With a rigorous and highly competitive selection process, I won this prestigious award for the junior high category and will be going national.
It was my honor to be nominated and
represent my school to compete with other driven and innovative teachers.
Without a shadow of a doubt, winning the Super Teacher Award and being the only
candidate for the national junior high category of Taichung City, for the time
being, is the most outstanding achievement in my career.
The Selection Process
It involves multiple steps:
1. A thirty-page long journal to display your teaching philosophy,
award-winning history, impact on the students, cascading knowledge and
experience among professionals, etc.
2. A demonstration class with a panel of judges observing in the
classroom to show off how your students are motivated and respond to your
lesson planning and delivery.
3. A 15-minute presentation and the Q and A session to further
elaborate on what you included in the journal and answer some challenging
questions.
4. An interview with your principal, colleagues, students, and even
some parents for the judges to verify everything you said in the journal and
presentation.
Competition Criteria
As the title of the award suggests,
you need to be:
Strategic: being resourceful and able to adopt a variety of
teaching strategies
Unique: being creative in your way regarding teaching approaches
Passionate: the love of life and your profession, along with good
people skills
Effective: motivating students to become autonomous learners so
that they will learn effectively
Responsive: the care for your students and the parents' needs,
complete with a desire for a positive impact on the society
Highlights and Challenges
With my teaching blog, I've got so
many materials to feature in my journal. The embedded QR codes aim to invite
the judges for a more detailed description, including video clips, lesson
plans, worksheets, and PowerPoint presentations of the lessons. Simply put, I
not only talk the talk but walk the walk. For example, I've been devoted to
student English competitions and government-funded projects for my school,
including winning the International School Award by British Council Taiwan
twice, and two championships in the Taichung Junior High Readers' Theater
Competition.
To top it off, I got accepted into the
AE E-Teacher/OPEN exchange program funded by the State Department and went to
the U.S. for an English teaching seminar twice in Detroit and San Diego. They
picked me not because I did very well in the online English teaching courses
and was able to implement action plans and share what I learned with
teachers.
My school didn't have any FETs,
dedicated international education classrooms, or supportive staff back then
while I was working on the ISA, RT, and sister school partnership projects.
However, with determination and perseverance, I pulled everything off against
all odds and enjoyed every single moment of it.
I worked my ass off to take my mind
off life struggles and frustrations. My mom was diagnosed with dementia two
years ago, and it got so bad that we had to make a difficult decision to
register her in a nursing home. I was so afraid that she might think she got
abandoned. I had to leave the office many times and withdraw into myself in the
car, weeping and then wailing.
Acceptance Speech
"We have two lives, and the
second begins when we realize we only have one."
First and foremost, I am grateful for
what I have. I am proud to make things happen. I would like to share this glory
and honor with my family, especially my mother.
Without the support of the principal,
the staff, and my colleagues and students, I can't pull all these off and win
this Super Teacher Award. Principal Hu Jin-jhih helped proofread my journal on
her birthday night. Director Hong Lian-yi was being warm-hearted. Chairwoman
Chen Jhen-yao and Chairman Jhang Jyun-cheng aided back and forth communication
with the Taichung Teachers' Union and Association. Of course, I appreciated my
colleagues and students for putting in good words for me during the
interview.
"It's not going to be easy, but
it's going to be worth it."
When you're fighting an uphill battle
and want to give up halfway through, just hang in there and wait for the
"Aha!" moment to come, for you believe you will make it and bask in
your moment of glory. That's exactly what I'm doing right now, blogging about
the winning of my very first individual competition as a teacher.
Now I'm going national to compete with all the other award-winners. As always, I'll be putting in my 100% and hope for the best. With or without winning the national award, I'm going to enjoy what I do and take on more challenges to make a difference, for I am in relentless pursuit of a sense of accomplishment and get more teachers as well as students to also feel the need and fun of USING English.
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