This morning I got up really early, stressed about lesson plan, came just in time to cut up some exercise materials, and delivered a 2-hour English class to a group of young shy Indonesians. I thought this part of my life ended a long time ago, but the truth is I never stopped reaping the benefit of how I got my foot in the door. It still plays a part. Even as a culture specialist, in an e-commerce business, in fashion and retail, about as far away as those distant teaching assistant days – I still end up translating and teaching basic English.
And boy, do I miss it. To see the students’ face as their brows furrow over the “rule” I just scribbled on the board, their hesitant, quiet murmurs to my first sample sentence, which I followed up with a much more commonly used, sensible sentence, and their expression moved from concerned to shocked, their eyes grew, as they realized they knew the sentence, they could apply the rule, and they were speaking the English they didn’t knew they had. And of course they had it all along. It was just a matter of extraction.
There is nothing – nothing at all – that matches the pleasure of watching that shocked expression, that switch. They don’t last long, those looks, as most people quickly snapped out of it and regained control. You lost their eyes as they look down to write notes, the moment of truth disappears, to be replaced by “learning”. That’s okay. All part of the process. If you’re lucky, or really good at what you do, you can witness the Expression probably many times in one sitting. But every one you get is precious enough. You can almost hear the clicks inside their brain, lessons being recalled, and finally, correctly stored for later use. For an instant, they will speak with wondrous curiosity, as if enthralled by their own intelligence, wanting to see what else was in there. If you care what they think – and why on earth wouldn’t you? – it can feel like a burden sometimes. Walking into a first-time session is always a mystery, but as they sat there looking at me expectantly, I thought there’s no other way than forward. It was what kept me going when I started at 19, and now, almost hitting 30, I seem to have come full circle. I’m reminded of the simple yet intense gratification of teaching.
Tika Anindya 