It's Official!

 

Can't wait to show off.

It's officially official: I have my CELTA certificate in hand! Soon it will be framed and hung up in my office, sharing space with my ever increasing (if somewhat chaotic) library, compression gloves for repetitive stress injury, many ink pens and Sharpies, a large supply of notebook paper, my journals, and my embroidery supplies. Oh, and Sammy the Badger, my intrepid mascot. 

I am also working to get Limmud Anglit off the ground. Web design is not proving easy, and I will need to find assistance with this. Fortunately I have found an agency that helps small businesses in my situation get started. They assist with bureaucracy, finding accountants and attorneys, and marketing. I have applied for assistance; I should know within a month if I am approved. 

Meanwhile, I almost miss CELTA. I can say truthfully that while I have rarely worked harder, I can also say truthfully that I have rarely felt happier.

I haven't been idle, though, since the course ended. I am working on my professional development plan. I am also studying Hebrew and Russian. 

I remain optimistic about the future of Limmud Anglit. So keep watching this space!

At The Finish Line

I have completed my CELTA training. I really look back with nostalgia on some things: my third lesson (which is when I feel I really started to get teaching), my LSRT (which was hard work, but when I really got designing a reading lesson), and any and all feedback sessions with my colleague and teammate Dimitra, who was an amazing teacher and provided wonderful support. 

CELTA really does train your way of thinking. One of the items on the screamingly funny "You Know You're A CELTA Trainee When..." webpage is that you constantly think of ways to include the media you consume in a lesson.

Um, that's not a joke.

Seriously, last night I was thinking of ways I could structure a lesson around one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs ("Little Green," if you're curious). When I had to teach contrastive speech, I seriously considered using Monty Python's "Argument Clinic." This applies to other disciplines as well, by the way. One of my friends who teaches American government uses George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" in his section on the first amendment. In my American government class, we watched the film Absence of Malice during our unit on defamation law. Authentic materials are the bread and butter and meat of teaching.

I think the most important thing I learned from CELTA was how to think like a good teacher. Always asking myself how I can make things better for my students. That was the most valuable thing of all.

Thank you.