Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Opinion, The International Teacher, The Traveling Teacher

Taiwan English Teaching Assistant: Things I Learned in My First Five Months of Teaching

from Kinmen, Taiwan It is almost time for us to go on our 2 ½ week vacation for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and I wanted to share some things I learned in my first few months of teaching English in Taiwan. Think inside the box– In my first month of teaching I felt pressured to […]

Posted inElementary School, English Language Learners, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, The International Teacher

Diaries of an English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan: Christmas is Love in Action

  During the writing workshop that I facilitated last Friday, a participant shared with me that she’d almost committed suicide, but that one of her best friends had helped her out of depression to find happiness. To this day, Macy (name given to protect her identity) is determined to become a social worker, so that […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, The International Teacher, The Traveling Teacher

Precision is the Key: My Experiences as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Taiwan

  At JinNing Elementary School, there are no custodians. I arrive on my bike each morning around 8:15 to find students, from pre-school to sixth grade carrying out their daily morning cleaning chores, frolicking throughout the school yard raking leaves, mopping floors, or collecting trash. It’s funny to see the students playing in the sudsy […]