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The quotation by Malala Yousafzai says: “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” These are those words that have the power to inspire any teacher and I was not an exception. Somehow the quote gave me a brand new outlook on this profession. Though my personal teaching path started just a couple of years ago, I was quite exhausted and lacking inspiration. But now I can say without any doubts – I do know a lot about mentoring. This includes problem-solving skills, guidance, fluency in English and of course – a passion for every single person I teach. So, I decided to divide my experience into two stages: the past and the present. To start with, the reason for becoming a teacher lies deep down in my childhood and I consider this to be my experience too. In school, where I was studying, American volunteers organized a summer camp. It happened exactly there when I saw that teacher who became the example and the reason for choosing future profession. Besides, I was 9 years old then. Consequently, my attitude towards teaching changed and I started looking forward to entering University. All in all, during the university years I was not only learning lots of theory but also having good practice too. Firstly, I dealt with ordinary school students, although some of them were orphans. So, it was quite challenging to find the appropriate approach to those kids. Secondly, I had teaching practice at my university. The students are opposite to the first ones and they were a challenge too. The most important thing I learnt is - every student should be appreciated and you should never think of giving up on him/her. Despite having the previous experience I faced difficulties at my present work. It turned out that dealing with adults is not an easier task. Besides, almost all people, no matter what age, are lacking stimuli for anything. With the widespread of the Internet and social networks real-world communication appears to be boring. I’ve noticed that many students cannot focus on something for more than 15-20 minutes, as they need to check their gadgets even without reasons. This situation made me include some activities connected with mobile phones. For example, during lessons, I encourage students to use online dictionaries, such as Oxford or Merriam-Webster, in order to search for meanings of words and then we share our little investigations. Moreover, Instagram is a great app to use during classes. As an example, you can try to write comments or posts together with students. Besides, this is not a whole list of challenges and solutions I’ve had. Summing everything up, people differ and teaching styles differ either. Every day you gain something new, therefore it helps you develop certain skills and change the way you teach. I am certain that my experience played a huge role in becoming the type of teacher I am now and there is future development too. In conclusion, I would like to say that teaching is like travelling, because every day you meet different people and share your experience. That is why I always say: “My job allows me to travel 5 days a week”.
