On Teaching

So, the idea of teaching college “freshmen” is, well, terrifying. I’m pretty sure no amount of English language teaching (crash) courses or new university curricula (of which we Antepers have in dumfounded abundance) could make a recent undergrad feel mature (let alone prepared!) enough to be responsible for 300 kids’ college education. Okay, that was admittedly a bit of a dramatic runon, but the point is, I have no clue how I’m gonna react to this situation. I want so badly to instill confidence and enthusiasm because knowing this “international language” opens so many, many doors. On that note, I also find myself thinking a lot about the really rad teachers and professors who straight-up rocked my understanding of the world and gave me the confidence and aspirations to do big stuff with my life. I really want to see if I’m cut out for this professor business. Whoa, I know.

Luckily, I’ve come across some wise words to guide me through my own head:

"It always seems impossible until its done.”

--Nelson Mandela

“There are a million ways to do this right and only one way to do it wrong. The only way you can be a bad teacher is if you don’t care.”
--Celeste Hanim, fellow Fulbrighter and Antep Family resident crazy aunt

While I can cite an impressively unimpressive zero sources for the Mandela line, (I haven’t checked, but I’m pretty sure friends’ Facebooks aren’t peer-reviewed) I can vouch for Celeste’s because I was there when she threw ‘em down. (And by “there” I mean sitting next to her on a nine--*ahem* eleven--hour bus ride from Ankara to Gaziantep.) Basically I’ve made a deal with my anxiety--if you go in there and SPEAK (and try to get them talking) and really want to teach, you’ll be doing your job just fine. Deep breathhhhh...hokay.

(My extensive formal teaching experience, Popham Beach, Maine, 1998?)

PS How uh-dorable is my cousin Jason? Other photos evidence that he's wearing a Minnie Mouse sweatshirt I sported a lot on that trip.