[waves]

Hi

news. a very part-time job landed in my lap.

some of you may remember october before last i took a C# class. well when i completed it, i spoke to the course coordinator about the possibility of teaching English for them - told her i was a native speaker, some experience, etc. she said they didn't have much demand but would keep me in mind. they did have a teacher they normally called on already. i figured nothing would come of it.

Well, whaddaya know! i got an email last week from her, to see if i was still available! Result: i will be teaching a beginner's English course, to a single student for a local training institute. 30 hours total, 2 hour sessions 2-3 times per week. i start this coming Monday (March 5th.)

it is less simple than it might sound, but it's as simple a start as i can hope for... especially with such a sparse schedule, and flexible days. (i have to do mornings UGH. but i'll survive.)

need to go get a textbook tomorrow... i am already working on lesson plans based on their "content sheet." the latter is very schematic, however, and very grammar-based. i took issue with some of the content (it lacked some basic themes, but included some rather advanced constructs). the course coordinator agreed for me to change it as i saw fit. i have a lot of freedom. freedom means a lot of work. that's why i need a text. and then i will have to play match-the-concepts to use its exercises etc... but i don't want to reinvent the wheel.

i did consider doing it all myself. but that would really be a lot of work. i will resort to that only if i cannot find a semi-suitable text.

i am vascillating between excitement and terror.

The good news is this will be low profile. If i mess up somehow it won't kill prospective employment in the field. This school mostly does computer literacy and programming classes - it is not one of the specialized English Schools that i will eventually apply to. Even if i do well, it is unlikely this place will have another request for ... ???? maybe another year and a half!

well if nothing else i did do pretty detailed plans for the first 2 lessons. and i can write exercises for those on the fly.

But.... the rest of the stuff is a quagmire that has me thinking in circles and cutting and pasting the same way... ARGHHHHH!

~ waves ~

[BlueMajo]

Waves

That sounds interesting and entertaining !

I hope you can enjoy it and teach your beautiful language to this student. Im sure you are great teaching

[bizi]

HOw exciting!!!!! WOW!!!!
that is big news
Thanks for sharing!
bizi

[waves]

Thanks Majo and Bizi for the support!

shaking nerves aside, i do feel happy about this. and yes, excited too! t's like, i was just starting to feel better again (or less bad - i'm cycling below baseline) and the powers that be picked just that moment to reach out to me... i am pretty wowed. it lit a fire under my butt, and i am moving. i have to pace myself, and i have had to take the odd lorazepam...

the lesson planning is a steep learning curve, and to my sole benefit. it is a part of teaching which i haven't had to do before. i do hope that i manage to pull it off well though - for the student i mean. i get paid... but she's paying - as well as putting time in!

i have been trying to reassure myself... i remind myself that i got good reviews from former students, and even the highschool kids i subbed for here liked me by the time i left... so, hopefully it will be OK. i have subbed for adults before and played things by ear, and things went ok even then.

and i keep reminding myself, one day at a time... we used to say that all the time... but i had forgotten it. tg i am reading my "mindfulness" book about taking a moment at a time, and it reminded me.

~ waves ~

[bizi]

YOu are going to do great!
bizi

[Mari]

Originally Posted by waves

i am vascillating between excitement and terror.

Dear Waves,
You sound mostly good about the work. I hope you find after Monday that teaching in these circumstances works for you.

M

[mymorgy]

i am so very happy for you
love
bobby
you will so super

[Dmom3005]

Waves

I am so proud to know you. I personally think, this is the change
you have been looking for.

And yes, just keep saying one day at a time. Or even at times,
it might be one hour at a time.

I believe you can do anything you set your mind to.

Donna

[waves]

Dear Bizi, Bobby, Mari.

thanks so much for your support!

I have decided "adopting" a book might be as much work.

I am going to prep my own lessons.

There is plenty of material on the internet where i can get an idea of what is too little/too much - first issue i have. My second issue is with certain rules - natural use is one thing... expressing the usage as rules is another. Again, i can check this information while developing the lesson plan, to make sure i express it accurately to the student.

School "standards" : When i took the C# class at this school, the "manual" they were supposed to provide did not exist. teacher recommended a book which they bought for me - it was great and appropriate for my professional standing, but nothing to do with the course. Their English courses do not even include a manual. the "course" i was taught was totally adlibbed from stuff ripped off the internet - literally, from different sources, and i received no material other than the few exercises. The course content did not even totally correspond to what they advertised... LOL.

I believe i can put together something more cohesive than that! I have to remind myself i cannot be perfect. perfection does not exist. it just needs to be good enough. i am pretty fussy and meticulous - to a fault in fact, so most likely it will be good enough - certainly for the standards of this school. In fact the hardest part for me, will be not over-doing.

The student does not have their very skeletal "requirements list," only i do, and it basically turns out i can really just teach what i see fit. She expects to learn some English from scratch. On the first day, i will ask her if she has specific needs (any particular reason for taking the course?) I will tailor the content accordingly.

FACT: Short of a natural disaster or similar, the student SHALL learn some basic English. That is the whole point.

My dad said something cool. He said, don't worry about getting a textbook, just go there and once you start you'll be fine, you'll see.

~ waves ~

[Dmom3005]

I like your dad's thoughts on this.


I think he is right. So go with that in mind. And go for it.

I personally think the no book is a good idea.

Donna