I can’t say my first experience teaching English and volunteering abroad has been altogether stress free, but despite some minor bureaucratic miscommunications and afternoon rainstorms, my days usually flow smoothly and casually.
My major challenge is apathy. Trying to get teenagers to participate at an age when they’re just starting to worry about looking cool (and hence aloof in the classroom) isn’t easy in any culture. Granted, to keep their attention I can exploit, to some extent, my appeal as the exotic, foreign teacher.
While I have to work within the framework of the designated curriculum the kids learn faster and participate more with games than they do by simply copying and reciting words on the board.
Getting to know my students dramatically increased the extent to which they allowed me to teach them. First impressions were vital: I had to prove to them that I wasn’t some stuck-up, ignorant sightseer with whom they could not identify nor freely communicate. I broke the ice by talking about life in Israel or initiating debates about which rival Romanian club soccer team, Steaua Bucharest or CFR Cluj, deserved my allegiance.
Day by day and joke by joke, the kids have warmed up to me as both their academic authority and their friend. They approach me not only with questions about grammar but also about English curse words, Israeli sports and celebrities, and what my girlfriend is like. The more they get to know me, the more comfortable they feel participating in class; likewise, the more they see their peers making an effort in class, the more enthusiastic and confident they become about their competency in English.
While I was discussing the day’s work with the five other volunteers at the dinner table one night it occurred to me how much this teaching experience is impacting my plans for the future. It’s such a gratifying, refreshing sensation to see the timid kids of my classes—kids who used to never speak unless called upon—truly begin to realize that they have potential, that they can develop new talents and dreams they never knew they had.
My days at the school, however, are anything but predictable. The kids have given me a gift I never expected: they’ve taught their teacher how meaningful the craft of teaching can be. I’m really beginning to comprehend the truth behind the notion that touching kids’ minds does indeed spark transformations in their lives.
