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First day at dskru
First day at dskru
11 November 2024—I woke up from a 4-hour sleep to prepare for my deployment at the Demonstration School of Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University. I did not know what to expect, but I was feeling nervous. Teacher Gray picked us up from the dorm. Zy, Lester, Jayne, Audiva, and Thallah had already gone their separate ways to their respective schools. Teacher Gray showed us around the campus of KRU until we reached DSKRU, which was just a 5-8 minutes walking away from our dorm. There, we met the faculty of DSKRU on the ground floor, and then we went to the third floor to meet the English faculty. When we arrived, Lester, Jayne, and Thallah were already there. It turned out that they, along with me, would be doing our practicum at DSKRU, while Lisbeth would be sent to Ban Nong Bua Elementary School with Zy and Audiva.
I met P’Moon, Lester's and my resource teacher, and Aomsin, Jayne's and Thallah's resource teacher. Both of them welcomed me warmly, and I immediately felt at ease with them. At 8:00 AM, we attended the flag ceremony, and after that, I went with P’Moon to observe her Mathayom 4 classes. It was my first time meeting the students, and they were all polite. I sat at the back of the class to observe. As we were about to go to the next class, P’Moon asked me to conduct a portion of the activity she had prepared. My heartbeat rose instantly—I was nervous—but I took the challenge. In Mathayom 4/2, I successfully conducted my first teaching assistantship engagement. It was a good start, even though I understood that the students were not yet familiar with me. I was glad that P’Moon put me on the spot, as it helped me overcome my fear of facing the class.
IMG_7988.MOVDuring the afternoon, I accompanied Lester to P’Moon’s Mathayom 5 classes, where we conducted an activity for the students. It was my first time meeting students of that level, as well as my first experience with team teaching. Lester was easy to work with since we usually shared the same ideas. The activity was successful, and I introduced the students to the “eyyy” clap, inspired by the famous Filipino greeting where we say “eyyy” to our friends. The students enjoyed it.
53d5cea605d8475ea15f0395dd6eb494.MOVcopy_202CFC9C-6723-4FD0-97E3-3A44DB359C28.movMy first day at DSKRU was fulfilling. I was happy to meet everyone, especially the students, who were kind and full of energy, though a bit shy. It was tiring, but a great start to my journey at DSKRU. At 4:30 PM, Lester, Thallah, Jayne, and I returned to our dorm riding the Gogo Bike.
Surprise!
Surprise!
12 November 2024—It was another day at DSKRU. I didn’t have a topic facilitation that day, so I simply accompanied and assisted Lester with his. The four of us at DSKRU had a beautiful dynamic. Whenever someone was free, we would watch and support the one facilitating and take their pictures. I found this gesture sweet because it built a system of support among us. P’Moon was also with us, and she was so fun to be around. She spoke to us in her sweet voice and always made us feel that we could approach her anytime. She was our rock and source of support at DSKRU. After we finished the morning schedule, P’Moon dismissed us early as she had tasks to attend to in the afternoon.
And just when we thought we were done for the day, Teacher Andrew asked if we would like to handle his Mathayom 1 classes. The thought of our beds and pillows quickly vanished. At first, we were hesitant, but as Filipinos, we can do anything. So, we took on the challenge and crafted an activity on the spot, which we delivered 30 minutes later in two consecutive classes.
Mathayom 1 is equivalent to Grade 7 in the Philippines, so the children were quite young. It was my first time handling classes at that level. The activity we designed was delivered successfully. Our topic focused on the sequence of events related to students' daily routines. We drew three blank clocks on the board and asked the students to fill in the times we provided. Afterward, they shared what they usually do during those times. The students were participative, and it was clear they were having fun while learning. Andrew was with us the entire time, observing our performance and taking notes. To our surprise, as we were facilitating, the director and deputy director of DSKRU entered the classroom and sat down to observe. Our souls left our bodies, but we knew we had to carry on. We did our best to deliver an effective facilitation, and it was reassuring to see that the directors seemed satisfied with our performance, and after some time, they left the class. Lester and I handled Mathayom 1/1 and 1/2, while Thallah and Jayne managed Mathayom 1/3. Despite being caught off guard and feeling exhausted, we were glad we took on the challenge.
"Never ever lose a student"
Once the classes were finished, Teacher Andrew sat us down to provide his feedback. He provided us with insightful feedback that we did not know we needed. He specially focused on our classroom management, where he reminded us of the power of healthy teacher authority. He noticed that while facilitating, we were using special reinforcement terms such as “waterfalls, shhh” and “crystal? Clear” to control the class. According to Teacher Andrew, it was like shooting ourselves in the foot, as students do not truly value our authority if we need those terms just to make them follow our instructions. I definitely agree with Teacher Andrew’s feedback. It was an eye-opener for us, pre-service teachers, to be mindful of our classroom management strategies. Aside from classroom management, Teacher Andrew gave us more advice about teaching, which I took notes on. I really appreciate Teacher Andrew for giving us this learning opportunity as future teachers, and for taking the time to help us through his feedback.
Loy krathong at dskru
Loy krathong at dskru
13 November 2024—This was the day students at DSKRU prepared for the Loy Krathong festival, a ritual to honor and seek forgiveness from the Goddess of Water. The students brought their own decorations to embellish their Krathongs. Some brought flowers, such as orchids and lotuses, while others brought colorful, decorative bread that could be consumed by fish.
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The Krathong is a floating vessel traditionally crafted from natural materials, such as banana tree trunks or banana leaves, and adorned with flowers, incense sticks, and candles. During the Loy Krathong festival, people release their Krathongs into rivers, canals, or ponds as a symbolic gesture of letting go of negativity, expressing gratitude, and making wishes for the future. At DSKRU, the students eagerly crafted their Krathongs with creativity and care. In the student lounge, students and teachers gathered to make krathongs all together. It was a fun time to bond and get to know each other while observing tradition.
P’Moon and Aomsin helped us create our own Krathongs. They taught us how to wrap the banana trunk with banana leaves in a unique and beautiful way. They also guided us in embellishing the Krathongs with flowers. P’Moon even asked some students for orchids, which they willingly shared.
copy_88E80569-C05B-4D14-AF47-122AD8270A82.MOVAfter we finished making our Krathong, we headed to the school pond to release them. P’Moon spearheaded the ritual. She led the group prayer and encouraged us to offer our own personal prayers before releasing our Krathong. Once we were done praying, we gently placed our Krathong on the water, watching them float away gracefully under the soft glow of the afternoon sun. The atmosphere was serene, filled with a sense of gratitude and hope as we reflected on the significance of the ritual.
First teaching demo
First teaching demo
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14 November 2024—After completing my assistantship, it was finally time for me to conduct my first teaching demonstration. Unfortunately, being the scatterbrained that I am—I had accidentally left my laptop charger in Bangkok. Thankfully, Zyreen came to my rescue and let me borrow her laptop to prepare my materials for the lesson the night before.
Despite being sleep-deprived, I woke up early, filled with excitement for my first demo teaching. To my surprise, I didn’t feel nervous at all, as I had already built a good rapport with my students. Once set, I left the dorm and rode the Gogo bike to DSKRU. I arrived earlier than usual at DSKRU to print my materials and gather everything I might need. Thankfully, DSKRU is well-equipped with teaching resources—even candies for prizes are provided, and we were free to take whatever we needed.
85a19f5ec6bb49fb9dc6e0157b08867c.MOVMathayom 5/1
83bbab9d04b440b5b5795a69e774c183.MOVMathayom 5/2
I taught Mathayom 5 classes, which are equivalent to Grade 11 students in the Philippines. The topic assigned to me by P’Moon was Wigs in Hollywood, where I had to integrate vocabulary and language usage. Thanks to the students’ eagerness to learn, the lesson went smoothly, and it was a fantastic start to my first teaching demonstration. I felt proud of myself for doing a great job. I ended the class with a fun activity where I asked the students to design their own wig using the template I provided. Later, P’Moon asked me to check their work, which I thoroughly enjoyed because of their creative and unique answers.
The experience made me develop a deeper respect for teachers, as I realized how exhausting it can be to use your voice in long period of time. However, seeing the students learn and have fun in the process made it all worthwhile—it was truly a rewarding experience.
Mathayom 5/1
Mathayom 5/1
Mathayom 5/2
Mathayom 5/2
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