In Session

Something that will become familiar in This Space over the next few months will be the classes I teach.  So that you're not dropped in unawares, here's a quick tour of what I do.

For the past few years, I've been an adult educator, teaching ESOL.  When I introduce myself at social occasions that way, I can pretty much guarantee to be asked: "What the heck does 'ESOL' stand for?"  Given a minute to guess, most people come up with "E" and "L," but the whole bit is "English for Speakers of Other Languages."  (The old name was "ESL," or "English as a Second Language," and why it changed is a discussion for another day.)

A few nuggets:

• I've taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced speakers--though mostly the first
• Before I worked in a small educational program, but I'm hoping to move onto something larger
• My students are immigrants
• Most are women
• We cover language basics, plus things like setting life goals and visiting the public library
• Sometimes we've even had time (or, ahem, grant mandates) for other themes: career awareness, literacy, how to engage with the school system

Why does this matter?  Two reasons:

First, my students and classes are my looking glass.  Working with them shapes how I view most  much anything else when it comes to education and poverty.

Second, I'm going to be talking about it in This Space.  Disclaimer: Privacy matters, so I will fictionalize.  At the very least names and neighborhoods.  Circumstances, too.