原來
我居然算是「演員」？！
來分享年輕時當萌新老師的 血淚經驗吧
What the Heck?
Throwback to My Rookie Teacher Days: Blood, Sweat, and a Whole Lot of “What the Heck?!”Let me take you back to my early days as a brand-new teacher—fresh out of the gate, full of hope, and totally unprepared for what was coming.
I had just started working at a cram school, basically as a teaching apprentice.
I shadowed different teachers, wrote observation reports for each class, then moved on to lesson planning, demo teaching… and after the demos? Came the roasting.
I got grilled for almost two years straight.
P.S. I still kind of admire myself for surviving two years of demo lessons plus non-stop criticism without completely losing it.
Back then, I was teaching at a one-on-one-style cram school.
And honestly? The whole thing was hilariously absurd.
The lesson plans we were required to write?
Totally different from what we actually taught in class.
At first, I was super earnest. I wrote down my actual lesson plans—what I really planned to do with the students.
Yeah… that didn't last long. Because if you turned in a “real” lesson plan, you'd get called into the little “meeting room” (aka the scolding room).
So eventually, I learned to play the game.
I started writing what I jokingly called “fantasy lesson plans”— the kind that looked good on paper and made the boss happy.
Same with demo lessons.
If the boss was watching, the lesson had to look perfect. Tons of vocab and idioms, everything super organized, every student magically smart and perfectly on track. You had to wrap up the entire text structure in 10 minutes, explain the grammar in another 10, and somehow still finish all the exercises in the last 10.
???
??????
??????????
LOL. (Laugh out loud)
Sure. Sounds super realistic.(a sarcastic tone) (눈‸눈)
If students were really that sharp—able to grasp a full grammar concept in 10 minutes and master a whole passage in one go—
why would they need a tutor at all?
Why pay top dollar for a cram school teacher?
Boss, you're charging about NT$3000 per class.
Let's be honest—this is fantasy land.
The seniors
No matter how I presented my demo lessons, it was always wrong in their eyes.
Honestly, I started to suspect—maybe these “veteran teachers” just needed to feel superior because their own lives weren’t going so great.
I'd follow the teaching manual to the letter, keeping everything neat and structured.
And they'd say, "You're teaching way too simply. Why didn't you include extra vocab or useful phrases?"
So next time, I added more vocabulary, threw in some idioms, made it richer.
Then they'd go, "Why are you overloading them? Most of our students can barely memorize the textbook words. They won’t understand all that extra stuff."
And I'd just stand there thinking,
Seriously?
One minute I'm being told I'm too basic, the next I'm too advanced.
Like… could someone please clarify what magical student level you're imagining here?
But deep down, I knew.
It was never about the lesson.
These seniors just needed a reason to nitpick the newbies.
A quick jab to remind us who's boss. A little ego boost to keep themselves feeling important.
Fine. Whatever.
Ridiculous
It was honestly ridiculous… and kind of hilarious.
But hey, when you're not the one in charge, sometimes you just gotta nod and play along. The boss pays your salary, so you end up helping
build their “dream.”
But in real life?
Every student is different. You adjust your pace and lesson content based on their actual level. It's never going to be the fairytale version
the boss has in mind.
So during those “meetings,” I'd just sit there thinking,
“Here we go again… time to hand in another dream lesson plan and do another dream demo.”
In reality, just covering the reading and going over the worksheet could easily take 1.5 to 2 hours.
No way can you get through all that in 30 minutes.
Sometimes I'd spend 20 minutes on just one grammar point—
and that's how long it took for the students to really get it.
Boss, unless you're teaching geniuses, your ideal timeline is totally unrealistic.
And let's be real—most of these kids are here because they can't keep up in regular school or large group classes.
That means most of my students are below average and have a lot of room to grow.
You can't rush things. You have to break stuff down, keep it simple, assign homework they can actually handle, and sometimes help them with their schoolwork so they don't drown.
You also need to encourage them—
because if no one ever tells them they're doing okay, they're going to give up.
You're not just teaching; you're also checking in on their academics and their mental health.
It's not easy.
Thankfully, there aren't that many students—
One-on-one tutoring means even if I work all seven days, I can only take on a handful of students. And hey, I need days off too!
P.S. This story is based on my personal experience—it doesn't speak for the entire industry.
猶記得
那時候我還是個小萌新、懵懵懂懂踏入這行
剛開始的日子，如同初春的微風，帶著些許的青澀與期待。
就是熟悉國中課本、教學步驟、看教師手冊
後來，初春變成炎熱的夏日，炙烤著人們
每一口呼吸都彷彿在硬舉100公斤
跟著不同老師的課，寫著不同老師的跟課報告
寫完跟課報告，開始寫教案、開始秀課、秀完課開始被電 ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ
P.S.我現在還是很佩服自己，竟然可以秀課+被電 長達大概兩年，還沒心理崩潰
我那時候在XX補習班
很荒謬好笑，前輩要求你寫的教案
和實際上課內容完全不相符
我一開始呆呆的，就如實述說我上課的計畫和內容
後來就不這麼做了
因為
如果我寫了真實的上課內容，會被叫去小房間「開會」 (就是被電啦)
所以我後來學會了，寫老闆喜歡看的教案，
我戲稱為「不真實教案」
秀課內容當然也是這樣
前輩
給前輩看的秀課，怎麼秀都不對
我依據教學手冊上的說明，規規矩矩的秀課時。
前輩會說：「你教得太簡單。你怎麼沒有補充XX單字、OO片語」
我下次補充了單字、片語，
前輩說：「啊你補充那麼多幹嘛？來我們補習班的學生
大部分都是能夠背得完課本單字就阿彌陀佛了。
你補充那麼多他們也聽不懂」
我.....
我我我 눈言눈
一下說我教太簡單；一下說我教太難
啊你可以先告訴我，你預設的學生程度為何嗎？
那時候真的很崩潰，想摔桌子那種崩潰 (； ･`д･´)
P.S. 我曾經在會議室大哭過三次，大家都說我哭得那麼慘，
一定隔天就不幹了(整個社死)
哈哈，他們猜錯了，我隔天繼續淡定去上班
丟臉、丟著丟著
就習慣了
反正我不尷尬，尬的就是別人
我那時還是小萌新，學藝不精不是理所當然嗎？
否則我憑啥拿最低工資？？？
我隨便幹個啥，都有最低工資好嗎，
不用特地跑去當補習班學徒級老師
謝謝
感謝難搞的前輩
因為他們那時候的刁難，我在授課時習慣準備三個版本
簡單、普通、進階版
你覺得我教的太簡單，沒關係，你不喜歡plan A， 我還有 plan B 和 Plan C
或許
其實我有懷疑過，這些前輩是不是因為生活過得不如意，
在我們這些新人身上找優越感
反正有的前輩，就是硬要找理由訓斥一下萌新
刷一下存在感
罷了
老闆
給老闆看的秀課內容，要豐富、要充實、要補充很多單字片語。
學生得像天才一樣聰明，所有的知識都能輕而易舉地吸收。
課文架構和重點在十分鐘內要講完，
文法在十分鐘內要講完，
給學生的練習時間也很短
???
??????
?????????
呵呵
呵呵呵
最好啦 (눈‸눈)
學生如果都那麼聰明、十分鐘就可以弄懂一課文法、十分鐘就可以學完課文，那他在家自己唸就好了，花什麼大錢？
請什麼家教式補習班老師？老闆你定的學費挺貴的，別鬧！
你1堂課收快3000，還讓人聽不懂就回家?
真的好荒謬、好好笑
為五斗米折腰
人在屋簷下，不得不低頭
老闆發你薪水，你要負責
完成他的「夢想」
實際上課，其實會依據每個學生的實力，下去調整課程內容與節奏，不可能像老闆想的那麼美好
必須因材施教，無法一刀切
所以
當我走進開會的房間，有時候
心中不免對老闆的要求 有些無奈的吐槽。
老闆又要我們交 「夢想級教案」、「夢想級秀課」給他看了
可是，現實中，可能講完課文重點、寫講義並進行檢討，就已經耗費了一到兩個小時。根本不可能像老闆要求的那樣，只花半小時便能完成所有課程。
有時，光是解釋一個文法，我就講了二十多分鐘。
老闆你要求的，那得是天才學生才有辦法跟得上，但是大部分學生就是因為學校聽不懂、大團班也跟不上，才來家教式補習班的不是嗎？
意思就是我大部分的學生程度在中等以下、進步空間巨大。上課節奏不能快，要深入淺出，派的作業也必須符合學生的能力與需求。
有時候，還要輔導他們學校作業，讓他們在學校過的不要太艱難
還要適時的鼓勵同學，讓他們知道有人關心他們的學業與心理狀況，
免得他們因為沒有人肯定而放棄
其實要做的事情很多
光是關心他們學業狀況+心理健康
就不太容易了
還好學生總數很少，畢竟家教式補習班一班人不多，常常一班就一兩個，我就算星期一上班到星期日，全部時段塞滿也收不到幾個學生就滿班了。何況我還要休假哩！
P.S.此文僅為筆者生活經驗，非業界全貌
