Inside Stories

A strong demand was on the inside drama that happened during my teaching course so here it is. (for you, @GazelleR)

Most of the stories happened with two of my older students who, for some reason, couldn't understand that speaking in English was for their own good and gave me a hard time for not doing their homework the way I asked to be done.

Above all of that, they'd often ditch the lesson for some bizarre excuse together. Yes, they were the best of friends who wouldn't dare attend the class without the other and this pissed me off. She's sick but what about YOU? Umm, I don't know. So not only do I have to teach once, but repeat it twice!

Anyhow, just a week before the course came to a close, I decided to change the timings to 1-3 PM to have enough time and get back home and watch the Wold Cup games. The next thing, their moms are in rage and wonders which teacher on earth would care about the World Cup, little did they knew that I was THAT teacher. Just because you do not watch it doesn't mean others don't too.

The principal got fed up with the two of them and kicked them out as they've been giving excuses after another, showing their little interest in learning. But what came after their absence was more sickening; a parent says that she regrets sending her daughter as she didn't learn a thing. And just two weeks back, her own daughter begged me to tutor her 18 years old sister for thanawiya alamma next year. Where did that go?

Wait, what was that? How come all I heard during the lessons were praise and happiness to be here and not anywhere else...?

Turned out, the mother just said this because she was angry and her daughter would like to resume but guess what? We don't want you!

My other sophisticated students said that this was much unneeded drama wrapped up in lies and that they learned a lot and would like to be taught again next summer and I shall do just that without already-pampered girls.

The End Of My Teaching Experience

Today is the final day of the summer course I agreed to teach at for 3 lessons a day;

• 8-9 AM: Kids from 4-8 years old.
• 9-10:30 AM : Students from 10-13.
• 1-3 PM: Students from 13-19.

The first group of 4-8 years old were the most enjoyable and tiring ones. All I had to do is teach how to write a new letter after revising the last one. There are times when they'd start calling me repeatedly, seeking for my attention and that's when their yelling hit my nerves.

Special students; Ru2a..There's a lot to say about her. You know how super hyper kids at 6 can be? Well, she's like that and even more. The word 'sitting down' is not in her dictionary and cannot, in any way, be added. At first, I just didn't want to deal with her as she simply disturbs the flow of the class and distracts the other students from paying any attention to what I say. She'd kick this and tease that as long as she does something then that's what pleases her. Another thing that appealed to her was watching Sana channel on TV so I snatched the opportunity as a threat and indeed, it worked!

Students from 10-13 years old were very pampered and wouldn't try solving a new worksheet on their own claiming that it was very hard. And the next thing I know, some of their parents come up to me and complain about it. Well, what if I gave your kids A B C's, will it satisfy you? Easy things won't improve anyone.

Older students group of 13-19 years old weren't used to being talked to with English all the time but by time, they understood that it's for their better good and started responding and asking if they had any doubts. I started out on a serious note and laid back when I knew I could be-friend them.

They wrote letters to me today and I was having the time of my life going through them and knowing that I have made a change in their lives, no matter how small this change is.

Would I do it again? So far, I don't know. But, if I did, I'd have the full knowledge on how it is going to be and hence, would take full responsibility of my decision. But for the time being, I'd say goodbye to my desk:

Now that this is off my shoulders, I should seriously start shopping & packing for China. So the countdown begins from now on and this topic shall have a post of its own. Stay tuned!

Not Going Back

I've been counting down the days till the weekend so I could come back home. Tuesday and Wednesday were the toughest days I've gone through ever since I started teaching. I don't know why have I chosen to do this in the first place. Sure it seemed nice and wow at first, but now, it's just the opposite of all this.


Being with kids and teaching them is enjoyable, of course. But as fun as it may sound..it's also tiring. Very tiring, to the extent that I want to quit. No one seems to grasp this idea as they think I wouldn't dare to do it. Well, stay back and watch me.

What's worse is that my boss is no one other than my favourite aunt. She started this summer school at her own house and staying there on weekdays were part of my commitment. I wholly agreed on teaching the 14 to 17 years old students at the afternoon and the morning lessons of 4-13 years old weren't part of the deal at the beginning.

I agreed because the job was thrown on me and I couldn't do anything about it. I thought I could handle myself but I cannot anymore. 4-9 years old kids were packed up in one class and I had to put up with their noise and the older students complaints..

While the lesson of 10-13 years old were a mixture of different levels of understanding and having to prepare various activities each day was a drag I had to go through for 10 days and that was that.

Coming back home this weekend with the intention of not going back to that hell-hole ever again. Although it's not that easy given the fact that I already started. Praying to get out of this trouble in no time and resume enjoying my summer in the real sense of the word.

A Small Gesture

"Day 3
June, 2nd"

Today was the third day; we kicked off with revising the letter A & B and how to write the letter C. As a fun activity, I scattered around letters’ cards and asked them to find a specific letter. They all took it as a challenge and competed with each other to impress me.

Another thing I have to get used to along with being called Ms. is to always keep a smile on my face even if I loses the hope. As I said, I didn’t sign up for teaching kids originally and when I did, I didn’t exactly realize how hard it is going to be. But, I know that the outcome is far important than the process it self. Being positive is a bonus in this job.

By time, I’ll keep up and they’ll do too. I’m utterly happy that they’re having a great time in class which is why their parents look around for this new English teacher to tell her how much their kids mention her. They keep repeating the word ‘7abooba’ (lovable) When in fact, it’s fortunate that they’re only kids.

I was checking the student’s notebooks and that's when this cute girl comes to me and hands me a stuffed bunny carrying a tiny heart. She said, almost soundlessly, ‘hathi elhadiyah 7alish Ms.’ This little gesture brought tears to my eyes and I held her in a warm hug.

It is when I realized that being who you are matters more than what you teach.

First Teaching Experience

Day 1
May, 30th.

One of my many summer plans is teaching English for the first time at a summer school. I was originally assigned to teach an older age group (from 12-16) but yesterday's class changed my agenda.

Ahmed: Will we have English tomorrow as well?
Me: No, it's just for today.
Ahmed: Why, did we annoy you Ms..?

How could I have said no to that? I agreed and so I'd be working twice a day, morning and noon. Turned out, I have more than 0.00% patience... I've always said that teaching kids is a sacrifice, one that I choose to take this time. At the beginning, I was afraid of losing it, especially if we're talking about 4-6 years old kids..but things are going pretty smoothly.

Kids, at this stage, are so smart and attentive and molding their skills from now on is a huge responsibility. I never imagined that teaching can be so hard but as long as you're having fun and the kids are too then that's what really matters.

As for tomorrow, I'd be meeting the older students and might start out with a small language level test. Stay tuned for later updates!

Note: This series of posts are dedicated to @toxic_honey and @developar