Sunday, August 08, 2004
A job that sticks?
On a whim (and a loan), I signed up for a Cambridge University English language teaching program a few weeks ago and I began my training last Monday. It is a lot of work (9am to 6:30 pm plus all of my lesson planning and homework at night). Every day we have 2 and a half hours of "teaching practice", where we actually give the class and I have to say that no matter how poorly my lesson goes (like Friday's attempt to explain the difference between "I'm going to meet her tonight" and "I'm meeting her tonight") I come out of it exhilirated. I am learning so much, not only about the English language, but about learning styles and methods, people, and time organization. I think that I may have found myself a career.
Yes, I know, it doesn't pay well, but I can do it all over the world. I have been thinking about teaching for a long time. It is the only profession that I was able to come up with that fulfilled all of my criteria (transferable skills that allow me to work in both France and the US, more than 2 weeks per year of vacation time so that when I have a family I will be able to spend time with them, working with people, sharing knowledge, being a lifelong student, working with a subject I am passionate about, making use of my creativity and resourcefulness, being relatively independent but part of something bigger, doing something that is helpful to others and the world, etc.)
It took me a while to feel comfortable with this last one. I remember someone telling me that the reason they didn't want to do the Peace Corps was because if you don't have specific skills you just end up giving English lessons to African villagers who will probably never use it, serving only to continue the spread of American cultural and economic hegemony. I always agreed with this point. I mean, after all, isn't it more helpful for people with agricultural backgrounds to help institute new farming techniques that yield more crops than teaching them to say "I'm meeting her tonight?" But the truth is, I didn't create American hegemony and by denying people the tools to compete in a world that has unfortunately become overly anglicized, I am not helping to relieve the pressure. There is a huge demand for English teachers all over the world, so why not spend my days feasting on language and helping others to be able to step up to the plate.
In any case, despite my idealistic musings, I guess the most important thing is that teaching thrills me and I can't say that I have ever felt that way about anything else. Even when I was convinced I was going to be a world-famous oboe player there was the panic of doubt that always haunted my efforts (after all, who has ever heard of a world-famous oboe player. The doubts are understandable.) Even when I was at NewMusicBox and I lived and breathed music and would check the site obsessively even on the weekends, and plunged into that world with determination and passion, there was a part of me that wasn't convinced it was right. But this time, I don't have those doubts. Of course, it has only been a week. I will report back after a month, a year, 5 years, and let you know if I feel the same way, but for now, I am overjoyed.
Oh, and did I mention that the language teacher's bookstore is a five-minute walk from my house? Coincidence or fate?
I dedicate this post to Brenda Kitt, Joan Brim, Eleanor Perry, Colette Waldron, Leland Glenna, Brian Earle, and all of the other terrific teachers I have had in my life. Oh and my mother. The best teacher of all.
Yes, I know, it doesn't pay well, but I can do it all over the world. I have been thinking about teaching for a long time. It is the only profession that I was able to come up with that fulfilled all of my criteria (transferable skills that allow me to work in both France and the US, more than 2 weeks per year of vacation time so that when I have a family I will be able to spend time with them, working with people, sharing knowledge, being a lifelong student, working with a subject I am passionate about, making use of my creativity and resourcefulness, being relatively independent but part of something bigger, doing something that is helpful to others and the world, etc.)
It took me a while to feel comfortable with this last one. I remember someone telling me that the reason they didn't want to do the Peace Corps was because if you don't have specific skills you just end up giving English lessons to African villagers who will probably never use it, serving only to continue the spread of American cultural and economic hegemony. I always agreed with this point. I mean, after all, isn't it more helpful for people with agricultural backgrounds to help institute new farming techniques that yield more crops than teaching them to say "I'm meeting her tonight?" But the truth is, I didn't create American hegemony and by denying people the tools to compete in a world that has unfortunately become overly anglicized, I am not helping to relieve the pressure. There is a huge demand for English teachers all over the world, so why not spend my days feasting on language and helping others to be able to step up to the plate.
In any case, despite my idealistic musings, I guess the most important thing is that teaching thrills me and I can't say that I have ever felt that way about anything else. Even when I was convinced I was going to be a world-famous oboe player there was the panic of doubt that always haunted my efforts (after all, who has ever heard of a world-famous oboe player. The doubts are understandable.) Even when I was at NewMusicBox and I lived and breathed music and would check the site obsessively even on the weekends, and plunged into that world with determination and passion, there was a part of me that wasn't convinced it was right. But this time, I don't have those doubts. Of course, it has only been a week. I will report back after a month, a year, 5 years, and let you know if I feel the same way, but for now, I am overjoyed.
Oh, and did I mention that the language teacher's bookstore is a five-minute walk from my house? Coincidence or fate?
I dedicate this post to Brenda Kitt, Joan Brim, Eleanor Perry, Colette Waldron, Leland Glenna, Brian Earle, and all of the other terrific teachers I have had in my life. Oh and my mother. The best teacher of all.
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