When The Teacher Becomes The Pupil

Alone, they are simply reasons, but together, they are success. I began teaching English as a second language in China in July 2014. I have just signed my second contract. Here are six, simple reasons why.

1. Knowledge

I learn something new everyday. Be it a new grammar point, how to pronounce a city I never knew existed, or learning something about an individual student. The learning process for a teacher never stops inside or outside the classroom when you teach abroad. You constantly learn new customs, history, reasons for this or that and how to adapt to it all.

2. Reward

When that light clicks in a student or they find excitement in an activity you planned for hours, it warms your heart. It also lets you know you’re not wasting their time or yours. How is this different from teaching in your home country? The language barrier, that’s what. Each class you enter the room hoping to succeed through each activity, instruction or assignment with graded English accompanied by a lot hand gestures and body language.

3. Patience

The patience I have obtained as a teacher is remarkable. Teaching abroad, it also becomes beneficial outside of the classroom as well. When you make progress through the language barrier you feel like an Olympic gold medalist. You must constantly remind yourself, although the student may be 15, they speak English secondly to their native language. When a child speaks to you in their native tongue, listen with your eyes and speak in return with your hands.

4. Maintaining My Inner child

I can sing and enjoy a ridiculous song like, "I like to eat eat eat apples and bananas," for the first time since watching Barney in kindergarten. (Ok, so I often sing it but this time it was structured). I can elicit ridiculous art work in the form of stick figures as entertainment. I get to color or make a craft at least every other day. I get paid to be a fool. Win-win!

5. Communication

This one is big for me. Some assume communicating with kids is easy because they're too young to know different. The truth is, no one can crush your confidence quicker than a kid. I think I'm hilarious sometimes but when my students don't get a joke I'm like, "well, ok then."

Like the patience I obtain and apply outside of the classroom, I can do the same with the communication skills acquired. If you can talk to a child and be understood or heard, you can do it with an adult. Adults are less patient, but if you are the child in the situation, you’ll succeed.

6. The love

Yelling one minute and being fed snacks the next by the small ones. By the older students, once you let them in, they learn to respect your need for peace in the classroom. You may not always teach them the target language for a lesson, but in the long run, you teach them patience, sharing, kindness, confidence and love. And in the end, they show you all the same things.

These six reasons for teaching work together because without patience, you have little or no communication, and without communication your reward is less satisfying. Without the reward, the love is simply teacher to student instead of mentor to child. And without all of the above, you never gain the knowledge.

Part II

The following are a spin-off of the 30 life lessons learned by age 25 blog. These are the 10 lessons I learn in the classroom. These are the daily things in a teacher's life and the feelings that happen in return.
I was just looking at these kids precious faces today and I realized I'm sparked a little each day by these rugrats. I teach as young as three and as old as 15 so there aren't many dull moments.
I've written about the classroom and told you a thousand stories, but I've forgotten to mention the little things, which is the best part.

1. When a kid laughs - you laugh too because their laughs are contagious.

2. When they share - this means they like you, even if it was a weird Chinese snack you had to spit out when they turned their back.

3. When they give you something (a bracelet, sketch, etc) - this means they like you and think about you as more than just the English teacher they see once a week.

4. When they ask you an educational question - this makes me feel smart and gives me confidence and pride. This means they've actually learned something from me and assume I know other things.

5. When they ask you a life question - they look up to you. This actually makes me nervous cause I'm always afraid my honesty will come back to bite me because of typical, Chinese conservative minds, but I'll never lie to my students. Even if it costs me my job.

6. When they obey - I do a happy dance on the inside and remain cool on the outside. This means they respect me, or I put the fear of God in the. :) 

7. When the lightbulb goes off - happy dance again. I really do know what I'm doing. (Ok, well, maybe sometimes).

8. When they make you angry - you remember they're just kids so you're sucking up to them by the end of class cause you feel guilty after yelling. 

9. When they laugh at you - it means they're paying attention, they get your joke or they think you are the absolute strangest adult on earth.

10. When they laugh with you - you feel awesome!