Universal Characteristics

It is my 6th week of teaching and even though I have made this discovery in the 2nd week, I thought I'd share it with you all anyway.

No matter where I go, how far from home I am, or what new culture I am in... students will remain universally the same.

You have the jocks, the "plastics", the nerds, the smart ones, the "not-so-smart" ones, the eager-to-answer question ones, the if-you-call-on-me-I-will-sink-into-the-ground ones, and the I-just-want-to-sleep ones.
And then you have the attitudes towards a particular subject.
-- I really want to learn English and I want good grade so I will work hard for it.
-- I really want a good grade, but I do not mind if I forget all the English I have learned along the way.
-- I really want a good grade... so you're going to give it to me, right? I know I didn't do the assignment, but that doesn't mean I -really- get a zero, does it? Sure, I was talking the whole time in class and not working as I should have, but... I was HERE, wasn't I?
-- I would be ASHAMED if I did not get a good grade so I will work hard and stress about it even though I really do not like English.
-- I really do not need this class... I think I will work on other homework
-- I really do not enjoy this class... I think I will sleep.
-- I really want to annoy the teacher and "be cool" among my peers so I will be disruptive in class.

And despite being 8000 miles away from the culture in which I was raised that I originally thought these titles and attitudes were culturally unique, they aren't.

But some things about me have changed:
1) I really do not mind if the students do not like me.
I just want my students to do their best and give their best in class. When students sleep in class, I am not offended that they may be uninterested in what we're doing. I am only disappointed that they do not value education and its possibilities.
And by the way, I was a high school student once too! There was the "schoolwork", then the homework, traveling to Little Rock for youth orchestra rehearsals, piano lessons, violin lessons, hanging out with friends and family, etc. So I do not blame the students for being sleepy. But that doesn't mean I will not ask you to wake up and do your best.
Being a teacher is a kind of stressful role. I have the responsibility to teach the students are core curriculum for them to pass when they take the entrance exams into college. Let's look at that sentence again: I have the responsibility to teach. I will NOT give you a good grade, it must be earned. I will NOT do anything less than give my 100% best effort to making activities fun, interesting, and an incorporation of concepts you are learning in your grammar class.

2) I am less up-tight about neatness and clutter.
My classroom will NEVER have straight rows and columns. I have conceded to that fact after spending tremendous effort the first week to correct the lines after every class. Instead, I am satisfied if rows are in the general vacinity and everyone has enough leg room. Plus, I have a group of students who help me clean everyday but Thursdays.

3) I have learned to separate a student's dislike for English from a student's dislike of me.
I sometimes catch my students giving dirty looks during class. This usually occurs after an assignment, worksheet, etc is given. The student isn't necessarily directing the dislike towards ME but rather that the student does not enjoy one of many things--having to work, having to practice, having to study, having to take English, etc.
And during the Sports Day Festival, I discovered that many of the students who gave such looks in class were really pleasant towards me. So it is not necessarily ME that they dislike, but rather the tasks set out for them. My advice to those students is "get over it"! Life will continue to hand you tasks and you can do them or you cannot and reap the consequences either way. School is just practice for such times to come.