| | Teaching.
That's right, your friend Nick has finally take, the plunge he'd never thought he would, I am sharing what precious little wisdom I have with a bunch of unruly students.
I am teaching English and French classes to University of Salahadin students. The age range is pretty wide; I also take night classes where people who work during the day come to brush up on their grasp of the lingua franca.
Most classes take the form of question and answer sessions where students ask some pretty tough questions: "will the UK and US stand beside Kurdistan in the future?", "what do you expect of the Manchester v Milan game?", "how can I become an interpreter?".
I answer the questions with lengthy discussion, and share anecdotes that I find hilarious and insightful, that sometimes cause a sea of the blankest stares you will ever witness. But generally people leave with a smile on their face and a better idea of the West (I pull no punches).
I say leave, but really they just meander outside waiting to ask me further questions. The first time I have been the one to say "Walk with me". Puffing on a quick cigarette, I field questions about Diana's death (A conspiracy? should I care?), and the fact that politicians who boast about invading other countries are often, like Turkey, in the middle of election campaigns.
Before you write me off as even more arrogant than before, today I had a class on 18th century french literature. Those of you who didn't have the pleasure of the teenage Nick "Sir Puffalot" Comfort, might need to know that I may have been present in my high school french classes, but only just.
Luckily, the students had an exam later in the day, so there minds were also elsewhere. I winged a few questions about La Marseilleise (all I can remember is that there is a verse about spilling the blood of foreigners). Along with pre-Napoleonic social conditions (anybody for cake?) and Sartre's fingernails. I went on the offensive with a discussion of "The Stranger", the students had been studying it, but there wasn't much response, and there was no need for my quoting The Cure lyrics ("I'm the stranger, killing an Arab").
I realise using words like offensive and defensive are hardly good approaches to teaching, but if I have done thing properly, it is taking on Dave and Ela's advice. I speak sssssllllloooowwwwllllyyyy. The students can understand my words alot more easily, but in many ways my mind slows down too, and I start speaking gobblydeegook.
The University offered me a position teaching journalism out here, anyone with an MA is welcome to teach. The experience of the last few days has been pretty positive, but I just dont know if I am cut out for teaching just yet. As regards journalism, I think it would be pretty unfair for me to teach without having experienced enough.
Well that's it, a little fragment from the life of Nick, I hope it is more intelligible than my misinformed rants about Baudelaire and Rimbaud.
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| | Posted 4/28/2007 11:44 AM - 1 View - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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