sv evi

Sometimes my dad used to say that about jobs, call them J-O-B’s. Well, I got one, of sorts. A fellow Ultimate Frisbee player referred me to the job. At the end of January I became an employee of We English, a company that provides English tutors to students in China. I had my first interview in 11 years, for which I was nervous, but it went fine and I got hired.

However, I didn’t get any students assigned to me until March 1st, which was fine because I was busy…

Now I am tutoring a student in 6th grade math, helping her to prepare for the MAP math test (a U.S. test, Measurement of Academic Progress). My tutoring sessions are generally at 6 am, for an hour. I enjoy it, despite the early hour. My current student is an eager learner. 🙂

I had one trial class with a 7 year old. I used the OWL method, the same method I used in my classroom, which is basically student-driven, talking about their interests, and also incorporates a lot of movement. I think the student enjoyed it, and I really enjoyed it too. However, then I received a text via WeChat from the founder/coordinator–I am required to use a textbook found on the google drive. I opened the one that pertains to her level–argh! It’s so boring. I haven’t taught with a textbook in so long, and I truly believe it is much less successful than my method. But, it’s what the Chinese parents want. So we will see how I adapt to that. This particular student’s mom decided not to continue with me because I will be unavailable for 12 days while we travel to….Machu Pichu! (and because I didn’t use a textbook)