My First Week of Doubt
1 April, 2006. 10.40 pm. Trnava, Slovakia.
This has been my first week of true doubts. All at once I seem to have run out of patience for my lazy, could-care-less, high school students. Some of them are great, but most are simply a pain. I've tried to discover their interests, but apparently they have none. When I ask how I can make their classes more exciting, they tell me they want to watch movies. Well, I didn't come here to push play on a VCR/DVD player. Sadly, there is not much reward in teaching lazy teenagers. Of course, this is nothing specific to Slovakia, but trying to fight apathy in a foreign language is doubly difficult.
Thus, I am grateful for my additional private classes and my class at SUT. Sadly, my schedule is starting to get the best of me. Every night, pretty much, I'm out teaching. I hope this has just been a bad week, but I've found myself thinking a lot about returning to Canada the last few days....
Easter is coming soon and I think a getaway is in order.
This has been my first week of true doubts. All at once I seem to have run out of patience for my lazy, could-care-less, high school students. Some of them are great, but most are simply a pain. I've tried to discover their interests, but apparently they have none. When I ask how I can make their classes more exciting, they tell me they want to watch movies. Well, I didn't come here to push play on a VCR/DVD player. Sadly, there is not much reward in teaching lazy teenagers. Of course, this is nothing specific to Slovakia, but trying to fight apathy in a foreign language is doubly difficult.
Thus, I am grateful for my additional private classes and my class at SUT. Sadly, my schedule is starting to get the best of me. Every night, pretty much, I'm out teaching. I hope this has just been a bad week, but I've found myself thinking a lot about returning to Canada the last few days....
Easter is coming soon and I think a getaway is in order.
posted by BFRE at 9:40 p.m.
1 Comments:
Hey Brendan,
Sorry I have been out of touch lately. All of my "blogs" are on my home computer, and now that I am working I almost never use it. I feel quite behind in everything.
Anyway re your last posting. I clearly remember the four month point in my trip down south. I loved it at first, but by the end of the term the little things began to get to me, sort of like your students apathy. I still loved where I was, but I was getting frustrated with the situation. Anyway, I think that there is a natural in-between stage where we know we still have months to go, but the "newness" has woren off. Stick it out, it comes back. Give yourself a couple of weeks, then reconsider your situation. Lastly, your probably right, you need a vacation! Anyway, keep us updated. Of course, you know you are always welcome here. Take care, JR
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