Stand by Moi

I just got home from my new job.  And yes, it’s a teaching job.  (What else am I qualified for, right?)  But it’s unlike any teaching job I have ever had: 

·         First, it’s English teaching and not science. 
·       Second, the kids are younger than I am used to.  The ages of my students range from 8 to 10-years old. 
·         Third, my class size is 9.  (That’s a big difference from the class size of 36-40 I am used to.)
·         Finally, the kids do not speak English, and therefore do not understand a word I am saying!

Half of me feels giddy with the fact that I am back doing what I love.  I genuinely loved being a teacher in America, and I have truly missed it since we moved to France.   I taught for 13 years.  I had thought of myself as a “teacher” for so long, that without it, I almost felt like I had lost a part of my identity.  Teaching was what I knew.  It wasn’t ever easy, but it was comfortable. 

The other half of me is wondering what in the world I have gotten myself into.  In typical “Tiffany fashion,” I had over-prepared, and it only took me five minutes to figure that out.  I assumed since I have the older, “more advanced” class, that I would be helping mostly fluent children with grammar, spelling, and reading in English.  All the teaching materials I received indicated as much.  But when I handed out a 5-page (but simple and age-appropriate) pretest to help me plan the 11-week curriculum, and then told the kids to begin by writing their name on their papers, all I got in return was 9 blank stares.  Yeah, I pretty much knew at that point that I had over-prepared. And way overestimated the ability level of my students. 

Luckily, I had some fun activities planned, and I was able to modify like crazy.  I think the kids enjoyed themselves, and I did too, though I now remember how exhausting teaching is.  As I spent more time with the kids, I realized they are definitely not beginners; they just need a lot of practice and have forgotten a lot.  They may also have a more difficult time with my American accent rather than the UK English they are used to hearing.  (I was already asked by my boss to redo worksheets I had made with British spelling rather than American, so "color" is "colour," and "favorite" is "favourite."  Whatever.)  Truly the hardest thing about the experience was when a couple of the kids didn’t have the skill or understanding to do what I asked, they would just tune me out and start talking to one another in French.  When I asked them to stop or pay attention, it was like they didn’t even hear me!  They weren’t being disrespectful; they just didn’t understand I was talking to them until I got them to look at me.  So I had to use a lot of eye contact and body language and motioning to get them to understand.  Of course, writing everything I said helped too.

I only teach on Wednesdays (the day French kids have off from regular school) from 9:00-12:00.  So on paper, and compared to what I am used to, this job should be a breeze!  But actually, I am sure it will be fairly challenging.  And like always, it will take far more prep than it’s worth monetarily, but such is the life of a teacher.  That was one part of the job where I definitely knew what to expect!