6 Like Mother, Like Daughter
Mona El Faldy
I have always felt I had the genetic ability to teach from my mother. Growing up, my mother worked hard and went through high school, then BSc in Linguistics then finally her MS and PhD in Linguistics, all with me, her oldest daughter, and my two younger sisters. It was a challenge for her but SHE DID IT. She later became a full Professor at the University of Kuwait where she worked for 25 years and loved every moment of it as she constantly told us proudly.
My mother, at the beginning of her teenage life, struggled with English growing up in the Middle East in a small country called Kuwait where she was born. She later married at a young age of 15 years old but that never stopped her in pursing her dreams to finish school. So she moved to the US in the early 1960s where she met my dad and got married in Denver, Colorado. There she finished school and struggled due to the language barrier but that never stopped her from becoming a full Professor in Linguistics later in life.
Her first job was a gift wrapper at a local mall during Christmas time and as she told us the interaction she had with her customers helped her increase the spoken English ability and became better as time passed. 25 years of teaching taught her a lot on a personal level and from her thousands of students she taught throughout those years.
She admits that teaching isn’t a easy job but the satisfaction she gets when her students succeed is more precious than anything materialistic you can buy.
She currently has retired and still to this day she still loves to teach but now to her grandchildren who are benefitting out of her knowledge. So my genetic makeup from my mother made it natural for me to love tutoring/teaching and I will try do it as long as I shall live.
I have been a peer-tutor for a year now, and this year has been both challenging and positive and has made me realize my love of teaching. I learned that as a person that you need a tremendous amount of patience and knowledge but above love of teaching. You gain a feeling of satisfaction after your student received the teaching they needed and then achieves a high test score. My students this past year were all hard workers and I learned from them all, how their hunger for knowledge made them great students to tutor. I also learned from them about both my weaknesses and strengths and have grown in the last year.
May all my students succeed now and in the future.
Photo credits: Photo by Jenna Norman on Unsplash
From the OE 9x9x25 Inspiration Gallery:
My students this past year were all hard workers and I learned from them all, how their hunger for knowledge made them great students to tutor. ~ Mona El Faldy
Discussion Questions
- What has been challenging for you in your role of tutor?
- What personal qualities help you to be a tutor?
- What have you learned about yourself through being a tutor?
Scenario
In the post, El Faldy describes a feeling of satisfaction that she receives when one of her students does well, image that one of your students comes to an appointment after received a failing grade on an assignment and blames you. What would you do, what would you say?
Reflection Prompt
Think about who has influenced you in your life by their example, it could be a family member, friend or public figure. Write brief description of that person and why you admire them.