Designing Lorri

The Truth about Teacher Tags

VIPKid does not assign any bad teacher tags. It used to be that we could not see our tags at all until submitting a ticket. Finally, after all this time, VIPKid has made it possible to see all the tags given to us by a Mock Class Mentor and the tags left from parents in feedbacks.

The truth is, no matter what you get from MCM’s or parents, your tags will not stop students from trying your class if they saw something they liked on your profile. These tags are really just a search feature that helps to match students and teachers. I’m not saying they don’t matter, but they definitely aren’t playing as big a role in your bookings as it used to be believed.

You have to choose at least one from each category, but since we can choose up to 6 I went with 2 from each. Here are my thoughts:

Teaching Skills

As you can see, a parent at sometime or another has tagged me for almost all the teaching skills tags. Keep in mind that some tags are only shown to parents for certain levels. Upper level classes are looking for different things than lower level classes, so if you are missing some don’t worry. That aside, I definitely have gotten “great student output” in written feedback, but because the tag wasn’t clicked it is not on my list. My strategy is to choose a tag an MCM chose plus another a parent chose. Rapport building is really something I’m not great at, so I would not want to choose that one. Scaffolding is a classic teacher term for building a firm foundation in a concept if a student needs extra support, or providing additional extensions if a student shows mastery.

I do not want to run the risk of getting parents that want excessive corrections. I do correct every error, but I do not stress the student out. Comprehension Checks really applies to the upper level classes and that’s great, but I feel encouragement is universal. Also, I really do not want to be found in a “facial expressions” search because I’m not consistent with that.

Strengths

As much as I actually do conversation practice and phonics skills in classes that need them, those aren’t backed by parent or MCM feedback, so my only clear choices are “Classroom environment” and “Pronunciation”. I correct pronunciation every. single. time. I also turn off my Texan and speak clearly with zero trace of an accent…unless it’s my regular level 7, then she knows the truth. My classroom is two bookshelves and a wall that is sometimes decorated sometimes not, but no matter how it’s been decorated the environment can also have to do with class management skills and making the student comfortable.

Personality

I am a very low-key person. It would be shootin’ myself in the foot to pick energetic, though I can adjust to meet those littles. However, I find that the calm students find me and appreciate my mellow atmosphere so they can open up as they get used to the platform. Once again, I have two clear choices: Patient, backed by both parents and the MCM, and Friendly. Not bad. I really am not creative in class–there are methods that are time-honored and they work, and I use those methods. However, if “adaptive” were a tag, I’d like that one because really, that’s what all this boils down to.