Meet the Co-Teachers

gamarjoba!

In addition to the wedding I went to on Sunday night, I also had another awesome thing happen yesterday that I want to share with you all!  Like the United States, it’s that time of year again for kids in Georgia: back to school time!  I know that everyone back home has already started the school year and is getting back to the daily grind of homework, meetings and study sessions but Georgians don’t start school again until next Monday, September 17^th.  In order to prepare a little more for my upcoming teaching experience I finally met my co-teachers that I’ll be working alongside with for the next four months!

One of the stipulations in my contract with Teach and Learn with Georgia (TLG) is that every new incoming teacher must attend an Introduction Meeting with TLG representatives as well as our school director and our co-teachers.  My meeting was yesterday and my host father Beso drove my two co-teachers, my school director and I to the biggest city near us, Lagodehki (about 25 minutes away and literally on the border with Azerbaijan).  We met three other TLGers (and their co-teachers) who were in my orientation group and who also live in the Lagodehki region.  Our TLG regional representative Irma then gave a presentation about co-teaching, expectations for everyone and a rundown of other bureaucratic things we have to do each month we’re teaching in Georgia.  It was a little repetitive from orientation but it was nice that we got a chance to create a pseudo-lesson plan with our co-teachers using a unit from the textbooks we teach from.  It gave us an opportunity to see how the teachers have been planning lessons and how they think the students should learn English language concepts and vocabulary.  Overall, the meeting helped to take some of the stress away surrounding the whole notion that I have to walk into a new school on Monday and attempt to teach English to Georgian children successfully.

My co-teachers seem really nice though!  I briefly met Margo when she came to visit Tamila a few weeks ago and we talked for a little bit.  I believe she teaches second-sixth grades at my school.  Her knowledge of English isn’t necessarily the best in the limited interactions we’ve had with one another so that was interesting to note and might be an obstacle to overcome while teaching with her this year.  One new educational reform in this country is that Georgian English teachers have the opportunity to take an English proficiency test in order gain a substantial pay increase.  Margo is planning on taking the test in January and has already asked me for help in preparing, which I already told her that I would gladly do.  It’s interesting because teachers in the TLG program make more money than the average English teacher in Georgia (a point on contention for some volunteers and their co-teachers) and I know I will happily help Margo in hopes that she can earn more money and become more fluent in English and a better teacher overall after I leave. 

My other co-teacher is named Nino and she definitely has a better grasp on the English language when compared to Margo.  She is more confident in her use of English and even knew a bit about American culture when we were discussing differences between Georgian and American weddings.  She’s already taken the English proficiency test and teaches the first grade as well as the higher grades (seventh grade and up) at the school.  My school director is named Niera and she is really good friends with Tamila, they talk on the phone a lot from what I can tell.  She only speaks Georgian and talks to me as if I even understand a single word she’s saying.  When I just shrug and smile at her for not understanding she just calls me a good girl and pats my cheek so I think our relationship will be just fine.  Here’s a nice picture of all of us as we drove back to Apeni after our meeting!

My School Director Niera, Me, and my co-teachers Nino and Margo!

Also, check out this other amazing picture I took at the same spot, isn’t Georgia just beautiful?

Caucasus Mountains y'all! (the same ones I can see from my bedroom window)

It finally seems like things will be picking up around here and I honestly can’t wait to get to school on Monday to finally start what I came to do in this country: teach English.  Don't worry, you'll definitely get to hear all about it :)

gaumarjos!

Kelsey