Back to Basics
I've been teaching full time for six years now. It's hard to believe and in some ways the time seems to have flown by super fast but it also feels like I've been here doing this for a very long time.
Six years on it's a lot easier and much of it is now very natural to me. Sure, there are still overwhelming piles of marking from exam classes and ridiculous amounts of admin - but it's become very much a comfort zone to me. I know the kids, curriculum, school and texts well. Things that used to be quite tough and that felt foreign have become much easier and familiar to me.
This summer though all of that is changing. I'm teaching a summer school and everything is outside of my comfort zone.
I've replaced teenagers for 2-10 year olds. In some of the groups there is a 5 year age gap. I've replaced kids that can already read for complete beginners. A school with hi-tech classrooms and outside space for a couple of rooms in an office building - so tables, pens and paper as resources and no outside space. A traditional school with enforced and regular attendance for kids who randomly show up - you never know who is going to be in your lesson until 3/4 of the way through. Often kids turn up just after you have finished the input of the lesson so they are unable to do the work that the others are doing.... and so the list goes on.
TOTALLY OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE!!!
But it's also good in many ways. I'm having to go to God for strength and wisdom for every lesson - that's a good thing! I'm getting to spend quality time with some of the least privileged kids in Hong Kong and sow into their lives - that's a good thing. As it's a Christian organisation I get to share about God with the kids - that's a good thing. I'm learning what ultimately matters in education when you strip away all the non-essentials - that's a good thing. I'm learning how to teach basic skills in English from scratch - that's a good thing. I'm getting to see some of my students, who are helping out as educational assistants, in a different context - that's a good thing. I get to work alongside one of my best friends and see what some of her day to day life is like - that's a good thing.
The more I think about it the more good things there are. It's a step towards my future dreams too. One day I would love to train local people in less privileged areas around Asia how to teach in their own communities. These people don't need all the fancy terminology and theory that I learned in Cambridge, most of which is based on classrooms that are in completely different situations than the ones they would face in any case. These people need someone who first and foremost understands their situation and can show them how to do things in their unique context. This summer does not make me an expert by any means but it's an interesting start.
This summer of going back to basics is not at all easy but there is a certain joy to it. There is definitely a satisfaction that comes with pushing outside of your comfort zone especially when you are stepping towards one of your dreams.
Six years on it's a lot easier and much of it is now very natural to me. Sure, there are still overwhelming piles of marking from exam classes and ridiculous amounts of admin - but it's become very much a comfort zone to me. I know the kids, curriculum, school and texts well. Things that used to be quite tough and that felt foreign have become much easier and familiar to me.
This summer though all of that is changing. I'm teaching a summer school and everything is outside of my comfort zone.
I've replaced teenagers for 2-10 year olds. In some of the groups there is a 5 year age gap. I've replaced kids that can already read for complete beginners. A school with hi-tech classrooms and outside space for a couple of rooms in an office building - so tables, pens and paper as resources and no outside space. A traditional school with enforced and regular attendance for kids who randomly show up - you never know who is going to be in your lesson until 3/4 of the way through. Often kids turn up just after you have finished the input of the lesson so they are unable to do the work that the others are doing.... and so the list goes on.
TOTALLY OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE!!!
But it's also good in many ways. I'm having to go to God for strength and wisdom for every lesson - that's a good thing! I'm getting to spend quality time with some of the least privileged kids in Hong Kong and sow into their lives - that's a good thing. As it's a Christian organisation I get to share about God with the kids - that's a good thing. I'm learning what ultimately matters in education when you strip away all the non-essentials - that's a good thing. I'm learning how to teach basic skills in English from scratch - that's a good thing. I'm getting to see some of my students, who are helping out as educational assistants, in a different context - that's a good thing. I get to work alongside one of my best friends and see what some of her day to day life is like - that's a good thing.
The more I think about it the more good things there are. It's a step towards my future dreams too. One day I would love to train local people in less privileged areas around Asia how to teach in their own communities. These people don't need all the fancy terminology and theory that I learned in Cambridge, most of which is based on classrooms that are in completely different situations than the ones they would face in any case. These people need someone who first and foremost understands their situation and can show them how to do things in their unique context. This summer does not make me an expert by any means but it's an interesting start.
This summer of going back to basics is not at all easy but there is a certain joy to it. There is definitely a satisfaction that comes with pushing outside of your comfort zone especially when you are stepping towards one of your dreams.
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