Tag: school

We got that attitude! – 14th November 2019

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful today for meeting all the kids at the school gate this morning. The happy ones, the tired ones, the shy ones. They all make me smile. I was grateful for the opportunity to talk with Said this morning too as we haven’t had a chance to talk much yet. I was also happy and grateful to stand in front of the school assembly and make the kids laugh and have fun. I was happy and grateful to see a small smile on Puifai’s face when I helped her with some difficult work. It’s very gratifying to see the kids thinking hard and then suddenly getting it!

We got that attitude! – 12th November 2019

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Slept deeply last night – for some reason the stress of standing up for myself on a small issue has made me very tired.

Yesterday was also a little frustrating as my students seem to have mostly forgotten what they did last week. Not all of them but enough to show that this will be a struggle. I do remember having a similar feeling in CRPAO soon after I started. I guess I need to adjust my expectations – teach to the top/middle – keep them interested.

I woke up tired but feel reasonably confident this morning. I only have two lessons today so can spend a lot of time preparing more lessons.

Gratitude Journal

I was so happy and grateful to watch the sunrise this morning. It came up over the mountain behind the temple spire and it was amazing. Every day the sun comes up. Long before I was here and long after I’m gone.

We got that attitude! – 6th November 2019

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to hear positive feedback from the Thai teachers about my teaching. It gives me some pride and confidence that what I’m doing is ok. I am also so happy and grateful that, so far, there is actually less work to do. Putting the lessons together is pretty straightforward so I have spare time to consider doing a little extra for the kids.

24th Mar 2021 – This school was happy to work with textbooks which made putting lessons together pretty straightforward, though for some reason they still required new lesson plans year after year – surely one of the most ridiculous ideas amongst the many deficiencies found in the government education system here. Anyway, life was a little easier for a little while

Release the whale that pulled me under – 4th November 2019

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I think I successfully passed my first test. The kids seem to be ok with my style of teaching and the lessons I wrote went ok – I’m still trying to gauge the level of the main class though.

I was also uplifted enough to drop into CRPAO after school and meet some of my old students. It was heartening to know how much they like and miss me. I think I can make good connections with most kids. Let’s see where this job leads.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have the opportunity to work with Kevin from one of my favourite bands next year. It’s exciting to think I can meet and help them. I love this aspect of my life. It’s a lot of planning ahead but I look forward to doing that.

23rd March 2021 – With a couple of weeks until a tour across Malaysia, Sabah, Singapore and Java was due to start we had to cancel everything because of the Covid pandemic. I still need to get refunded for the flights as I don’t think the tour will happen within the two years the tickets are being held for us. Not quite the ‘journey is better than the destination’, more, the ‘planning was better than the reality.’

We got that attitude! – 3rd November 2019

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Although I turned off my alarm this morning I managed to force myself out of bed and complete a task I’d set for myself – cutting the grass in our driveway. I’ve suffered all day with stinging blisters as a reminder!

I also managed to get a little reading in, a little light exercise, and write my first lessons for this new school – tomorrow I’ll be able to judge how successful they are and make adjustments.

I also managed to record half an episode of the Chiang Rai Alternative Hour – which I’m really enjoying making.

I’m pretty happy with the way the day has gone.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my ability to handle and accept change.

23rd Mar 2021 – This is an important understanding in my life. Each time I go through a change I will grow. I realised this most obviously when moving from England to Australia in 1994. If I hadn’t made that change I wouldn’t have grown and be where I am now. Sometimes you are in control of changes and other times you are not – but growth will come either way. Some changes may feel like mistakes but eventually, you understand that they are not.

We got that attitude! – 1st November 2019

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Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to meet my new students today. It’s nerve wracking and compelling. Being around kids is very fulfilling. This morning I had some regret about leaving my last class behind but got excited for meeting all these new ones. They are typically friendly and happy, naught and shy…. I am grateful to the teachers I met who were friendly enough to give me advice.

Weight: 83.2kg
Resting heart rate: 51

Steal away the morning light – 31st October 2019

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

My main achievement today was to kick off the process of writing lessons again. I’m a little frustrated at knowing exactly what is required but just sitting down and thinking about it all again was good.

I revised my letter to Hayden and will need to tweak it a little more after sending it to his mum to see what she thought.

Tomorrow is back to the grind – I want to make it less of a grind this time. The reward for my effort previously was very motivating but once it got pulled out from under me by the pettiness of Kru Paew it was all the more painful.

I’ve been learning how to better deal with these kinds of situations but I also feel a little self-protective and will try to balance my time investment into what I’m teaching and what other things I want to do. I do tend to fully dive into things and focus a lot on becoming good at something but it often takes the focus away from other important things too.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have this new opportunity teaching at a new school. I’m a little nervous but also excited.