For the past few weeks I have been working with Heartland Alliance’s Vocational English Language Training Team. So far this position has been very eye opening for me and has helped me reflect on my future. In my first week it was all about observation. I was tasked with watching various classes ranging from Level 1, the lowest level taught, all the way up to their higher level courses. Each teacher had their own way of teaching with some using similar resources and others making their own curriculum. I tutored in high school so I had a small experience doing that but I had never experienced teaching at this scale before. At this point I wasn’t sure what my job here would look like or how this position would affect my future goals but I was willing to go along for the ride! As the weeks began to progress, I went from observing to actually assisting the teachers and tutoring a few students myself! I was participating in classes everyday of the week and tutoring three days a week up until our break. I didn’t know that similar to other types of schools and classes, ESL programs give their students a break for a few weeks before starting classes again for the new year. While this was a well deserved break for the students, it took place at a difficult time for me because I was just starting to get the hang of teaching. I was really getting used to my routine and getting to know each student in the classes I was working with but now this would be put on pause. I still needed to fill my time with something so I have been tasked with handling administrative work, continuing my tutoring with students who still want additional help, and participating in registering new students. I have also been completing my tutoring training in the meantime as well so I should be able to get a certificate for it by the end of this month. I think all of these current experiences have allowed me to seriously consider the different career paths I have thought of and things that I would like to have in a work environment.

The one thing that I have realized is that teaching is extremely hard work. I was raised in a family of teachers but to see a small portion of the work they may have had to do is eye-opening. This job allows you to make such a big impact on a big and small scale but to do that you may have late nights, early mornings, and even weekends given away to finish a task. Due to the break I am currently in, I have realized that no matter what field of work I am in I need a work life balance that takes into account the value of time. I am still working the same amount of hours during this break but I have had a little bit of flexibility in my schedule. This allowed me to be able to attend my little sister’s college orientation and spend time with my family before we all leave again for college. Without a flexible schedule I may not have had the time to do that. I know that my views on these things may change as I grow in this position and have the chance to take on more projects and responsibilities. So I am hopeful to see how this experience will grow me and my expectations.

– Allison Howard, Heartland Alliance