For the past two weeks, I’ve been doing exactly what I came to Spain for: Teaching! My role as an Auxiliar de Conversacion (fancy speak for ‘Teacher’s Assistant’), has been anything but boring. I came into this role with only a little understanding of what I would be doing, and the concern that maybe I wouldn’t be qualified. Do they just let anybody walk into a school and teach a bunch of easily influenced children?! I guess so…

I have about a 30 minute commute by train, plus a fifteen minute walk, to my school. My first week at school was complete chaos; I jumped from class to class, building to building, checking my schedule every ten seconds to make sure I was in the right place at the right time. I teach only English, and I have a different class every day, Tuesday-Friday. Back in August, I had prepared a short presentation about myself, with pictures of my state, my home, and my family. I gave this presentation for every class, and was met with lots of questions such as “What’s your favorite Spanish food?”, “Do you speak Spanish?”, “Did you vote for Trump?”, “Are you rich?”, “What’s homeschooling?”, “Do you have a boyfriend?”, “What do you think about firearms?”, “What was it like being the youngest?”, and a hundred other questions.

My students’ language level is very low, and one of the challenges I immediately noticed was trying to use simple vocabulary to answer some of their very interesting questions. Talking about the gun debate in the U.S., or explaining how being the youngest has come with its own set of challenges, was difficult, because I wanted to give a more thorough answer but was hindered by the language barrier.

I am teaching at a secondary school, which means I have classes with students ranging from 12-18. No matter the age, all of my students are LOUD. They talk to their friends constantly, and have to be hushed every five minutes. They also giggle and tease each other whenever someone attempts to speak English and forgets or mispronounces a word. Most of my younger students are very sweet and always participate in class, so I tend to have more patience with them. My classes with the older students usually have only a couple of people who participate the most. I’m starting to see the difference between the students who are shy and embarrassed to speak English, and the students who just don’t want to be there.

All of my teachers are very kind and supportive; they give me the freedom to suggest other ideas that would support the lesson they have planned, and appreciate new and creative suggestions. They also consider me as another teacher in the classroom, rather than just as an assistant. While they are always in the classroom with me, I often end up running the class with whatever activity I’ve prepared which supports where they are in the book. Some days I give presentations and ask the students questions, other days I help them with the assignments that the teacher has given them. I have been spending a couple hours a week planning lessons, and I’m usually able to use the same lesson for several classes.

Even though I’ve only been doing this for two weeks, I already love teaching. The frustration or discouragement I feel when a student isn’t listening or wanting to be there, quickly fades, as I’m greeted in the hallways, or on the streets, with a smile and a “Hello, Teacher!” Seeing those smiles, and the eagerness to learn English, makes it all worth it.