was jam-packed with interesting activities each and every day. I enjoyed sightseeing and learning more about the culture of Taiwan. It was exciting getting to know more about the island where my parents grew up and see how they were raised compared to my childhood in America. If I could attend this program again next year, I definitely would because it has been one of the best experiences of my life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shih, Deanna (石嘉瑀)
The television channels a steam of advertisements as I sit amongst the chattering in the room, and I recall. My memories from these past four weeks. This unique opportunity offered to me has truly impacted my life, from the school's generosity to my team's gradual sense of closeness throughout the trial during the first week of training at Chientan, my team was always dead silent during activities. However, two short weeks of teaching and living together have allowed us to open up to each other. Two weeks of training haven Lao made me realize that teaching is incredibly tiring and difficult. I remembers he mean of the first day of teaching, as well as the bawling faces of students on the last day. I remember the students' reluctNce to come on stage on the first day, as well as the rowdiness on the last day. I remember the unforgettable experience AID Summer 2015 has been.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chang, Olivia (張念岷)
AID summer has provided me with a rewarding and memorable summer. Education is one of the best gifts that a person can give and I feel honored to have been chosen to share my education with the students. These students gave up their summer to come learn English and in my eyes that shows a great amount of dedication and commitment. The bonds that I have created with my students is one that I will always remember as I hope they will too. In addition to connection with students, I have met so many new people and created many more connections through fellow volunteers, teachers at the school, and counselors. AID has given me the chance to meet people from all around the world, explore all of the beautiful wonders of Taiwan, and given me the opportunity of a lifetime.
AID has helped me grow as a person and become more confident in the person that I am today. My experiences in Taiwan have given me a diverse perspective in the world and made me more aware of other countries. I have gained knowledge about Taiwanese culture and how it differs from mine or how they may be similar. Of all of the places I have had the chance to see and explore and people I have met. My greatest and most cherished moments are when I was teaching the kids. When the students understand what I am teaching them or are exciting to show me their progress in English, which is what has made this volunteer experience worth it. My most favorite memory with my students has to be when one stayed back during break and asked If I could quiz him on the material we had just learned in class. I had not assigned any student a quiz, he had wanted to improve and he was proactive about it. It was in that moment that I knew, I was there for a purpose, and that student confirmed my purpose. I was proud to be chosen to be an AID volunteer. I feel lucky to have been able to witness the great achievement and development of my the kids.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wang, Emily (王婷怡)
Personally, I moved to US when I was 10 years old. The struggles I had during my first couple years were the reasons why I signed up for this program. My goal during this program was to improve kids' speaking and listening skills. Although I'm not sure if my way of teaching was the best way or not, at the end of second week teaching, the students got more comfortable with speaking and listening.
When I first arrived at Chientan, the excitement and the liveliness of the group showed that this program was going to be an unforgettable moment in my life. The training week was rough and tough. Many of the volunteers had little to no experience in teaching including me. But after the teacher's guidance and support from peers, the nervous level started to decline. During the teaching week, the stress each day preparing for the following day was time consuming. But knowing that your teacher(s) or group members are always there help you, the amount of stress decreased and, in the end, was all worth it. Being able to see the students’ progression and create a special bond with the students made me realize that I should never underestimate my abilities to help others.
There were many unforgettable moments during this program. One of them is being able to bond with my group and being able to know variety of people from all over the world. Getting to meet new people is one of the reasons why I applied. But I didn’t expect to meet so many people in such short period of time. I feel that this program is more than assisting individuals with disadvantages. This program is to also help young adults like us to build up our leadership, communication, and socializing skills to prepare us for the future. Another unforgettable moment during this program was also experiencing Taiwan life in a different way. I am a city child; I was born in the city, raised in the city, and live in the city. If it wasn’t for this program, I would have never experience what it is like living in the mountains. At first, I was very nervous about the environment of where the school was at. But after living there for two weeks; learning about the tea culture, star gazing, mountain climbing, and visiting landmarks, the experience was remarkable. Last but not least, the tour week was also one of the highlight of this program. I love traveling and learn more about different cultures. Even though I’m Taiwanese, there are still many things for me to explore and learn. And the tour week allowed us to do that. One of my favorite places we visited was the Aboriginal Culture Village. During our trip there, we got to learn about the history of the groups, different folk tales, and their traditional dances.
I’m so grateful for being able to participate in this program. The funny, sad, angry, frustrated, excited, sleepy, and lazy moments during this program was what made this program fun and unforgettable. I will forever cherish these moments spent with all volunteers, teachers, students, and counselors. Lastly, I want to thank 救國團, 僑委會, 教育部, and 太平國小 for giving me this opportunity to have such wonderful experience. Hopefully, I will be able to participate in something similar to this again in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|