Tuesday, January 26, 2010

"You're not our teacher, you're our friend!"


One of my resolutions this year is to keep up with my blogging and so far so good:) I am in the middle of my third week of teaching since returning from America. I have officially decided not to return to Russia next year and since I have made this revelation, I am a new woman. I feel anxiety free while teaching my classes because I don't have to deal with the repercussions next year....hahaha. I know that sounds bad but I am actually a better teacher when I am more relaxed. I am still trying to do a good job because it is in my nature and I am working toward some raises. But I realized that during my experimental year of teaching that I have created some behavior problems in my classes and I am not as resolved to fix them now that I know I won't be returning. My students think of me more as a friend than a teacher and I am at the acceptance stage of this problem.

Yesterday, when I was laying down the law in my English in Mind 2 class, which is filled with 13 year olds, I told them that they have to listen to me because I am the teacher. They said to me, "You are not our teacher, you're our friend!". My heart sank at these words and I put my head on my desk and sulked. I felt like a failure as a professional. After some time though, I realized that I am okay with this. These students go to Russian school all day and their teachers are very strict. Then they have to come to English after school because their parents make them. The nature of English class is to speak, so I do talk to them like friends and I make them talk about what is happening in their lives and their hopes and dreams. And I can see how this "theory" of theirs developed. The bottom line is that I want them to enjoy themselves so that they enjoy English and will continue learning it in the future. I am trying to instill passion in them and to give them a different perspective on life from my American point of view. The American POV and the Russian POV are vastly different when it comes to hopes and dreams. In Russia, before they attend University they must take a test like our SAT or ACT. Their score on this test determines what occupations they are eligible for. It all comes down to one test! And once they are in University they complete two years of generals, which are the same for everybody--no choices. Then they must choose a path that they were eligible for via taking the University entrance test. So there is not a lot of room for exploring knowledge and having hopes and dreams. Everything is very practical and that is why when I ask my University students what they are going to be, they all say, "engineer". It is not there dream to be an engineer, but it is there 'lot in life'. So although, I would not necessarily teach exactly the same in an American classroom, I think my teaching style suits an EFL classroom.

I had a relatively good week. I found out that I will be getting my old class back of FCE level teenagers. They were given away because a teacher left and I had to take her classes. But now we will have a new teacher and he will take that class, which is not my favorite, and I will get my favorite class back. It was one of their birthdays on Friday and the girl told her teacher that she had to go to take a phone call and she snuck out to see me in the teacher's room. This is the third time that she has done this in the middle of class. She told me that it would be the best birthday present if I could be their teacher again. They were forming a conspiracy and were preparing to raise arms against the administration if they wouldn't give me back to them. I really feel like I am not just a teacher, but that I slightly impact these students' lives and that is what gets me through the day. Russia is not the easiest country to mentally handle. I am isolated linguistically, socially, and remotely. It is depressing to not see the sun for days, to watch how many people are drunk in the middle of the day, and to hear blatant racism talked about like it is the weather. It wears on your heart and soul. So when I tell these stories about how much my students love me, it isn't to brag, but rather, to preserve memories that keep me going. Sometimes I compare Greece and Russia. Greece was very inconvenient but I was always a happy camper, whereas Russia is very convenient, but it is very depressing at times. I can easily see why the people drink so much. To see how the drinking has destroyed the people makes one sad and to never want to drink for fear of ending up like them. Sorry this has taken a depressing turn.

So to counter those depressing words, let's talk about my exciting weekend! On Saturday I hung out with my Russian friends. Their names are Alla, Rita, Julia, and Katia. Alla's parents were at their dacha (country house) and so she invited us all over to her flat. Other Russians were there too and we all made pizza and played Mafia. Not everyone spoke English so I got to practice and expand my limited Russian, especially while playing Mafia because you need to discuss who is in the Mafia. Mafia is such a popular game in Russia and it will always be near and dear to my heart. We also tried to watch a movie. I told them to play it in Russian because everyone spoke Russian except me and a couple of people didn't speak English and those that did had limited English knowledge. So in the end, they couldn't decide and we gave up and played more Mafia with "The Holiday" playing in English in the background. They were all amazed at the sound of the actors' and actresses' real voices. In Russia, all the voices are dubbed. They also gave me a Christmas present! They gave me a Zelenograd T-shirt and a Matryoshka doll; they are so sweet. I will really miss them and I hope to return their kindness and hospitality if they come to America.

On Sunday guess what I did? That's right, I went to Starbucks with Abby and walked around Moscow! It never gets old. Sometimes I am amazed that Abby and I don't run out of things to talk about because we call each other during the week and talk for a couple of hours when needed and then we talk constantly for hours every Sunday. And we are pretty much the only people we talk to....hahaha....I told you socially limited by choice. Well that is pretty much it and I better go to get ready for work.



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