ESOL Teacher Reflections: 2014

Sunday, March 16, 2014

The World of Wikis

Well, I have dipped my toes into wiki-world and find the waters not too bad. First, I learned that I could use the services of a "wiki farm" or host the wiki myself on the server for my website. Being a total wiki novice, I opted for a wiki farm — wikia.com. In the week that I've ben building the wiki, I've been very happy with wikis. In addition to an extensive help forum, their response to additional questions is reasonably prompt (within one working day) and helpful. Here's the wiki —http://esol-volunteer.wikia.com — still a work in progress, but I'm pleased with how it's working. Suggestions welcome.

Friday, March 7, 2014

New URL... Same Blog

I decided I wanted to create a wiki to help my students with volunteer options (more on that later), and found myself back here after way too long an absence. Maybe one reason I've been staying away is that I didn't like the original URL — esolteacherhelp. It seemed presumptuous from one who is still struggling to find the best way or ways. A better name would have been helpesolteacher, but I decided to rename it to my name instead. More on the wiki and volunteering to come.

Why I Teach

I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but I have almost always loved being a student. It wasn’t until I traveled to Ecuador in 1991 and filled the role of native speaker for EFL classes that I began to think about teaching. Eventually, I went back to the university for my teaching certificate, found my way from middle school to adult education, and finally feel like I am where I am supposed to be.
Every class and every day is new. I continually learn from my students and successes and failures in the classroom. The major and most useful skill I have learned is the value of flexibility. Of going with the flow. Of monitoring classroom activities and changing course when I sense that something is lacking or students’ interests lie elsewhere. It all boils down to a matter of respect and something that feels a bit like… love. And to me, loving what I do every day is the thing that makes it all worthwhile.