The Unexpected Moment That Made Me a Teacher

Weekly Topic: When and why did you decide to become a teacher?

Kay M

My official journey as a teacher began in 2021, but the spark was lit in a quiet corner of a primary school library. I was a teaching assistant, and my job was to help students who were struggling. One day, I was paired with a student who was completely locked down by English. He saw sentences as a wall of confusing symbols, and he’d just shut his book in frustration.
 
We tried a different approach. Instead of forcing grammar, we talked about his favorite video game—the characters, the missions, the epic battles. I had him describe one scene to me, just in broken phrases and hand gestures. I wrote down his words. Then, together, we built a story out of them, like assembling a comic book panel. We weren't learning 'verbs'; we were giving his hero a voice.
 
And then it happened. That moment of pure clarity, the 'lightbulb' moment. He looked at the paragraph we had created—his ideas, his passion, now captured in English—and his eyes went wide. A huge grin broke out. “Wait… I can do this,” he said. That electric feeling—the thrill of unlocking a voice, of bridging a gap between confusion and expression—was addictive.
 
That’s when I knew. It wasn't just about the subject; it was about the connection. It was about finding the story inside the student and helping them translate it to the world. I went ‘all in’ to become a teacher because I believe language isn't a gate to keep people out; it's a bridge we build together. In my classroom, we don't just memorize rules—we discover how to tell our own stories. We find the key that unlocks your voice. Are you ready to build your bridge? Joine me for a lesson 
 

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This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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