Tutoring and Teaching

Over the last week I have realized how much I love my job(s). While Student Teaching does not really qualify as a job, but as a contiunation of school-- I still am counting it because if waking up at 6:30 and commuting an hour to school and an hour home and teaching for 6 hours is NOT a job- I don't know what is!

Anyway, back on track. I love student teaching. I am teaching 7th grade, and it is great. When I got my asssignment, I thought this would be the worse thing ever! While I am secondary education, which includes 6-12, I NEVER wanted to be anything but a high school teacher. So it surpised me when I actually started to enjoy these 11-12 year old rug rats. Overall, things are going great. While I don't really love or really feel comfortable with my content (Hawaiian and Pacific History), I find that it is pretty interesting. I started student teaching a couple weeks ago and I find myself exicted to see MOST of my students (there are those that I wish would take a sick day- hahaha - just joking- a little)!

I still HATE getting up at 6:30 and driving two hours total- overall it's good- plus, let's be honest when do I ever wake up? I hate mornings, whether those come at 6:30 or 10:30!

Okay, so part II- tutoring. While many student teachers opt to not teach while student teaching, that is not an option for me. As much as I hate to admit it, Matt and I are not rolling in the green. (I know that is a shock to some!) Anyway, I have to work. But I am blessed to work at the Reading Writing Center here on campus. I get to tutor students that need a little extra help with any assignments with ther classes. While sometimes this gets a little tedious, it really is one of the best, if not the best, jobs on campus. And luckly, Matt and I both work here!

Two weeks ago, I had a tutee come in for help with one of his EIL classes. He is from Korea and arrived in Hawaii three weeks ago. Our tutorial went really fast, so he asked if we could just talk. Now we don't usally do this here because there is a language cente that helps with speaking, but I felt that I should just finish our tutorial. And it was GREAT! I loved just speaking and helping him figure out how to say certain things in English. So for the past two weeks he has been coming in to see me and we go over his EIL homework and then just talk. I love seeing his inprovement and helping out any way I can.

The thing that most of you don't realize is that most of our students here are second langague learners. And they are not just learning a new language, but going to SCHOOL in a new langague and a completly new culture. This is something that I think outsiders, and sometimes insiders, overlook when looking at the school. People realize that we are an international school, but I don't think they realize what really goes into something to be international. These students that come all over the world to study here work thier butts off to succeed. So everyday when I go to both of my jobs- I KNOW I am making a difference.

Somedays I get bogged down because what I do is NOT easy, but at the end of the day, it is worth it!