Garance Galore

These past few weeks, I’ve been quite busy, starting my last year of my Master’s, giving more private lessons, and juggling life at home…

But these days remind me how much I LOVE what I do.

I am a French teacher for a well-known organization, which is very different from teaching in secondary schools (which is what my degree prepared me for). The flexibility and conditions are so different from what I experienced working in schools althought I also loved it. So while reading my thoughts, keep in mind that another teacher might have a complet different point of view.

During my first year of my Master’s, I had to work part-time in retail, which I deeply hated. But luckily, now I get to teach, and as I said before, I love my job. There are definitely downsides, but so far, they aren’t enough to make me consider leaving.

The truth is, I don’t see myself doing anything else. I really believe I’ve found my dream job—assuming we can dream about work, lol.

Creativity & freedom

Although I don’t have complete control over the content I teach, I do get to choose how I teach it. Depending on the group (I teach students ranging from 4-year-olds to adults), I can explore topics that I find interesting or that my students are passionate about. You’d be surprised how creative you can get teaching something as dry as the present tense!

Even though it takes a lot of time to prepare engaging and fun activities, games, and lessons, it’s so worth it. I’m grateful for the chance to be creative every day. And between us, there’s no better feeling than seeing a lesson go extremely well because you put your heart into it.

Sharing new experiences and meeting people

I work with people who have fascinating jobs and drastically different lives from mine, yet somehow our paths cross, and I find that amazing. I meet new people every few months, and I love this aspect of teaching. Teaching isn’t just about French, it’s also about the connections you build with your students to help them develop their skills and confidence in the language.

Every day is different

Since I plan my lessons, I get to decide (within the curriculum) what to teach and when. This mostly applies to children and teens, but they always find ways to surprise me and make me laugh. Of course, I have bad days, days when I’d rather stay home and be alone, but once I show up, my students remind me why I love this job so much.

I never stop learning

While I’m teaching a language, there’s so much more happening. Learners, no matter their age, share parts of their lives with me, talents, interests, knowledge. I don’t think I’ve ever had a lesson where I didn’t learn something. It’s such a blessing to meet, exchange ideas, and learn from such a variety of people. This is one of the things I love most about teaching.

Developing important human qualities

I’ve always believed in the importance of being there for others and making a difference, no matter how small. So it’s always been important to me to come to work with a positive attitude. Teaching has helped me develop and improve qualities like kindness, selflessness, and patience, and I’m so thankful for that.

I can dress how I like!

This might seem irrelevant to some, but after working jobs where I had to follow a dress code, it’s so refreshing! Depending on the school, you may still have some restrictions, but overall, I love being able to choose my outfit every morning and express my creativity through my clothes.

There are a million reasons why I love teaching, and I’d love to explore this topic in future posts. I love to connect with fellow teachers as well so feel free to share your thoughts if you work (or not) in the field of education. If you simply got curious about what I do, thanks for passing by! < 3

Till next time!

Garance