The class, as of now comprises of 8 kids. Some of them are from the orphanage, and others are from the community around the orphanage. I hope I can find a couple more children over the weekend in bring the number to about 15. We meet at the orphanage from 10am to 12pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays. They vary in age from 10-16 and all have some background in English, but nothing more than “good morning” or “fine, thanks”.
I am not a qualified teacher. I don’t have experience teaching groups. I’ve never even tutored English. Before my first lesson on Thursday, I hadn’t created a lesson plan, anticipated the interest level of the students, formed a method to gauge the previous understanding of English my students held, or realized how hard it would be to keep everyone engaged when I had such varied levels of comprehension to work with. So you can see why I was nervous right before the lesson.
Although we started kind of shakily, just like my confidence, the lesson began to settle as I got into a steady rhythm. Before long, it was flowing naturally. The most rewarding thing as a teacher is when you spend 10 minutes explaining something and then a child is able to apply what you said to answer a question about it. Not only does it keep the kids engaged, but it is such necessary feedback for me to receive when I’m up there, just so I know if I need to do a better job of explaining or if I can move on.
On the other hand, it can be equally frustrating when you feel like you’ve spent your time teaching something and not a single hand goes up when you ask a question. Or when you have to stop mid sentence because it is clear that no one is listening. Nevertheless, after my first lesson was complete, I was feeling pretty good about myself and what we had gotten through – then one of the students reminded me that they need homework.
After assigning the homework, I could already see myself thinking ahead to the next lesson, anticipating how it was going to play out. I was kinda excited! Starting these lessons was a great idea – it provides some structure to my day, and gives me a set schedule. And to be honest, its more motivating than grant work because with this you can see the results much more immediately.
I have a lot of respect for teachers. I always have, even before Thursday, but a little more empathetically now. It is not easy to stand in front of a class full of people and keep them entertained while juggling parenting, teaching, staying patient, being a role model, and always trying to spark some passion all at the same time. However, teachers have to deal with more than just these things. Back home, I have shied away from thinking about a career in teaching just because of all the inner politics that exist within the education system’s hierarchy. It is disheartening how the school can be a truly bureaucratic institution, and that is not something I think I can deal with. What I’ve seen as a student is probably only the tip of the iceberg. I’m glad that I can stay away from that in my small English lessons at the orphanage, but there are those who don’t, and brave the sometimes hostile environment to teach kids who might never realize or appreciate the impact that their teachers often have in shaping who they are.
So I guess the title of this post ended up being one of those classic “phrases with intended double meaning” (is that really classic? I kinda just made that part up). I suppose it’s only fitting that I probably learned more than my students during my first lesson, because part of being a teacher is having a constant willingness to learn as well as teach. Teachers deserve a lot more respect than they ever actually get, and in my eyes it’s as prestigious of a profession as the doctors and lawyers of this world can lay claim to. The role of a teacher is so important that becoming one should be just as selective of a process as choosing doctors or lawyers. My thoughts on how little training teachers require in comparison to those two other professions is a rant made for a different post. Here, let me just take the opportunity to thank the teachers that have been such an important part of my life.
One love to my teachers, if any of you are reading this. And if you just so happened to teach me English in primary school, would you mind if I took a look at your lesson plans quickly? Peace.
Anonymous Teaching is difficult especially when your students have no background on the subject. Its great that you're making an effort just know that from this point on things will get easier as you get into the rhythm. However, make sure not to forget that a teacher can be a friend too, you're trying to teach these children but make sure you have fun as well. This is truly amazing and heart warming so keep doing it because you can make a real difference.