"I have failed my way to success." - Thomas Edison
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a teacher, learning |
I had gone to sleep on Sunday night, como ya tu sabes, on a cloud floating above the world: from here perspective encompassed humanity on a grand scale and peace was abundant in such a position closer to the heavens.
Monday morning, I woke up in the very dirt of earth. I just didn't know it yet.
My confidence went before me with steady strides as I neared my second teaching lesson Monday afternoon after our TESOL classes terminated. El tema, or the theme, of my lesson was sure-fire: the students would be working backwards to dissect inspirational quotes from figures in the range of British and American history. The lesson would start with a warm-up activity as simple as ABC - literally.
From the start, says my colleague, the indefatigable John, the planets were aligned against me. (I thanked him later for blaming the universe on my behalf.) Monday brought a group of TESOL participants cranky and irritable, full of smart-alecky comments like me. There was just a pervasive attitude problem in the air.
The students, our lovely intermediate-speaking English students, were under the same cloud when they came in the door at four o'clock. I don't mean to imply that they were rude; I'm sure the day is far when I will experience anything like American student disposition from an Ecuadorian in my class. However, they were quiet, and obstinately so. They weren't in a creative mood, they weren't in a happy mood, they weren't in a fun mood. And they hit me with my first shock in the first five minutes.