A is for Apple

At no point in my childhood did I ever consider being a teacher. Not even on my map/radar/compass… whatever you want to call it. I was supposed to be working for a fortune 500 company in their marketing department in a beautiful city in the US. Well, it’s pretty easy to see that dream train didn’t stay or course. I have never had any form of skill with children, and often seemed to have the “hold-a-baby-and-it-starts-crying” curse. I can’t describe how things clicked, but just like legos, everything has connected to make my daily job pretty freaking cool.
Yes, I have yelled. Days have worn me out, but they have also made my some kind of teaching crunk from the really fun classes. Some of the kids have so much fun with you and always joke around in a way that they are your little brother or sister.
I am in a completely different form of education environment compared to my Midwestern high school or even my mother’s inner city hot mess. Essentially, Hess is a “private” education where the students are paying to learn, so they are fairly motivated. They work hard, and they respect the teacher…. Most of the time.
Classroom punishment is harsh by western standards, but it does work dreams. For example, if a student can’t sit still even after a series of warnings, I ask them to stand up until they apologize to me and the class. There is no concern for “political correctness” or children’s feelings. Calling students out is not only encouraged, it is pretty effective. I would never be able to tell a child in American, “Ricky, you are so slow,” in front of the class. But honestly, Rick is slow. Everyone already knows it, so hey… why not tell them and use it to get him moving a little bit.
Hearing “teacher Bethany” sometimes still stops me in my tracks. They are intrusting me with people’s educations, which is something that I value more than worldly things. It is a lot of pressure knowing that your words and actions will help or hinder someone’s growth, development, and English ability. It’s one of those things that can totally overwhelm you if you think too hard or focus too much on it. Averaging and giving grades makes me thing if how I felt when the teachers would pass back horrible scores. What really gets me is why I teach the ABCs. Something so basic, but the fundamental building block of English.