Photo: A lesson in my old classroom

I have been an English teacher for 15 years, but before that I had several jobs. I worked as a landscaper, then at a garden center, and after that as a tractor driver at a strawberry farm. Later, I worked on a maintenance team at a college, then as an entomological illustrator (drawing insects) at a university, and even on an archaeological team, digging up and cataloguing old bones and tools. I didn’t become a teacher until I was 26 years old! 

I think my experience is fairly common for ESL teachers. Many of my coworkers came from other fields as well, including insurance, IT, acting, and the sciences. They were drawn to the fun interactions with people, the opportunities to share culture, the creativity and spontaneity of working with new topics every day, and the feeling of making a positive impact on people’s lives. I have to admit, though, initially I was not drawn to any of those things!

I became an English teacher because I had injured my wrists and could not pursue my career as an illustrator and because my second passion (after art) was writing and the English language itself. To be honest, I was (and still am) an introvert, and the idea of standing in front of a classroom full of students really intimidated me, but I gave it a shot and it turned out to be a lot of fun. 

When it comes to teaching, no amount of training can prepare you for your first few classes. When you step into a classroom, you are thrown into the deep end, and you either sink or swim. Fortunately, I had some wonderful students in my first class, and I also met some very funny, creative, and supportive colleagues who helped me find my bearings.

I stayed at the same school for nearly 10 years and saw many, many people come and go. In addition to teaching English, I had a lot of opportunities to host events and parties at the school and join field trips to explore Toronto, and eventually I came to appreciate the same things that my colleagues did - the enjoyable interactions and the feeling of making an impact on other people’s lives.

After my school closed during the Covid pandemic, I took some time off to upgrade my teaching certifications and get my masters degree in linguistics before returning to teaching, this time online! I must say that I was quite hesitant to switch from in-person to online teaching, but once again I have been very pleasantly surprised and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting lots of new people online and approaching ESL teaching from a totally different angle. So, here’s to 15 years and hopefully another 15 years (or more) to come!

“To be drawn to (s.t.)” means to feel a strong, often subconscious attraction, interest, or pull toward a person, object, idea, or activity. 

"To give (s.t.) a shot" means to attempt, try, or make an effort to do something, especially when you are uncertain about the outcome or if it is a first attempt.

"To be thrown into the deep end" means to be forced into a new, challenging, or complex situation and implies learning through immediate, high-stakes experience, often with little help. 

“To sink or swim” means to fail or succeed entirely by one's own efforts.

"To find one's bearings" means to determine your position relative to your surroundings, or to become familiar with a new situation.

"To come to (s.t.)" means to reach a specific state, decision, or conclusion after some time or deliberation.