I just found out that my proposal to give a workshop at the NileTESOL conference in Cairo in February (Creating Safety in the English Classroom) was accepted. I am SO excited. It's fun to think about being in my third African country in less than five months. Much more than that, this is an affirmation of my decision to take a year off from teaching despite serious misgivings that doing so would derail my career. There were so many days--and even more sleepless nights--in Guatemala when I thought I was committed professional suicide by taking the break, despite feeling that I had nothing left to offer my students.
The other challenge I am taking on at the same time is letting some truly wonderful students know that if they don't work, I won't work with them. I have always had trouble with boundaries, professionally and personally, and it is an important learning step for me to recognize that, as much as I wish to be motivating and engaging as a teacher, the decision to work and grow rests in the hands of my students and not in mine. It is also satisfying to be able to act without anger or blame.
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