The best part of teaching?

Several times people have asked me, "So how do you like teaching, Mary Ellen?" A few months ago that wouldn't have seemed silly to me, but since I've started teaching, this almost seems like the wrong question.

It's true, some people are better at teaching than others. Some people don't enjoy the preparation or others the presentation. Some people might not have the patience, others might love the opportunity to have a captive audience. In that way, the question is completely valid.

But now that I've met my students, it's the wrong question. Here at our school we teach almost one to one. My largest class has four students in it. We also teach a lot of classes, so we have the opportunity to meet many different kinds of people. The time with my students has shown me that teaching is really all about your relationship with your students. And that is my favorite thing about teaching.

Sometimes that relationship is challenging, like my first encounter with my teenage classes. Time has shown me that my teenagers really enjoy my approval. When I set class up so that they could succeed, they proved that they were not only intelligent but that they are willing to make English class a blast. I've never laughed so hard during a game of charades! Their creativity suprises me everytime! The other week I taught them how to make eggrolls and they, in turn, tried to teach me a Japanese dance routine. I'm afraid I was the poor student that night!

Sometimes the relationship is stunning. If you asked me how I liked teaching Mariko, I might answer "She's a quick learner, but the class takes so much energy it tires me out." Again it would be the wrong question. At first glance I didn't think we had much in common. Our age was the only similiar feature. She listens to American R&B, drives a car full of toys and belly dances as a hobby. Fashion and boys seemed to be the dominating theme in our broken conversations.

Driven by the desire to be understood, Mariko has advanced dramatically in the few months we have studied together. It almost seemed like the prospect of our friendship was enough motivation to make her fluent! As our conversation improved, I realized that we had a lot more in common than I had first thought.

Mariko took me to an art museum the other day. Near the end of the day she pulled me excitedly to her "favorite" exhibit. It was in an outside garden of sculptures and looked to be a metal hallway in the middle of nowhere. She begged me to walk into it alone. It was dark and the only sound I could hear was the banging of my feet on the metal floor. At the end of the tunnel was a doorway and the misty light at the end made it feel like I was waking from a dream. I was suprised at my own excitement, but I was glad to enjoy an experience that meant so much to her. Nearing the end of the tunnel, strips of light came in, making it feel as if I was racing towards the opening. Then the glass confronted me and beyond it was a breathtaking view of the mountain range covered in fall colors. Amazing!

But even better were the words written in the glass in front of me. In both English and Japanese it said: In the Beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth. Mariko opened her heart to me that afternoon and explained that she believed in the One true God and she prayed to Him--and heard answers--for every area of her life. She said he was healing her from depression. Then she asked me if I "knew" the Bible.

I didn't stop right then and have a Bible study, but I'm thinking maybe she'll start studying with me if I ask. I feel confident because she believes that God sent me to be her friend. It's humbling to see what small efforts do in the greater scheme of life. So you can pray for my teaching, but most of all, pray for my students and my relationship with them. Many of them are excited to get to know God and that's the greatest teaching responsiblity I could ever have.

Draw Fours and Red Threes

In the weeks coming up to our arrival in Japan I began to be more and more nervous about teaching. I wasn't a bit worried about everyday life in Japan. Mary Ellen and I are both adventurous people and when all else fails I can make her laugh. The ironic part of it all is that the few challenges we have had have been mostly tied up in the cultural differences that we collide with at the most unexpected times. Teaching however has been amazing. I love my kids. The younger ones are adorable.

I took our camera to class one day to get some pictures. The pictures are two of the twenty-three classes I teach every week. The girls all have so much bling on their pens it makes me laugh. As they write I can hear the "clack clack" of the huge plastic cartoon figurines crashing around on the end of their pencils. They all have great pens and pencils and they seem to like it when I check out what they have in their pencil cases. The other picture is of two little sisters who make my heart smile. They were so shy when I first arived that they wouldn't talk, make eye contact or sometimes even breath I think. Now they are crazy. They steal each other's stuff when the the other looks away and fall of their chairs they laugh so hard. They are not out of control, just a lot of fun. Right before I took this picture they had put the puppets on their heads like Davy Crockett hats. They refused to do it again when they realized I was going to take their picture but maybe you can imagine.

At the end of class I usually play a few games of UNO with the kids and have them speak English so we can count it as learning. Mostly it's just fun for both of us and I guess that it's ok to have fun in class sometimes. There is some universal law however that states that the cuter and sweeter a student is, the more draw-fours will end up in my hand each game. I'm not exaggerating, the last game I played with a student who is even cuter, sweeter and more soft-spoken, if that's possible, then these two girls, I had four draw fours and two draw twos, in the right color, in my hand at one time. I was like "oh shoot I have to draw again." I could have won the game in one move though I had six cards in my hand...I just couldn't do it. So I kept drawing, and drawing, and drawing. I might still be drawing but class finally ended and we had to cut the game short. However, when I have a class with a kid I'd like to drop a couple draw-fours on I, of course, end up with red threes.