Can we call you Miss Tina?

Yes, my students asked me if they could call me Miss Tina. I quietly chuckled to myself and told them no, you have to call me Ms. Birkhead. And that is weird.

I love to teach. I never thought I would say that. I despised my college classes so much that I never thought I would step into a school building again. But here I am, teaching in a Christian school. The Lord likes to laugh at me and point my life in the direction I never thought it would go.

Right now, I have two high school English classes, and I always help with the elementary.

In the elementary, most of the kids speak English as their second language, so it can be hard to pick up on what the teacher is trying to tell them. This is where I come in. I will sit with them and read with them, and really just work on their English until they feel comfortable and their teacher’s feel comfortable with their progress. I haven’t started doing this yet, but we are working on my schedule currently.

I start teaching my English classes today. My first class is the juniors and boy are they crazy! I taught their class on Friday because their regular teacher was not able to be there. I was caught really off guard and had prepared nothing, so I just took a stab at it, and it went well. We played a round of boggle, and then they had to write a story with the words they came up with. They really seemed to enjoy it, and I definitely enjoyed reading the stories! I did notice that their writing is not the best, so this week we are spending time on how to write a successful essay.

My last class is the sophomores. I have sat in on their class several times, but today is my first day of actually teaching them. We are starting the short story, King Arthur. I think they will enjoy it. I have definitely enjoyed researching it and coming up with ideas for discussion. I just really hope I am effective in teaching the subject and I hope they enjoy it too.

If you have ANY advice on teaching English, I would absolutely love it. I’m kind of thrown into this big ocean and I’m not really sure what I’m doing. I know that God has called me to this, but I could definitely use some advice!