Hot Topic: Casual Clothes in the Classroom

With work casual becoming the norm, we're seeing more and more teachers taking things to the extreme. It's not uncommon to see teachers wearing jeans, tank tops, or trainers to work. While some people don't see anything wrong with this, other people believe that teachers need to dress more professionally.

I believe that jeans are ok in the classroom if they're dark denim or trouser jeans. I don't believe tank tops are appropriate, but have seen women wear sleeveless blouses that look professional, espeically in hot climates without air conditioning. Trainers are a sticky subject; if they're clran and dark, they can often work. Teachers, like nurses, spend a lot of time on their feet and need to be comfortable.


What do you think?
Are casual clothes ok for teachers? What do you typically wear to work?

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Job Site: Learn 4 Good

They've got more than job adverts such as schools, online education, languages, stuff for kids, career training info, hotels, hostels, visa info, and more. Learn 4 Good has heaps of info. I'll admit that the site is a bit too crowded for me, but they have lots of info, so that's good.

If you go to the job search, you can find more than just teaching jobs. They have jobs for all types of careers all over the world. You can search by career, key word, and location. The bad news is that the jobs seem to stay up for a year. While it looks like they have heaps of jobs they simply don't delete the old ones.  


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Cool Link: 123 Child

For those of you who teach preschoolers and young learners, you're going to want to check out 123 Child. They have over 200 lesson plan themes that can help make teaching easier.

They also have lesson plans according to the season and featured lesson plans. Check out their site; you won't be disappointed.


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Quick Tip: Use Warmers in Class

If you've taken a TEFL course, chances are you learnt about warmers or warm-ups. Warmers are used to help the students get used to speaking English. It can be hard to switch immediately from their L1 to English, so warmers help students out.

Similar to coolers, warmers are always a review of something. You shouldn't be teaching anything new at this time. Right now you just want to get the students used to speaking English. Games and other fun activities are also used.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it should be simple. If a student comes in late, they should be able to easily grasp what they need to do. Lastly, students need to do the majority of the speaking, not the teacher. 20 Questions, Find Someone Who, and doing a similar activity to last class' lesson are all popular warmers.So try to use a warmer next time in your class. Developing Teachers has a whole bunch of ideas you can use.

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Hot Topic: Blacklists

School Blacklists
Teachers often ask about school blacklists and while they certainly exist, they might not be that reliable. They seem to pop up all over the place on the internet. Any teacher that doesn't like something can post, so you don't know about the source. Many times they will be in the local language which will make things harder for you.

The best thing to do is to do a search on forums, such as ESL Cafe, and look for info about schools. You could also PM people and ask questions. You can often tell ahead of time if the school is bad or not. Try reading warning signs of bad schools for more info.

Teacher Blacklists
The same can be said for teacher blacklists. TEFL and international school teaching is a small world, so word gets around fast. Be careful about what you say about your school. And especially be careful about what you post online. Things could easily come back around and bite you in the butt.

Discussions about blacklists

• ISR Blog has info about blacklists on recruiting fairs, canceling a contract, grade fixing, and warning signs that tell you not to take the job. 
• ESL Cafe has some info as well on have I been blacklisted?, could the WSI have blacklisted me?, GCC blacklist, there is a blacklist, blacklist of Japanese universities, and blacklists.

What do you think?
Are blacklists good ideas? Have you ever put a school on a blacklist?

Got an idea for a hot topic?
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