Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A sojourn in the classroom



As most of you know, along with studying Italian, I've been supporting myself by teaching English.  I've been enjoying it more that I expected, and although at times draining, hunger-inducing and mind-knumbing, I'm wondering why I haven't been doing it longer.

Sometimes my students really make me laugh, and although it's wrong to laugh at their mistakes or when they say something funnily, I just can't help it.  Thankfully Italians are very easy to laugh themselves.  I have a group of students on Saturday mornings that are all about eight years old.  No one in the school wants to teach them, but they really make me laugh, so I take them gladly.  Especially since I have to teach the class in Italian, I get my ample share of being laughed at.

It can be humbling at times, though, humble for whom I don't know, but when I'm correcting a Milanese man who owns a multi-million euro company, I can't help but feel a bit sympathic for him.  Here I am, 25 years old, correcting his "I don' will know when to happen," where by day he is in control of hundreds of people around the world.

Last night, I was playing a group activity with basic-intermediate English, with the group divided into two teams.  They had to complete simple sentences, "I was brought up..." what's the past participle of 'buy,' spell "proficient," etc etc.  The turn was to a dark, Sicilian security guard, very manly with a very strong resemblence to Jon Lovitz.  I asked:  "I used to be...?"
After one minute of silence he responded:
"I used to be... blonde."

I seriously almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard, and the whole class was on the floor with me, including the serious Russian with the Hermes bag who never smiles.  Moments like that, stupid as they are, really make everything worth it.

Image: NYPL

4 comments:

donna baker said...

Daniel, it sounds as your are having ze great life. I would so love to sit in on your classes. Do you think they would want a neuropsychologist lecturing in English?

Victoria Thorne said...

Best. Post. Anywhere/ever.

(+ *sigh* I can't figure out if knowing the name of the restaurant you had picked out would make me feel better or worse. Or give me something to wish upon a star for.) xo, vt

DM said...

Donna- one of my students is learning English so she can attend a psycologist's seminar...so you never know!

Victoria- The lovely little jewel box of a restaurant is call The Small Food Shop, a play on words with the owners last name: Alessandro Lo Piccolo

Arne said...

Remember when I tried to pronounce Appalachian Trail first time we met? I believe I put a 'K' in there somewhere..