Last spring I started teaching an extracurricular English Club for students in grades 9-12. This class was only for girls and we would use half the class time to talk about grammar and the other half to discuss gender issues. I loved getting to know my girls but having to turn away boys week after week I decided to switch it up for the summer. My co-teacher and I made the decision to take the first 40 students to sign up, both girls and boys, and we set a six week schedule. We meet every Monday and Wednesday from 10am-12pm, bringing our grand total of class time to 24 hours for the summer. My co-teacher told them the first day not to waste this “day of classes with Jennifer” since I’m such a good resource for them. Pressure on! I try to live up to this expectation by making a fool of myself in front of the class for four hours each week.
I’ve come to have a love-hate relationship with teaching. There was a point in my life in which I considered this as a career, but I long ago realized that I have other callings. Teaching English is something most of the Ethiopian PCVs find themselves doing at some point during their two year service. Some teach once or twice and call it quits; others have taken on an entire course load as a real teacher. I fit somewhere in between those two, but my reasons for starting the class last spring fits in with the reasons of most of the volunteers: it’s something to do.
The curriculum for our summer English Club was going to be all about communication, and on the first Wednesday of class I brought printed out copies of the lyrics to “Wavin’ Flag” in honor of the World Cup (also because I overheard far too many people mumbling along to the song in gibberish). We went through line-by-line and discussed what it means. They loved it! Ever since, I’ve taken song requests and each Wednesday attendance numbers sky-rocket as we learn the song of the week. And honestly, I love it too. I’ve never enjoyed teaching so much; the two-hour class simply flies by! In the words of a teaching Fellow who came to talk to my group of volunteers from the Embassy, “This isn’t even what I do and I’m good at it!”
The summer semester is winding down and we’ve covered songs from JoJo to Beyonce. Knowing there is only one song choice left for next week the students recently handed me a list of songs that filled a page. ‘Suggestions for next week’ they said. I realized I can’t stop teaching quite yet. This fall I have a bit of traveling and other work planned so I wasn’t going to continue the class but I think I’ll have to figure out a way to make it work. Maybe I do love teaching after all.
I’ve come to have a love-hate relationship with teaching. There was a point in my life in which I considered this as a career, but I long ago realized that I have other callings. Teaching English is something most of the Ethiopian PCVs find themselves doing at some point during their two year service. Some teach once or twice and call it quits; others have taken on an entire course load as a real teacher. I fit somewhere in between those two, but my reasons for starting the class last spring fits in with the reasons of most of the volunteers: it’s something to do.
The curriculum for our summer English Club was going to be all about communication, and on the first Wednesday of class I brought printed out copies of the lyrics to “Wavin’ Flag” in honor of the World Cup (also because I overheard far too many people mumbling along to the song in gibberish). We went through line-by-line and discussed what it means. They loved it! Ever since, I’ve taken song requests and each Wednesday attendance numbers sky-rocket as we learn the song of the week. And honestly, I love it too. I’ve never enjoyed teaching so much; the two-hour class simply flies by! In the words of a teaching Fellow who came to talk to my group of volunteers from the Embassy, “This isn’t even what I do and I’m good at it!”
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1 comment:
Jennifer, what fun to hear about your English classes - perhaps you will "teach the world to sing in (semi-) perfect harmony" after all your travels. I love your list of what surprised you, written now looking back on it! You remind me of all the beauty and wonder of the small everyday experiences, things so easy to take for granted. Your blog is such a treasure!
Love, hugs, and remember to eat!
Rebecca
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