a note on teaching

Well dear friends, in case you haven't noticed, I've neglected to tell you about my teaching experiences here in the grand Romania.

While I'd like to claim that this is a simple oversight to be blamed on my fascination with all other parts of life - alas that is not true.

The thing is, I am teaching first year university students. Five times a week, I walk into a classroom of 30 or more students just a few years younger than me who are paying to learn from me. They are there to learn English and to learn about the United States.

Do I feel qualified? Of course not. And you can understand why...in the United States, this would never happen. I am simply a college graduate, not even qualified for a managerial position at The Gap (which doesn't matter, cause we ain't got no Gaps in Romania). And yet, here across the woods in Transilvania, that's not a problem.

Yes, higher education in Romania is different. I've heard from other teachers (REAL professors included) that cheating, copying, plagiarism is rampant - even among graduate students. But I would hesitate to accept that all Romanian universities are like mine, that all college students are like mine.

I've gathered that the mechanical engineering department, the forestry department, even math and chemistry are very good here. And it's not that the Faculty of Letters is bad...I am just trying to justify the fact that here, I am not just a teaching assistant - I am considered a teacher in my own right.

I guess I can explain my lack of posts on teaching by telling you that I'm a little embarrassed that I'm teaching university classes. My teaching duties include writing my own curriculum and syllabus, making up a course name even. No one checks in on what I'm teaching or how the students are progressing. I feel overwhelmed by my understanding of this sort of responsibility - as I've said, in the States (and at many other universities, even in Romania) I would never be invited to this. All I have to my name is a B.A. in Sociology - not even a minor in American Studies or TEFL.

But right now, I'm a little more confident. I've been reading over the final essays of my students, and I've gotta say, I'm feeling a bit proud of them. It's hard to say whether it has more to do with me or with them (does it matter?), but it seems like they've actually learned something in the past four months.

I remember my first night in Romania, I confessed to Cynthia (a Fulbrighter who trains Romanian teachers of English) that I felt incredibly unqualified. I felt like someone had made a mistake, that I should not be allowed to stand in front of a college classroom. She told me to take advantage of the opportunity - yeah, it would never happen in America, but nevertheless I had the chance to teach university students. So I should make the most of it.

Anyway, now that I'm feeling a little more confident, I plan to write a little more about classroom-related business, including highlights from these excellent final essays I am reading.