Sunday 8 September 2013

Mummy appreciation week ~ open week!

Love our open week, but I am always disappointed when mums/dads can't find the time to come along to class. Did you know, you are welcome to come & observe anytime you like? We do have an open door policy (we just need a phone call so we know who to expect & can find a chair for you).

My philosophy for the school is that we do not spend weeks prepping false impressions. When I worked at Shindai Fuzoku (for 5 years) the teachers there "practiced" the same lesson two or three times through with the students, identifying exactly who would do what & be asked which questions (and how). The entire demo lesson would be fine tuned to the second, with the teacher sleeping in the teacher's room for a week stressed to breaking point & beyond. (Meanwhile none of their other classes got any consideration/planning...)

Students practiced standing up, standing behind chair, pushing it in & standing up straight, saying "Excuse me, I'm not sure, but... (all in Japanese) & then mutter their scripted & well-rehearsed utterance (usually a 'translation' of a 'key' word...) Utter farce. That the observers were all in battle-dress black suits, toted cameras/videos & clipboards each, observed very invasively (in the 'special class observation room') and outnumbered the students (yeah, more than 30) "unobtrusively" taking a peek at " cutting edge" EFL practice ... Total bollocks.

Business as usual with us, our intent that parents (or grandparents) can see work in progress. Yes, of course we want to showcase key achievements but we do this every week; we are always trying new stuff and & have our learned striving.

If our YLEs are operating beyond their parents' comfort zone, so much the better! With my Friday class we've been working together for 'a while'...all new stuff with mums watching today blitzing time telling, every day activities, numbers 0 ~ 60, and murdering "long /a/" spellings for dessert...I know they can do this & the 'hallelujah' moment when "stuff goes in" (technical term!)  is blissful...and you can't fake it :)

Thanks mums for coming & watching; hope you like what we are doing week in, week out...I love their hard work!

And you can come watch any other class at Luna anytime you like; an older group to see the line of travel? A younger one for little brother or sister? No sweat!



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