Yesterday I had a lesson with a new student. Her name is Hilla and we had a great time. I am SO excited to teach her. What a sweet and sharp girl.
At the beginning of my career I used to panic with new students. Now, after almost 14 years teaching at the brutal rate that I teach everyday I don’t really get nervous anymore.
But first lessons are definitely still tricky. It is a time for both student and instructor to feel the terrain and for me, in particular, to adapt the lesson to the student’s personality, preferences and skill level. In fact I always show up with at least 3 different lesson plans and several strategies for each possible contingency I can imagine. In short, there is a lot going on behind the scenes when I teach you for the first time.
Professionally and emotionally.
(Good) one on one lessons are, actually, incredibly personal. If you think about it, at the end of the day, it will all boil down to hundreds of hours of conversation with me.
Very rarely will you tell your mechanic, barista or dentist about your life. But my students are always telling me about their dreams, successes, and failures. About their health, their families and marriage. About illness, death and love. Every single day. And they do it all in Spanish. Which always adds an extra layer of vulnerability. You must feel comfortable with your teacher and have a certain level of chemistry for this to work.
Sometimes the level of trust my students put in me, in so many different ways, literally brings me to tears. I feel unbelievably humble to tell you the truth. Same grammar, same vocabulary. So many different lives.
So, since this blog is about me helping you learn Spanish, this is my message for you today:
‘Don’t take one on one lessons from someone you don’t trust, respect or like at some level’
Down the road it is just not going to work for you. I am serious. Don’t do it.
When you have that first scary lesson, don’t just watch for your instructor’s level of skill. Make sure there is also some goodness in his/her heart. You have to be able tell that the person is not just making a living. The person has to really, really care about you as a student. You are going to be sharing a lot with your one on one instructor. Be sure this person deserves that level of trust.
Me personally I will not teach you if I don’t love you.
At some point in my life I would teach whomever. I was desperate and all I wanted was to pay the bills. Now I know better and I make enough money. So I get to choose you just as much as you get to choose me.
Only happened to me three times that I came across students that were so plain mean and heartless that I couldn’t love. Not even a bit. So I said sorry and let them go.
Remember this:
No love. No Spanish.