After two weeks of teaching the
first conclusion I can definitely report is that teaching is Hardwork!
Steph and I are teaching English
and Maths to the technical trainees. They spend most of their time learning
practical skills but also have lessons in English, Maths, Entrepreneurship,
Ethics, Theology and PE. This education
is alongside, daily mass, frequent prayers, practical chores and hobby time.
We are teaching all the English
and Maths, and also writing programmes for both subjects which will be used by
the teachers who follow us in years to come, not just here but also at the
other Salesian Training Centres across the Southern Philippines.
Every week we each have 14 hours
of teaching, 8 hours of assisting the others teaching, 1 hour of faculty
meeting and a Marathon Saturday afternoon when we give extra classes to those
who need them for as long as it takes, yesterday it took just over four hours.
On top of that there is all the planning, marking and logging of results. I am
sure the experienced teachers among my readers will think nothing of this
relatively light workload. But for someone who has never taught before, and so
is lacking confidence, it is pretty tiring.
We have 220 students, the biggest
class is 37, the smallest is 23
Despite the tiring nature of the
work I am enjoying the challenge. Teaching the intelligent students is
relatively easy, it is the less able ones who present the challenge, but they
also provide the biggest reward. There is definitely a certain thrill in
helping an 18 year old to grasp simple addition.
This experience of being a
teacher is itself teaching me a lot about the virtue of patience, teaching
involves a continuous need to be patient. Understanding how concepts which I
find easy can be difficult for another person does not come naturally. The
temptation to get frustrated with their slowness to learn is an ever present.
This necessity, as a teacher, to try
to see the subject through the eyes of the student is, once the frustration has
past, a real gift.
Some of us, as you acknowledge, have known for a VERY long time that teaching is hard and challenging!(But also very rewarding.)
ReplyDeleteTiny steps of progress for young people who are struggling, can indeed be the most rewarding, as a wise headteacher told me years ago. I have often recalled his words when I have doubted pupils have been learning anything - and I quote: "you won't notice or be able to measure their progress on a daily basis but over a period of time you WILL see an improvement". You have to hang on in there, knowing you are doing a good job!