Years ago, I was visiting a dentist that a good friend had recommended to me. I knew that he spent a lot of time trying to find the very best practitioners for his own use, so I was excited to try his recommendation.
The dentists practice itself was impeccably presented, and the standard of professionalism exhibited by all staff was very high. On this particular visit, I was having a tooth extraction. At the end of the procedure, I remarked to the dentist that I was surprised at how painless the whole process was.
I will never forget his response.
He said that he works very hard to ensure that the process was as painless and stress-free as possible.
I got it.
What he was saying, was that I’m only seeing part of the process.
I don’t understand everything that he is doing, nor do I really need to. I don’t know about, or understand all of the training, knowledge, skill and experience he’s bringing into the moment to deliver a service that is exceptional in quality. I just experience the outcome.
I think this point probably applies to exceptional professionals in most industries.
It certainly does for EFL kindergarten teaching.
To the outside observer of one of my classes, they would just see me presenting some language and ‘playing some games’ with the children.
What they don’t see is the days that I’ve spent researching, discussing, and debating issues like classroom management or phonics, and the level of thought and care I put into designing a lesson for the children. Nor do they understand the inner process I go through as I constantly make decisions in the moment as the class unfolds.
Hopefully, at the end of the class, the students walk away with a smile on their face, having had a fun class and learned something. Both the children and the parents have no idea of the level of skill that I’ve brought to making sure that happened.
Sometimes I hear fellow teachers saying Kindergarten classes are ‘easy’, or ‘easy money’, I think they’re not appreciating the amount of skill needed to perform at a high level in this role.
Teaching Kindergarten English well is highly rewarding, however, it is anything but easy.
