I should have said this in my introductory post but since I forgot, I'm gonna say it now. Yo soy maestra (I'm a teacher). Teaching is what gives me life and purpose. I started teaching when I was 20 years old, in my second year in university. Although back then I did not know what I really wanted to do with my life, I was sure I never wanted to be a teacher. You see, back then teaching was not a reputable occupation in my country. No one really wanted to be one, for whatever reasons. Low pay and stuff like that. But life happened. I became a teacher, I embraced it, I fell in love and in another world I would still be a freaking TEACHER.
They say that teaching is a calling and that people shood heed their calling. I partly agree and partly disagree. I was never called to be a teacher, but my mother was. Other teachers that I know were. Most of us do not do what we were called to do. And by the way when I say “calling” I really donno what that means. I’d define it as loving what you do rather than doing what you love, as most people define it. If people did what they love doing… anyway, where was I? Teaching. Yes, so yes, I have taught for 7 solid years. The first 4 years, teaching for me was just an occupation. Sometimes I was off and on trying to figure out what I really wanted or just trying to do something that would pay more.
Then in 2016 I got a job with a small international school. The pay wasn’t good but at least I could afford staying in a nice neighborhood that once flooded and thought maybe it wasn’t as good as I thought, I could buy myself nice clothes and travel,(to different cities not countries) and that was just it. My experience in that school was like a wakeup call. Interacting with students from different parts of the world gave me a certain awe of wanting to experience a firsthand international teaching experience. That’s basically how I started dreaming of teaching outside my country Kenya. This time for money but most importantly for adventures seek. My thirst for the adventure was what drove me into searching for a teaching job in whatever part of the world. And that’s how I landed myself where I am right now, Mexico.
A little bit about teaching. One thing I love most about teaching is how much it teaches me patience. I wasn’t born a very patient person by the way. Although I am still not very patient, teaching has taught me so much patience. I’m gonna give you a scenario. Right now I am teaching 4 9th grade groups. Each group has a maximum of 22 students. So in a typical class I have 22 individuals. The most fascinating thing about having 22 individuals in the same class is the fact that these 22 individuals have different attitudes, they have different understanding rates, they have different interests, they have different backgrounds, they have different personal issues they are battling with, they have differnt intelligence levels and not to forget that they have 22 different personalities!
Oh, I didn’t say what I teach. I am a teacher of English and literature, that’s my main area of specialization. I also teach world History and world Geography and I am also teaching Character Education at the moment. Interesting right? Yes I am awesome like that. A jack of all trades in teaching if you want. Lol.
So as I was saying, these 22 individuals, which makes it 88 individuals in a day with all those differences is what a teacher’s life is all about. This teacher in particular. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, it can drive you nuts and you can contemplate quitting a few times in day. It is also very satisfying at the end of the day. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than that moment when my student’s say, “ Oooh yeah, I get it. So that’s why X,Y,Z is like that?” Nothing is more satisfying for a teacher than driving a point home, helping students discover new stuff and above all, helping students discover themselves. For me at the moment, teaching is a passion, career, occupation and a dream at the same time.
Teaching is just a lot more than just this. It is a journey full of adventures, up and downs and a learning process. Teaching is my passion because I love facilitating thinking, engaging minds, listening to questions, supporting struggles, cultivating dreams and learning every day.
In my next post I will give my teaching experience here in Mexico, challenges and a story of how I lost my first job in a foreign country without family or friends.
Have an eventful week!
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