Baby Steps

There are some days that I feel like I'm a good teacher. Nothing beats that thrill of knowing that I taught someone something today. My limited experience has shown me that there are those days (in teaching) that are the days that you get to see the baby steps that you are making and then there are the days, the painful days, where all you are doing is lifting that foot. I believe the technical term is "laying the groundwork" or something like that but regardless of what it's called the reality is that it's ridiculously frustrating. I feel a combination of a headache that comes with beating your head against the wall and the sore throat that comes with shouting at the aforementioned wall. (Note: I did not actually shout at the children, though my "angry eyes" made an appearance.)

Maybe it's because I started off this week excited that we seemed to be making progress. Maybe I jinxed myself by saying that I thought that my students seemed to be getting into a routine of understanding what I expected from them. Maybe it's the cold and rainy weather. Maybe it's because I had a whopping six lessons today. Whatever it was, it made for a looong day. I suppose in reflection it wasn't that bad but it certainly was challenging.

And the challenge isn't so much the teaching part. That, I believe, I do really well, especially one on one. It's the teaching of a class that's the challenge. I keep finding that when I pose a question to the class I have one or two students that always are the first to answer (correctly) and then the rest of the class simply chimes in behind. But when I question individual students they can't answer. So then I end up actively working to discourage the bright students from answering all the time so that the slower ones can catch up. Which then, of course, means that the better students are essentially being punished for being too smart as they are forced to be quiet and wait while their classmates are given the chance to work things out for themselves...because I could, of course just give the slower ones the answers so that everyone can move along at approximately the same pace, but they they don't actually learn anything. And that's not even factoring in their desires to work, their attention spans, ability (or lack thereof) to follow simple instructions, or their 6-8 year old tendencies to wiggle (or beat up, spit on, steal from or otherwise pester each other).

Last night Tamaz expressed, quite vehemently, his opinion that he thought my skills were being wasted teaching English to the younger classes. He firmly believes that native English speakers should only teach older students (like 7th grade and beyond) as they are old enough to notice and appreciate the depth of language that I have. I understood what he was saying, though respectfully attempted to disagree. I think that if these younger kids are continually exposed to a native English speaker throughout their early language development then they will have the advantage over the older kids who are being exposed for the first time now. The key to learning any language (I believe) is listening. Each day I learn new Georgian words and each day I pick up more in conversation. Do I know exactly what people are saying? No, but I can usually glean the gist based on keywords, tone of voice and context. These little kids are learning the same way. The difference between me and them is that I, at 26, possess more self-discipline than they do at 6. Tamaz still thought it was a waste.

I think it's a bit early for me to be getting frustrated, it's only my second full week so I've got to look at the bigger picture. Besides, apart from a few trouble makers, I really do like my students and I'm eager to see them succeed, one baby step at a time.