Here's another post in English in response to the blog challenge proposed by super tweep + elt teacher + blogger
Vicky Loras. The point is writing about some kind of turning point in our life and/or career, so, I'm going to tell you about how I had to decide - in a matter of hours - whether to take up (again) a career as a secondary education teacher or to stick to a juicy full time contract at a graphic design studio. You know the end of the story, so here's a flashback to the beginning.
Right after getting my BA degree in Linguistics I moved to London so as to brush up my English and to earn some cash by joining the bar staff of a busy pub in Fulham. My parents weren't very pleased and, as soon as the
oposiciones exams (in Spain, if you want to get a public-sector job you have to sit a highly competitive exam) were announced, they suggested I should go back to Spain and try my luck. I hadn't planned to become a teacher and, surprisingly enough, I was quite happy taking food orders and serving draught lager in the UK; nevertheless, I took notice of my parents' advice, did the exam and... passed it! As I had no previous teaching experience, I could not obtain a life-long position (that's the way it works in Spain), but I was soon hired for a whole school year. At first, the situation was kind of hard to handle: early evening shift, teaching Spanish, English and some Geography, too, and most students older than me. However, I started to feel really at ease with my new job: I enjoyed being with students in class, chatting with colleagues in the staff room, lesson planning... Time flew by, school year ended and I had to take that hideous exam again if I wanted to remain a candidate; but, on that second occasion, I wasn't lucky and I did terribly bad at it. So, no contract signing for me :( and, as I had to make a living, I decided to move on. After working as a shop assistant in a toy shop and some English grinds, I was offered a job as layout artist in a graphic design studio; I really enjoy
photography, graphic design and art, so I was really happy working in front of a computer resizing pictures, working on animations or doing some package design. And even happier as the number of customers grew and money started to flow in $_$.
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| Sometimes, the right decision is not the most obvious. |
But there was something missing and, more often than not, I found myself thinking about my school days (as a teacher). Then, one day my boss told me they'd been thinking about broadening my contract, which meant better work conditions and higher wages. Great news! I could see myself as some sort of white collar worker, attending meetings and wearing ties. But there was still that little bit missing... Next morning - and that was a most amazing coincidence - I received a phone call from some school based about 500 kilometres north from where I was living then, offering a six-month substitution. I told them I had a job at the moment and needed some time to think about it and they replied they could not wait, so I was compelled to make a decision that very morning and call them back within three hours, otherwise they'd pass the offer on to someone else. I hanged up the phone, started sweating, went out of the office, kept on sweating, went for a coffee, ordered a beer and, after about an hour of thinking (not too carefully, to be true) over it, I made up my mind.
This blog is called
Alumnos IES Fernando III (which means
Fernando III School Students), so I think I can skip the rest.
Note to students: Read the text carefully: some comprehension follow up activities due in class soon :)
ue se aburran en el puente aquí tenéis una actividad extra relacionada con la festividad del Día de los Santos/Halloween. Se trata de ver un vídeo de poco más de tres minutos sobre los orígenes de Halloween y responder un cuestionario de siete preguntas. Dejad vuestras respuestas en comentarios o enviádmelas por 
