“WATCHING THE STUDENTS SUCCEED”
“It's the students that really just draw me to this profession because just supporting the learning and watching the growth that occurs over a single year is extremely rewarding, and forming those bonds is something that I really, really enjoy. Something I learned about myself is I love first times or first experiences doing something, and every school year is a first because you get a new class. I get that first experience each year and within that experience you get to meet new people, you get to watch them develop and grow (…) and you support them. And I really like helping out. I like to give.”
“And so what I get the most out of it is just watching the students succeed. The biggest example is my first year at [the pre-school]. I was teaching 3 year-olds who had never gotten any English instruction before in their lives—their first year in a formal school setting. And by the end of the year, just nine months later, they were speaking simple English sentences and they were able to understand what I was saying. They were able to use vocabulary and sentence structures that I had provided them over that year to communicate with not just me, but each other in English. And that was just kind of a ‘Whoa!’ experience—like, ‘Wow, okay, I helped facilitate that.’ Of course the students did a lot of the work, but I set it up to happen and that's kind of what I do it all for—to set up and make it all happen for them.”
“SEEK OUT NEW EXPERIENCES”
“I like to seek out new experiences (….) Being a teacher provides that for me, but also where I am really helps provide that sensation for me, because living here in China, there are many opportunities for me to travel and meet new people (….) By giving myself these opportunities for rest and relaxation, I can get those firsts that I really enjoy, but also find some balance in work and life.”
“If you're not having fun, what the hell are you doing? (…) Throughout my professional career, I really tried to maintain that (….) I think that's what draws me to the project-based classroom, so that the course content can be made fun, can be made engaging. And I guess a part of my pedagogy is trying to impart this sentiment to my students—being able to make what you can with what you got and being able to recognize the control you have over your life, and make what you desire a reality. In my case that is improving myself as a person, as a professional in the classroom, but also continuing to be me and pursue my interests. By putting myself in situations where I can do that, the opportunities naturally arise and keep me the way I am—and keep me happy.”