I’ve been complaining that I just can’t find my rhythm. I feel that I am leaping from one thing to another without any rhyme or reason. My days don’t seem to have any flow to them. and my working life is fraught with bumps and jolts. Much of this makes perfect sense when I think about it. In three months, I have joined a new school, taken on Aviation English, and leapt headfirst into TOEFL preparation, with a side order of SAT prep thrown into the mix. I am also teaching teenagers. Yes, I know that I have done this before, but this is full-on teens with seventeen of them in the classroom at once, while in the past I have had individual teens in adult classes and one group of four thirteen-year-olds. We add all that to a healthy dose of the usual things that come up while teaching, but have managed to appear all in the same three months instead of being spread over a year or even a semester, and you get chronic dysrhythmia of the head!
Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I rarely blog about work. This habit stems from a minor but somewhat ugly incident that occurred while we were living in Poland. Paula was writing about our experiences there and a friend was republishing the tales for all to read and enjoy, when someone from one of the companies where she was teaching took umbrage over the mention of the company on the internet. There was nothing negative, mind you, or even a personal reference in the post, but Paula’s boss had a bit of a hissy fit. Apparently there are laws and blah, blah, blah … So, I refrain from posting
most of the time
except for now!
My seventeen teenagers are all part of a program funded by the State Department to help less advantaged kids have a shot at earning a place in a program that sends kids to the U.S. They must have a pretty high level of English to qualify for these programs and here that usually means they need private tutors. My kids are part of a group of 45 students who have qualified for a year-long program of English instruction and cultural enrichment that will help some of them qualify for U.S. bound placements, or at least give them a hand up in their English studies to help pave the way to better employment prospects and greater cultural awareness.
I have to say that I am really enjoying my group. They are boisterous and enthusiastic students. They participate eagerly and have so much energy I can barely control the class. Recently we decorated the classroom for Christmas. This resulted in two days of near-total chaos, which I love. The room looks great and they did it all themselves! We won the room decorating contest, too!
Well, okay, I did help with the ornaments.
My other class is a group of cadets who are preparing for both the TOEFL and the SAT, in the hope that they will get one of just two possible opportunities to go to a U.S. military academy. We are working four or five hours a day, six days a week, on grammar, reading and writing skills. They’re on their own with the math!
The combined workload is about 34 hours of face-time per week with the students, plus the inevitable preparation time. Fortunately, I’m off between Christmas and New Years. I should also note that the cadets take the TOEFL test on January 14th and the SAT on January 28th. In February I should have a “normal” schedule.
Well, I started this post some time ago, but never got back to finishing it. Now, it’s Christmas Eve and I’m hanging out, waiting for an early morning (3:30 a.m.) train to an early morning plane to Vienna. We are holiday-ing with our great good friends Peter and Helene and retrieving a couple suitcases of stuff we left in Europe before the move here.
I spent this morning dealing, or should I say “not dealing”, with Tunisia’s draconian currency laws that prevent us converting dinars to euros for our trip unless we have umpteen receipts for every cash withdrawal and money exchange we have made. We are fortunate to have some really good friends who are willing to look after us innocents abroad, or we might well be stranded here. On the upside, we are on our way with renewed glow in our hearts and a few shekels to spend.
I’ve recently had the opportunity to go to an indoor ice-skating facility with our teenagers. Picture, if you will, three teachers and two staff with 47 teens who have never ice-skated. EVER. It was amazing!
That’s my group at the rink waiting to leave.
Well, have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year, everyone!
If you get the chance to visit Tunisia, drop us a line and we’ll have some fun!
Merry Christmas to you
And a merry Christmas to you!