Good teachers know how to bring out the best in their students

Avtor: NINA GORKIČ

For as long as I remember, I’ve wanted to be a teacher

My wish to be a teacher goes way back to my primary school days. I adored my favourite teachers (weird, I know, but geeks and nerds always are a bit weird). At a very young age I realised that it was not so much what I was being taught in school that made me like a certain subject, but who taught me and how they taught. I clearly remember one very hot summer day when school was already approaching its end, and all of my schoolmates could not wait to get out of the classroom, our teacher read us Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, which I did not understand back then. Nonetheless, I fell in love with the poem and felt inspired by my teacher for sharing it with me. It might have been in that moment that I decided I wanted to teach English.

I always wanted to be a teacher.

Check out the sonnet below:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; 
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare.

Over the years, I learned how to distinguish between a good teacher and a bad teacher. The first will not only make your day nicer and motivate you – or even make you laugh in their class – but will teach you something memorable. I knew that I would have to work hard to become that kind of teacher.

How to recognize a good teacher?

Find that spark that drives you

To be someone that could motivate other people, I first had to get to know myself. I read books on psychology, self-help books, and all seven parts of Harry Potter; enrolled myself in many classes; learned to play the guitar and the piano; discovered tango, karate, and rock climbing; and most importantly, decided to travel. Since then, I have travelled through the whole of Europe twice and spent two weeks in Africa, two weeks in Denmark, and one week in Norway.  I try to live by the words of Augustine Hippo when he said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”  Traveling inspires and excites me, and whenever I return home, I am eager to share this inspiration with others. As a teacher, I want to inspire my students, no matter how old or able they are. If I can make them laugh when they are sad, teach them something they did not know, or simply encourage them to become their better selves, then I’ve achieved my goal.

Travelling is my passion.

Brez truda ni jela – there’s no winning without hard work

Now, mind you, I started working at the age of 15 (travelling is expensive), and I’ve tried many different jobs. After quitting my job as an assistant at the climbing centre, I started sending applications to various language schools and help centres. I stumbled across LanguageSitter® and thought to myself, “I’d really love to work here! These guys are completely different than every other language school I’ve checked.” So I wrote them a unique CV and hoped they like people who think outside of the box.

I like to think out of the box.

Luckily enough, I got an interview. I still remember when the Manager called me and said, ‘’I had to meet the person with such a crazy CV!’’ And it just so happened that I became a fresh member of the LanguageSitter® team, where I’ve since learned the vocabulary for the parts of a gun barrel, how to disarm a person, how to cook the best vegetable soup, and the proper etiquette for eating at a fancy restaurant with more than one knife, spoon, and fork. I feel incredibly lucky to have taught such a colourful array of clients.

Cooking with one of the clients.

Though I am not in Slovenia at the moment and am finishing this blog from a Starbucks Café in Newcastle (where I am doing a four-month teaching internship), I am excited to return back to Slovenia soon and continue searching for my own sources of inspiration and helping others find theirs. With LanguageSitter®, of course.

My current location, Newcastle.

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NINA GORKIČ

LANGUAGESITTERKA® ZA ANGLEŠČINO
[email protected] | www.languagesitter.si

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