First published by me May 25, 2014
When asked whether I wanted to spend the next academic year of my life as a student or a teacher, I made my choice pretty quickly. “I’ll try being a teacher for a year, ta.”
The other option I faced was significantly less desirable to me. I simply wasn’t prepared to put myself through an extra year of lectures and seminars when I could pass the Year Abroad without the ‘hassle’. I needed a break. And pronto.
British Council provided me with the perfect alibi. Why not be an ‘Assistant d’Anglais’? Twelve hours paid work per week, and I’d be almost guaranteed to meet French people within the first week. (If I didn’t, I’d definitely be doing something wrong.) I didn’t even need to think about a PGCE to be handed a group of students and a classroom key.
What I hadn’t expected, however, was just how much this year would teach me. Here’s a few pebbles of wisdom I picked up that I should probably share.
1. Never give up on the kids who don’t understand. The first time you give up on them, they’ll give up on you, and your lesson plans, and your subject. And NOBODY wants that. By the end of my assistantship, I’d taken to walking around the classroom every few minutes, just to make sure that Jean* and Philippe* had both managed to write down the date and title, because that was progress in itself.
2. If you’re not going to keep track of homework, don’t bother setting any. French students dislike homework as much as English students. The second you forget that they have homework due in, you lose, and fall down their list of priorities faster than you can say ‘invraisemblable‘.
3. Understand that you mean more to the kids than they sometimes let on. Whether the students want to become teachers themselves, or simply need some direction in their lives, perseverance is key. You’ll reap the benefits on your final day when they realise just how much they don’t want you to leave.
It’s a good feeling.
4. Bad words can sometimes be a good thing. (As long as you learn to hold them back until you’re alone in an empty room.) Teaching is hard, and there’s no use in pretending everything is perfectly alright. Just don’t take it out on a classroom of students who may already have enough to deal with. This isn’t the way to make friends.
5. Laugh about the mistakes you made. Nobody taught you how to be a teacher. Even if you did put yourself through a year-long PGCE, you’ll still learn more in front of a class than you ever will from a desk. If you happen to tell your european class that they need to ‘take advantage of you’ (in French!), take a deep breath and remember that these things happen. And if you can’t laugh at yourself, then don’t expect anyone else to take you seriously.
So, thank you for everything, British Council. Nothing could have prepared me for the year I have just faced, but nothing could have prepared me better for a future in teaching (if that is what I choose to do).
*Names have been changed, for obvious reasons.
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