This month I was blessed to have been placed in three different Thai schools. As a future educator, I was excited to teach English to a variety of age groups. Nonetheless, I was nervous as I approached my first classroom because my skillset involves igniting a passion for Shakespeare, not explaining the difference between a finger and a thumb. All of a sudden, I was confronted with the fear that I may not be able to teach these students. I was the teacher on the team though, what would happen if that role got taken away because I couldn’t perform to the best of my abilities? Where would that put me? Instead of letting that worry escalate even further, I decided to step into the classroom and let God guide me. What an awesome experience.
Thankfully, I didn’t walk into the classroom completely blind. YWAM (Youth with a Mission, the ministry we were partnered with) provided my team with a couple of lesson plans. I decided to teach body parts. It was apparent from our first encounter with Thai students that many of them did not feel comfortable with English. As such, I wanted to instill them with confidence in both their pronunciation and word choice. Knowing that introductions are important when starting any conversation, I had each of the students stand up and state their name and age. Then we moved into the Head Shoulders Knees and Toes song. The little kids had an absolute blast with the movements and words. I changed the tempo around and often pointed to a different part of the body than they were expecting. This song provided a humorous and fun way to review basic body parts. After the song, I split the class into smaller groups and had each team list as many different body parts as they could name in English. Friendly competition helped the class get excited. Roughly ten minutes later, I had them take their list and post the words on the corresponding body part of a fellow teammate. After we reviewed their lists, I created a game of my own that introduced new body parts. I had one person from each group stand in the front of the classroom. I then called out a new word, such as “thumb,” “ankle,” or “kidney.” Another member of the team had to race forward and touch the corresponding body part on their teammate. The first time I threw out the word “thumb,” I was confronted by hands that pointed to students’ hips. Thumb, hip, same same. Through repetition and visual aids, the students had a fun time learning English words.
This experience taught me not to doubt God’s calling. God has given me the spiritual gift of teaching to help others. It is not always the subject material that matters, but rather letting God’s strength run through you to influence those around you. When you leave room for God to show up and guide you, He completely honors that request. He knows that I have doubts regarding my future as an educator, mainly due to the government’s intrusions. Even so, God equips me with the passion and ability to teach, meaning He will continue to be there for me throughout the struggles that present themselves.
