Flying solo in the Romanian classroom

First, I want to apologize that there are no pictures with this post. I know how you like them, but I jut haven't had time at school to even think about grabbing my camera. School has been really good thus far. The 8th grade students are my biggest challenge, but only because they don't seem to want to speak! Of course there are things I want to improve on, but overall classes are fun and educational. I've even covered for my counterpart with the entire class already and tried to speak as much Romanian as possible when needed. All the teachers and staff at school are very accomodating, but that doesn't stop them from teasing me from time to time. My favorite part of school is walking down the corridors and having students saying "Hi, Miss Tara" or "What's up!?"

Clasa V --They are the youngest class I teach, but they are almost the most advanced. They are willing to try new things and love when I challenge them to have a conversation with me in English. Many of them also live near me so they are excited about playing fotball (soccer obviously) and baschet (again obvious...).

Clasa VI -- I teach two classes in the sixth grade. One is very open and can understand English very well; the other class struggles a little more. Both classes are fun and open to learning and so am I! They are all very well behaved which makes my job pretty easy. We learn, talk, and play games!

Clasa VIII -- I also teach two classes of eighth graders. There is one class of advanced learners and one class that is classified as intermediate. They are difficult because they seem shy so far and don't talk much...they'll get over this quickly.

Teaching here is far different for me than teaching in the States. My counterpart and I split classes...which means I usually only have 12 students with me at a time. This makes it much more beneficial to the students because they get more interaction time with me, and they aren't as hesitant to make mistakes or speak in class. I have taught the full classes a few times already, but I just don't like the textbooks. I've always been a bit of a rebel teacher when it comes to textbooks...I don't like them especially in my history classes, but they do have some benefit I guess. I just think, as a teacher, I love coming up with taylor-made lessons to suit the students' learning styles and personalities, but with minimal resources the textbook is something the only visual form of information I can provide the students with. Well I just wanted to share a bit of my feelings about school so far. Feel free to email/comment questions if there are more specifics you want to know. I'll do my best to answer them!