This is the last day of January 2023. I was still amazed at how our Sports Day had turned out, notwithstanding the obstacles I encountered this year. I think it's getting worse and I only have control over myself and my reaction.
I was assigned to practice for Years 4-6 students to dance "Survivor", originally sung by Destiny's Child. But, the song's got a different rendition of it that it took me a while to think of the steps and formation. It's not like I can readily get any music videos that have dance steps that are easy to follow. If you've been teaching Thai students to dance, you'll get what I meant by saying this. My students don't give their heart and soul to dancing. When they dance, they only move their hands and feet, not their hips, waist, or shoulders.
Here are the problems that I encountered:
1. I was only given 3 days to practice with my students. (My students aren't professional dancers)
2. There's no budget for this activity. (I was really shocked 😮 why would you organize or conduct any activities without any budget?)
3. I was told not to let students buy a costume. (Really? I found it contradicting when I saw my co-teachers prepare their student's costumes. Some parents provided the costume. I've never seen a Sports Day without any preparations, not to mention the costume😳)
4. I didn't get reimbursement for 350B that I spent on the paper props/costume. (and it won't happen again!)
5. There's no proper venue to practice. Considering 26-30 students is a huge group to fit in a small size classroom.
6. I had to use my own sound system.
7. My effort was useless when the director saw it, she said she didn't like it, she didn't want the steps and change everything. That was Day 1 of practice and 1st general rehearsal at the same time.
8. I was the only one who thought of the steps from Day 1. While other groups had got 3-5 teachers to teach students. It's difficult to manage students with different age groups. The outdoor was crowded with students and teachers from all grade levels, sections, and departments (Bilingual from KG-HS and IEP PP3-Y9) practicing for Sports Day. The timetable was a disaster because we needed to practice altogether at the same time creating chaos. It was super noisy during practice.
9. The lack of support and encouragement in the office made me really furious. (They wanted to have a spectacular event without a budget, without anything to worry about if we needed something, or if we were having problems. It's like we have to always solve our own problems by ourselves!🤨)
10. The double standards that it's okay for others and not okay for me. They can, and I cannot. It's like wishing me to fail every single time.
The video below was taken during our Sports day, this month.
I'm so proud of my students; they did their best to perform on Sports Day. Though they didn't thank me and acknowledge my efforts, I feel good about just looking at them in this video. This is what it looks like when you got only 3 days to practice. I created the dance steps and formation in 3 hours!
Did I change the steps and formation on Day 1 when I was told? Yes and No. Yes, because I agree that the students had to be facing the stage not against it. So, instead of the circle formation, I changed it into the "U shape" so the students are seen by everyone on stage. No, I didn't change the steps only the formation because we're running out of time, then. I just figured it will be fine, regardless of what the director might say.
What did I learn from these experiences? I have to be in control of my own emotions, in front of insensitive, ungracious people, and those who lack common sense. Patience is indeed a virtue. Even if this presentation turned bad, I should probably be okay because I know in my heart that I had done my best. Thank God, it was great and I received compliments from my co-teachers💕