Tuesday, September 28, 2010

At least it's not taxpayers' money.

Before I lost my job, I began perusing job boards for a suitable position in a field of my interest--journalism or publishing. After all, I didn't spend 4 years of my life for nothing, right? Right?

Apparently wrong.

Needless to say, nothing good, bad or neutral ever came out of this. Nothing at all. Noone even responded to my inquries.

So when I was fired, I obviously began panicking and crying apocalypse of my life as I know it. How emo of me.

Thankfully, my other half has a better head on his shoulders than I do. After a lot of talking, he convinced me to try something I never considered before. In fact, I didn't even want to hear anything about it. He suggested that I try tutoring language arts. And then he sat me down with his mom who's been doing it for years, and who is now getting her Master's in teaching because she loved it so much. She told me all about it, how good it makes you feel, the money aspect, and all that free time you have on your hands to do whatever else you like. Since I had no other options, I went for it. I even applied for a Teacher Assistant Certification Exam; doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan when all else fails.

I gave an ad in a Russian newspaper and was surprised to get a call the very next day. My fiance taught me to never say "can't." So when they asked me if I can work with a nine year old, I gave a very definite "yes." Happy with my willingness and my fee, they invited me to make their kid smart.

Today was my first day tutoring this kid. He's a 4th-grader and I am freaking out because I know nothing about what they do in their English classes. I'm a foreigner! I was there for an hour with him, and just did basic assessment-like things. Thankfully, the kid isn't dumb, but his biggest problem is spelling. How the hell do I teach someone to spell correctly? Isn't it all based on memorization skills? Now I have to teach this kid three times a week and the parents want results. My future MIL suggested a proverbial "fake it 'til you make it" technique, because that's what she did. But I'm a terrible liar and the guilt would be written all over my forehead.

I'm going to the library tomorrow to get some info on teaching techniques. If that fails, maybe a book on lying techniques would suit the situation better. But I really have to do this. Maybe I will end up liking it, who knows?

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