The Curse of Szerencs

My lesson planning during the week is like driving on a swervy mountain road: 2nd - 7th graders on Monday, 10-12th graders on Wednesday, 5th-8th graders on Thursday, and 1st-8th graders on Friday. I have to keep jerking the steering wheel in different directions. Once you get cruisin' around one curve, it's just so damn difficult to switch gears when a sharp turn comes at you.

I thought it would get easier, but NOPE...in fact it has gotten more difficult. Maybe the adrenaline has finally worn off or maybe I'm experiencing that month of utter exhaustion in teaching...the dreadful March/April combo, where holiday is right around the corner, but still miles away.

Most people know that I take my sweet time trying to come up with the best lessons that cater to the needs and abilities of my classes, but with my one positive addiction (walking) trying desperately to emerge from the cave of winter hibernation, I've had less time to plan (although Laura and I's impromptu IC dining car session on the way home from Budapest last weekend helped multi-task: getting home and planning for the next day).

So I was pleasantly surprised when the folks from www.daveseslcafe.com came through for me on Tuesday night. My day off had turned into a hurried fluster. The leisurely Tuesday morning I usually enjoy turned into me racing to Bolyai-Janos Primary School in the rain to meet Magdi, for whom I would proofread and refine a speech she'd had to translate for my landlady (aka the boss of everyone involved in education in Szerencs). She said that it would take 1 hour...well taking into consideration Hungarian spontaneity, I was there for a subsequent 3 hours. And I've officially decided that I do not belong in the field of translation...too mentally exhausting (and I wasn't even really translating!)

Anyway, getting back to my lesson...I will admit that I combined two ideas to make one workable and surprisingly enjoyable lesson for advanced kids. My 12A/H and 10N kids sit in class with their impeccable English, waiting for me to give them something brilliant to work with. Lately, I feel like I've failed to give their brains any kind of exercise. Today was a decent workout.

First, I took Emily's "How Wrong is it to...?" discussion and paired it with a fabulously sinister idea called Talk Talk Die! from Dave's.

I divided the kids into groups of 3-4 and gave them a topic to discuss (stole the list from Emily). They had 15 minutes to come up with thoughts/ideas/arguments on the topic...then came the fun part. I told them I was finished talking and that I'd choose a group to stand at the front of the class. As soon as I pointed my pen at one student they had to start talking. If they stuttered or hesitated or paused for more than 3 seconds, they DIED! The rest of the class LOVED to watch and the kids were genuinely challenged. When one student was down, I pointed at another, cut them off mid-sentence and pointed to another. I had normally lazy, half-sleeping kids jumping around in nervous anxiety at the front of the class! The last one standing was the winner and unfortnately I didn't have any kind of extrinsic reward or motivation, but the embarrassment of "dying" in front of their peers seemed to be enough for a while.

Also, a great way to get out some of your frustration on the kids :) haha...just kidding.