When I first started with VIPkid, my "classroom" was really just printed posters I found on Pinterest taped to the wall, a desk I had bought years earlier at a thrift store and my laptop. It worked, but I definitely had teacher-envy of the beautiful office spaces and organized props *every other teacher* seemed to have. That launched me into what I describe as the rookie-prop-hoarder stage where EVERYWHERE I saw potential props! I tried to limit my spending, but garage sales, dollar stores, thrift stores and my daughter's bedrooms were all at risk of my new passion. Soon my desk drawers were full, I had shoeboxes piled up on the floor and on my desk, and those tipsy TV trays loaded high. Something dropped, crashed or tipped virtually every day. A change in temperature to make the sunroom I taught in unbearably hot, which prompted the need to make a new classroom and finally get organized. We cleared out a corner in our unfinished basement and I had to decide what I wanted to keep and what had just become clutter. In the end, I only kept 3 shoeboxes of physical props and a handful of 2D props that I keep within arms reach. Now the only prep I do is to take a look through the lesson to fill in any knowledge gaps I might have. I also rely heavily on google slides to fill any gaps I might have in my props. (Don't have them? Join their facebook group for FREE resources.). Now, I love my classroom and when my husband suggested moving back up to the beautiful sunroom now the temperature is cooling off, I refused. I LOVE this classroom! Here's how I've organized myself: It always bugs me when people say "GET THIS FOR $20" but what they mean is "I did it for $20 but since I have hundreds of dollars of stuff lying around I could repurpose and you don't, it will cost you $2000!!!" So while I really did only spend $17, here's a more accurate view of what this kind of set up will cost and where you might find them:
The most important thing for organizing is YOU DO YOU! Some of you have to set up and take down every morning, some of you have nice offices to dedicate to this, and some of you need nearly no props and some love their explosion of stuffed toys. The difference for me wasn't my new classroom, it was narrowing down "my style" and deciding what I wanted in my space. Happy organizing! Oh, and if you were looking for those punctuation printables on the video, find them here!
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Most Loved PropsI have now taught over 750 classes, and that means a couple things:
Punctuation props fall in the third category - I've used them up! To be fair, I get A LOT of mileage out of the question mark, some out of the period and question mark and very little of any other one, but if I'm printing and laminating, I'll make the most of my page! I use the question mark to let kids ask ME a question for some reward systems, or to indicate they need to respond to a question, or in level 3 when they learn how to ASK questions! I also have some handwritten marks I've put on my props on these - the NAME of the punctuation mark on the back, and arrows indicating inflection (for PROPER PRONUNCIATION classes, or when you just get tired of a regular's robot voice!) Help yourself to another freebie! Click on the photo to download. I like to post mine on popsicle sticks for easy storage (I have a clear plastic hanging shoe organizer they go into beside my desk) but they work equally well as flashcards if that's your jam. VIPkid Facebook groups sometimes have the greatest ideas! If you've been teaching for any length of time, you may already be weary of the constant "I RUN, you RUN, she RUNS..." "We sit, they sit, it SITS..." litanies. I've tried a few props for this, and so far have stuck to writing it out on my whiteboard every time, using a magnetic "S" at the end when needed. It works, but it's bulky.
One FB post had a nice little laminated hand-written sign conjugating "have" and "has." Well... I just got a laminator for my birthday so my imagination was sparked! I made a version with the most common: "S" at the end of he/she/it, the original have/has and my favourite, the blank version! If you have a laminator, use that with whiteboard markers, but in my pre-laminator days I would have placed it on a cookie sheet and used magnetic letters for verbs. BOTH work! Just click on the picture to download and ENJOY! Did you know you're eligible for a $1/hour raise annually with VIPkid? Every 2nd contract (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc) you will automatically be given a raise as long as you meet their criteria. I just signed my 2nd contract, which means my focus is moving from filling my schedule to meeting some new goals: I want that raise! So I've created a free printable raise tracker for you to follow your own progress, and a little video explaining what's needed to get that raise! What's the big deal?VIPkid expects teachers to have an "educational background" - meaning a space dedicated to teaching. The parents pay big money to have their kids take English lessons, and they want to know their money is going to a teacher who takes the job seriously. They don't want to see your laundry, your dog or hear your kids in the background so VIPkid mandates an educational background in a dedicated space... which leaves LOTS of room for interpretation! Non-negotiable
I have no dedicated space! HELP!
How much should I spend?Zero. Your backdrop is not the first place to spend money on, and between what you have, what you can easily make and what your friends and neighbours are throwing in the garbage, you can probably come up with something. A good rule of thumb is: no spending money until you make money. Now I put aside 5% of my VIPkid earnings to re-invest in equipment, props or backdrops and in 2 months I've upgraded my headphones and my webcam which has been super helpful... but wasn't necessary to start. My next month's investment will probably be garage-sale shelving to get organized. All of that is helpful but not necessary to start with, so start with the basics! Print off some cute animals from the Internet. Salvage that chalkboard from the basement. Hang a colourful calendar. Steal the poster from your kid's magazines. Write the alphabet in bubble letters. Hang a pennant. If you absolutely MUST, stick to dollar store posters to keep costs low to begin with. LightingMore important than your background is your lighting. Most of us are teaching in the early morning when it's dark. Even worse, I currently teach in a sunroom over the course of dawn - so I start in the dark, see the sunrise and end teaching in daylight. It's a gorgeous view for me, but it wreaks havoc with my lighting! If the kids can't see me clearly, or my props are creating huge shadows it really wrecks the teaching process. They need to see my lips for clear pronunciation and they need to see my hands and props to help understand what I'm asking! It can be as simple as some fluorescent lights, or (in my case) old table and desk lamps salvaged from relatives basements. A high quality webcam also auto-corrects lighting very well. Test your lighting with your webcam and add more if you need to! Be Inspired!I've been teaching with VIPkid for just under 2 months, now, and have been booked consistently since week 2. (Fully booked for me is 35-50 students weekly). I guess I thought this was normal! Since then, I've been hearing teachers who are in their 2nd and 3rd months who have yet to teach a single lesson, or are still only getting a handful of students each month. It's made me think about what made the difference for me, and hopefully can help you get those bookings too! I credit my success to: 1. Good advice from my mentor. If you don't have a mentor and are still in the application process, go get one! Ask your friend for their referral code, or if you don't have a referring teacher, use mine & I'll be in touch. The one-on-one support is invaluable for success with VIPkid! 2. Hustle Hard Short term pain for long term gain - say it to yourself over and over! A couple weeks of pushing hard means a steady stream of students without that effort. Already at 2 months I'm beginning to be able to pick and choose my students, but I couldn't have done that without the hustle in the beginning. 3. A little luck Let's be honest, there's an element of luck involved. If you started in February, I'm sorry - that's like starting on Christmas Eve here in North America. No one is wanting lessons. Wait until March - it gets better. I started in March (September is also a great month to start) which meant there were tons of new students looking for teachers. Still, there are ALWAYS new students or students looking for a fresh teacher. What can you do?In getting bookings, there's some things you can control, and some things that are out of your control. To be clear, the goal is:
When you're starting out, you need exposure to students. This means you can't be fussy, and you have to serve the parents instead of yourself. If you have limited time or resources, then you'll still get students, but it will come slower. If you can put the parents FIRST (even for a week or two), you'll gain some traction. What does that look like? 1. Certify for EVERYTHING, especially trials Even if you have no desire to teach the older levels (or whatever), to start with certify for EVERYTHING. You can remove certifications later, once you have the student base you need. I dread every class with a kiddo under 5 years old, but that's where I got my start. 6 months in I feel like I have the freedom to cut those younger levels out of my schedule, but I started saying "YES" to everyone! 2. Be available as many PPT slots as possible Many teachers get their boost by pulling one all-nighter, just to gain this kind of exposure. I didn't have to do that, but if you're stuck in a rut without new students, this is a great way to gain a boost. For myself, I made myself available 40 hours/week for my first two weeks - I only wanted 20 hours, but I showed the students that I was willing to work hard. Note that this does not have to be your routine - it's just a way to gain exposure. Some of these students will be willing to change their time slot to fit your schedule, and even if they don't, gaining a few 5 apple ratings from an all-nighter might just be what you need for new students to take a risk on you. Eventually consistency is your goal. When you consistently open the same slots every week, you are the kind of reliable teacher parents are looking for, but for those just beginning, its worth it to stretch yourself just to gain some of those precious 5 apple feedbacks! 3. Take risks You may not think you can do two students back to back, but be willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone. In every learning curve, there will be some failures. Let your failures be too much ambition rather than too much caution. I received a negative review on my 3rd student, because I was pushing myself hard. But I also received 4 positive reviews that same day. Parents are quicker to book someone with 5 positive reviews (even with one negative review) than a teacher with no reviews at all. Gaining ExposureLooking Good
Impress HQHere's the wild card: while parents book most of the classes, the Learning Partners (LPs) over at HQ also have enormous booking power. They book all the trials, and parents can request the LP's look after booking on their behalf as well. Also, if a student isn't connecting well with their teachers, they may ask the LP for recommendations. If you can somehow get the attention of an LP, you will see a huge difference in your bookings! How do you catch their attention? We all wish we knew! But there are some things we know: LPs are always looking for quality teachers who have open PPT slots (especially short notice) for trial students. They'll take a risk on you if you simply are available! They love a trial teacher they can count on and will keep booking you if you do well. They also care about motivated teachers. They can tell if you are taking workshops, getting certified, active in the Hutong, are opening up lots of slots, showing up on time and giving feedback in a timely manner. They want the hungry teachers! So if you have no bookings, but they can tell you're still putting in 3-4 hours/week just on professional development, that's impressive! If they are seeing limited time slots and no activity, they are more likely to pass you over. Working with limitationsMany teachers are trying to work their VIPkid schedule around, well, real life. A baby in the house, or a "real" job to get to. You can absolutely work at VIPkid as a side hustle, but gaining traction will take longer. Teachers who can work an all-nighter (even once or twice) or book PPT times consistently will have an easier time filling up their schedule. If you have an opportunity to open these times on the weekend, or even for a couple days, go for it! Every bit of exposure helps. There is the most competition among teachers and the least amount of students wanting classes in the early evenings midweek (who really wants to take English class before going to school?) so if this is your only availability, you'll get the most traffic during the school holidays. Keep with it, and you'll find your tribe! I've done all that...Most of the time updating your profile, getting fully certified (especially those trials!), opening up PPT slots (even pulling an all-nighter) and doing a ton of workshops is enough to get the ball rolling. But if you've done all that and nothing's happening, here's a couple more tips:
Good luck! |
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September 2019
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