The Expectations Of Adults Are High...And Ridiculous
A parent teacher meeting is daunting for both the teacher and the student but never the parent.It is true i dare say. A parent once asked me what was the best form of punishment and yet another wanted to know the exact date her child could speak like a westerner.
My answer to the former was that i did not know what was the best punishment (if there ever was one!) for a teenager since i was not a parent to one and neither did i condone punishment of the physical kind. i wanted to add that meting out punishment was not my area of expertise but stopped myself in time. i was tongue tied for a few seconds before coming up with the best possible answer for the latter parent. i patiently told her that learning a second language was no easy task for a non native speaker especially so when her son attended a chinese school and spoke only the local dialect at home, at school and everywhere else. i wish i could have also said to her face that i did not have a magic wand nor a crystal ball to wave magic and predict a date.
Honestly, my students seem to have a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in learning another language. They just want to have fun during the process and being open minded will reward the teacher with an enriching experience. i have had my fair share of frustrations but it's none too great compared to what my students have to overcome. They try their best to grasp the intricacies that come with learning a language that is absolutely foreign to them and that in itself is admirable.
It is the adults who have such ridiculous expectations from both their children and the teachers who teach them. To them, the money that comes forth from their pockets are supposed to produce instant results. Hardwork, dedication and perseverance are never considered as crucial ingredients to lifelong learning and mastering a language or anything for that matter. They push their kids and push the teachers harder.
As a result, children and teenagers rebel and are stressed as they are not allowed to think for themselves nor given the opportunity to express creatively. They eventually get bored and uninterested in learning and it is a pity. Teachers on the other hand get worked up with demanding parents which can sometimes end in angry verbal exchanges or silent fuming. i choose to ignore the unreasonable ones and focus instead on my students and delivering my best in the classroom.
i always tell my students to put in real effort, to express themselves and to think out of the box. There is no shortcut to learning a language or anything else in life and i certainly do not own a magic wand to make them speak better, quicker or like a westerner!.
My answer to the former was that i did not know what was the best punishment (if there ever was one!) for a teenager since i was not a parent to one and neither did i condone punishment of the physical kind. i wanted to add that meting out punishment was not my area of expertise but stopped myself in time. i was tongue tied for a few seconds before coming up with the best possible answer for the latter parent. i patiently told her that learning a second language was no easy task for a non native speaker especially so when her son attended a chinese school and spoke only the local dialect at home, at school and everywhere else. i wish i could have also said to her face that i did not have a magic wand nor a crystal ball to wave magic and predict a date.
Honestly, my students seem to have a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in learning another language. They just want to have fun during the process and being open minded will reward the teacher with an enriching experience. i have had my fair share of frustrations but it's none too great compared to what my students have to overcome. They try their best to grasp the intricacies that come with learning a language that is absolutely foreign to them and that in itself is admirable.
It is the adults who have such ridiculous expectations from both their children and the teachers who teach them. To them, the money that comes forth from their pockets are supposed to produce instant results. Hardwork, dedication and perseverance are never considered as crucial ingredients to lifelong learning and mastering a language or anything for that matter. They push their kids and push the teachers harder.
As a result, children and teenagers rebel and are stressed as they are not allowed to think for themselves nor given the opportunity to express creatively. They eventually get bored and uninterested in learning and it is a pity. Teachers on the other hand get worked up with demanding parents which can sometimes end in angry verbal exchanges or silent fuming. i choose to ignore the unreasonable ones and focus instead on my students and delivering my best in the classroom.
i always tell my students to put in real effort, to express themselves and to think out of the box. There is no shortcut to learning a language or anything else in life and i certainly do not own a magic wand to make them speak better, quicker or like a westerner!.
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