Today is my last day at the English Factory™.
It’s halftime. The morning shift came and went. Some students passed, others failed. At least nobody cried, yet. There’s still the afternoon shift to go. I hate it when I make people cry. Although, I don’t really make them cry, they make themselves cry. Generally speaking “repeaters” (That’s the factory’s preferred word. Students repeat, not fail.) can fall into three broad categories.
The first group are always late or miss class at least once a week. That’s a lot considering there are just 18 days of class. The most common excuse is “I had tests at my university.” Which is all well and good, but what about your English class?
Many college students need an intermediate level of English to graduate in their fields, but their respective universities don’t offer English. No problem. English Factory™ to the rescue! This set up creates its own problems. Many students don’t take their English studies seriously. Hence the excuse in the previous paragraph.
The second group sees the factory as a social outlet. For these students, English class is a place to meet their friends, have a few laughs and be away from the house. They generally don’t participate in class, don’t pay attention and are too busy chasing boys and/or girls to care. They are in English class because their parents feel it’s important for their future, but they don’t. Teenagers fall into the category. There are certain hours of the day when the factory is full of 15-year-olds with raging hormones and equally raging teenage apathy.
Our third group is an unfortunate lot. They try hard, but just don’t get it. They participate in class, do all the work, always arrive to class on time and still struggle. I try to give these students an extra push, maybe giving them more help than the others, but it just doesn’t sink in. These students break your heart. You can see the effort in their eyes, their brains churning for an answer all to no avail.
Overall, teaching has been a rewarding experience. I have nothing but good things to say about my colleagues and supervisors. They have been helpful and friendly. In fact, there was a time when I was seriously considering heading back to school for an ESL degree. Even at a time when school districts across the country are cutting back, ESL teachers are in demand. Plus, there’s a boat load of federal grants available for those pursuing a degree. Here’s a dirty little secret about many ESL teachers, few are actually qualified. Many are English teachers who were called to duty by school districts because of the lack of available ESL teachers. I even went as far as e-mailing some universities back in the USA about their programs.
Unfortunately, I won’t be studying anytime soon. First, it will be impossible with a baby on the way and my new roll as sole provider for our soon-to-be family. Secondly, I lack an education background. Any program I enroll in (graduate or bachelor’s) would require at least two to three years of study. A graduate program would be full-time with no opportunity for a part-time job on the side. Oh well, there’s no harm in dreaming.
My job hunt has slowed to a crawl. I think I’ve now officially received rejection e-mails from every job I’ve applied for. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to use all my free time to apply for jobs, rework the resume and start using an American address on my resume. It can’t hurt. We’ll be back soon enough. If a prospective employer calls my parents can say I’m out of the country until May 20th. They won’t be lying.
