December 8, 2010: First semester exams

December 8, 2010: A belated anecdote: Yesterday I met with one of my classes that had been particularly naughty last week. I told them how disappointed I was in their behavior, especially after having told them to be good in the classroom that we were using since the owner of that classroom is very particular about how the room is treated. The boys didn't seem to care and made a mess of the room anyway. The teacher discovered the room was in disorder and complained to me. The matter was relayed to the form teacher of the class who discussed the matter with the boy who was responsible for the mess. At any rate, my speech on how disappointed I was must have registered in the students because they were a very well behaved class yesterday. After the lesson ended, one student came forward and asked me "Are you appointed now?" It took me a few seconds to realize that he thought the opposite of "disappointed" is "appointed"! At any rate, I told him that I was pleased with their behavior yesterday.

Today the ninth graders took the first half of their first semester test. The half that they took was the written English exam on grammar and it took three periods for them to take all three parts of the exam. I was asked to grade the third part of this exam for one of the classes. That part is the essay part and I'm to grade the essays of the Beginner and Pre-Intermediate classes. We'll see how that goes.

Next week they will take the oral exam. I will be on the panel of only one of the classes that I teach since each student will have about five minutes to talk about various topics and it will take much of the day just to hear the one class. Other teachers will be on the panels for the remaining three classes.

Later in the afternoon, I was on a panel for a poetry reading contest. I arrived in the library where 24 contestants and the judging panel were assembling and sat in the center seat of the judging table. Then, one by one, the students read poems that were based on a topic. However, there was one student who read the entire poem of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. He was quite impressive and was able to recite the poem in its entirety without looking down at the book for any of the lines. Another boy recited a poem that he himself had composed. Also very impressive. After each recitation, we judges gave points for fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, and general impression and totaled the four scores up for each student. After all 24 contestants had recited their poems, we judges (There were six of us) added the scores for each contestant and gave prizes to the top five winners. Then, the head of this activity gave me a stack of certificates, one for each entrant and another stack to present to the top five winners and told me to sign them. I resisted saying that I'm not the right person to be considered the lead judge but they would hear nothing of it. I declared sexual discrimination since I was the only male on the panel and they answered "Yes, you are right! Now pick up the pen and sign the certificates!" After that they asked me to present the certificates to all the contestants. So, I gathered the certificates and made a quick speech on what an honor it was to hear them recite poetry (It was!) and how pleased I was that they had spent so much time working on their poems (I was.) and that I could understand almost every word (I could!) but that they might want to practice their pronunciation of w's and th's a bit. Then I started to read off the names of the contestants declaring beforehand that their pronunciation of English was far better than my pronunciation of their names was going to be (It was!). At any rate, attending the poetry reading was a very enjoyable way to end my day. And, as I left, Fekete Kati mentioned something about my playing a part at the interschool poetry reading coming up in February where our top five finalists would compete against other schools.  Of course it will be fun to continue my participation in this event. And perhaps I can help our school's contestants with their pronunciation and poise beforehand.


I also learned that on January 14, 2011, the school will have its ribbon ceremony. Having talked with other CETP teachers, I've learned that this is quite a big, formal event where the students are presented ribbons to represent their promotion to the next grade. The event (at least at the schools of my colleagues) is normally held at a fine hotel or place other than the school and attendees wear suits and the food is catered. Participants at this event include not only the students and the teachers, but also the parents of the students. In addition to food, I believe there is entertainment. I hear that students have been practicing for this for some time now. It sounds like this will be something to look forward to.