Expert: Debba Robinson - 1/9/2005

Question
Hello, Debba, my name is Andrew Koppel.

   I live in Ontario Canada and am in Grade 10. I have to ask you a few short questions about your job for an assignment and would be very happy if you would answer them. the questions are as follows       

1)   Do you enjoy your job, if so why?

2)   What do you find makes your job more enjoyable than others?

3)   What made you decide to take this job?

4)   What is your daily routine for this job?

5)   What benefits do you achieve with this job?

6)   Are you in a comfortable environment everyday?

7)   Did you aspire to be this job when you were younger?

8)   How long before you were ready to teach?

9)   What are the minimum qualifications to start teaching?

10)    If you could choose a different job would you?

Thank you very much for your time and i hope to hear a response soon.

Andrew Koppel

Answer
Dear Andrew,

I'll do my best.

1.  I love my jobs as ESL tutor and consultant.  As a tutor I love opening the world of language, books, reading, and writing to my students.  My day is made when a student who has been having difficulties finally makes a connection.  The smile on his/her face is all I need to continue on.  As a consultant I love sharing my love of teaching with the teachers I am training and with the students I get to interact with as I move about the school.

2.  I get to work with children ... and often they are so excited about discovering their world that their enthusiasm is contageous.  I also get to read children's books - something I might not do if I weren't sharing them with my students.  I get to expose teachers to totally new ideas of how to educate children and then see the excitement when they see how much their students enjoy learning (compared to the local schools where children are tested more than anything else).

3.  Do you mean my job in international schools and now in local Indonesian schools?  Well, I wasn't ready to leave Indonesia when I was leaving the international school, so I was quite motivated to take any job I could get.  I was interested in moving into administration and by becoming a consultant for local schools, I could get experience with administrative tasks without actually holding the certification.

4.  My routine is not really routine.  Some days I am meeting with teachers to discuss any issues they might have.  Other days I give workshops to teach them something new.  If we need to hire teachers, I interview candidates.  I write curriculum, observe teachers, model teaching behaviors, choose texts and other teaching materials, meet with parents to educate them on the new teaching styles, make presentations for recruitments of students, write reports, meet with the board, etc.  I do just about anything necessary to help the school function in English.  My tutoring routine is such that I have one student each hour from 3-6PM.  We usually go over vocabulary exercises that I have prepared for them, then look at whatever they wrote for me that week, correct the grammar and talk about adding details, then we do a worksheet or two, and finally I read to them for about 15 minutes.

5.  The satisfaction of a job well done.  I give 100% to my jobs ... sometimes 150%.  I am proud of all that I am able to achieve.  Because I am a free agent, I get to set my own holidays.  Before I signed on as the consultant I made it clear that I would be gone from June-early August so I can puruse my PhD. and from Thanksgiving-Christmas so I can have a vacation.  I am able to set my own hours regarding my school work, too.  Although I'm supposed to be there about 2 hours a day (10 hours a week) I often spend more than 2 a day - so I can take off a day or so if I need to without feeling guilty.  I'm also able to determine when I need to be at school to work and when I need to stay at home to work.  I like being trusted to use my time well - no one needs to look over my shoulder.

6.  Pretty much.  Sometimes the AC doesn't work very well so I am pretty sweaty, but my environment is generally relatively clean and safe.

7.  When I was younger I swore I NEVER wanted to be an administrator.  But, after having so many mediocre administrators I decided it was time to step up and make changes.  If I'm not prepared to join the fray, I have no right to criticize those who are trying to do the job.  So, this is quite a change from what I imagined I'd be doing when I began studying to be a teacher.  And I NEVER imagined I would be teaching outside of the US!

8.  I went to school year 'round so I was ready to teach after 3 years of college, including my student teaching.

9.  When I became certified, there were no special tests to take.  I simply had to complete a college or university program that included methods of teaching, student teaching and some children's courses ... then I received my certification.

10.  Oh, I might.  I've toyed with the thought of opening restaurants or working in a public relations type of job - but I don't have any strong desire to leave teaching.

I hope these answers were helpful.

Debba