Thread: Breaks Between Class Periods

Since coming to Thailand I have taught at three different schools, two government and one private. All of these schools have no built-in breaks between most class periods. At my present private school there are no built-in breaks between the first and second periods, third and fourth periods, or any breaks between the fifth and sixth and sixth and seventh periods. There is a 25 minute morning recess between the second and third periods, and a 50 minute lunch period between the fourth and fifth periods.
I remember having at least a 5 minute break between classes when I was a high school student in the States. This is the first experience I have ever had either teaching or learning with no built-in breaks between most classes. What disturbs me is that this situation is cutting into the time I have for class instruction. My school has a number of buildings on a rather large campus, and at times it takes 5-10 minutes to get from one building to another. That means being late to class 5-10 minutes. With no built-in break, students will constantly request to go to the toilet after class has already begun.
I also lose a lot of class time by having to line up my students and take them up to class for the periods after recess and after lunch. This includes lining up Mathayom students. Occasionally, the music which calls the students to line up is started late, and the result is the students don't get into their classrooms until 15 minutes after the scheduled start of class. Last term I had to postpone one of my monthly tests because it took too long to get one class up into the classroom.
Are there any other teachers who are operating under the same conditions I am with no built-in breaks and having to line up students and escort them to class? I would be interested to hear your experiences.

I don't work in a school here but I remember that at school in the Uk we didn't have a break between lessons much. By the time you get from one end of the school to the other we used to be at least 5 mins late. I think its normal. Even at Uni it was the same, although then you didn't always have a lecture scheduled.

I work in a language school here and we try and make sure we have breaks but it's not always possible.

Take it in stride.
Are you getting in trouble with the heads?
The time it takes for you to get to the classes can be the time your students go drink water or go to the toilet. In other words, if you make it clear to your students, they will have no reason to disrupt your class and ask to go to the toilet.

I have been in the same situation and was never called out on it. The bosses or coordinators are probably aware of your situation.

It is up to you to use this time in a productive way, because there is nothing else you can do.

Cheers

Originally Posted by russellsimpson

every classroom in the school has varying times showing

Remember Don Muang Airport with all the clocks around that really high ceiling, some of them facing each other and none showed the same time?

They could vary by twenty minutes!

Originally Posted by bet

And none showed the correct time. Thai timing still amazes me, the only time that it's prompt is when I'm late.

Or when its time to eat

Or time for sleeping

Or having sex. Lek is rampant around payday

Yeah, nobody is falling for your faux poverty. You must be the personality around here.

Originally Posted by prkuehn

Are there any other teachers who are operating under the same conditions I am with no built-in breaks and having to line up students and escort them to class?

If you are working 20 rostered contact hours a week you will have plenty of breaks...but depending on rostering you may get long periods without a break...like when I had to work 6 hours on Friday ending in the last period...you just have to put up with it...and it is normal to have an informal break between continuous classes to catch your breath

The school that I work at has a 5 minute break between classes. This is due to the fact that it is the students, not the teachers, that have to get to class.

The school is separeted into different buildings by subject. So I only teach in only one building (3 storeys and 18 rooms) but the students study in upto 9. If they study maths the period before they study English then I'm lucky or unlucky, whicheverway you look at it, to get 40 mins in due to the distance they have to walk.

There are 2 lunch breaks. M1-3 have lunch between 11.15 and 12.05.
M4-M6 have lunch 12.10 to 13.00.

This is due to canteen capacity.

Funny how the students seem to walk faster towards the canteen than they do towards the classrooms.!!!!!!!