grim

I'd like to start this post, as I sometimes do, with something written by a student. This one is a book report about Davy Crockett:

Davy crockett is one of the great people in the American. He was born on August 17. And he was born in the day or night. but he don't know well his birth. He has eight brothers and sisters. In 1815 he married polly Finley. She is her first wife. He is fight for Mexico, about taking a texas. He was dead in the this war about he is 50 years old. I think he is so poor person in the world because he is DEAD.

As always, I don't mean to put down their English skills. If I wanted to do that there are much more egregious ones I could show you. This one just amused me more than most. Also, it was scribbled onto the back of a crumpled up piece of paper which was an older homework assignment, so I don't think much effort was put into it.

Things are pretty grim at my school. In previous years, my normal class size was typically between 8-12 students per class. Right now my average class size is probably about 4. Today I only taught 5 classes, with a total of 15 kids. We're losing students every month, and not gaining very many. This is a double-edged sword for me. Having small classes definitely makes my life easier, because obviously 4 kids are easier to handle than 10. However, if there aren't any kids, there isn't any job, and I need a job. Also, if my employers are losing money, it increases the chances that I won't get everything that I'm contractually obligated to get, such as the month's salary bonus upon completion of my contract, or my plane ticket home.

Those things are promised to me in my contract, but I know more than a few people who have been denied them. English academies are notorious for dicking over their foreign teachers, because it's difficult and expensive for a foreigner to do anything about it legally. I'm lucky that in my two years prior I had no problems. This year I might not be so fortunate.