At first teaching English wasn't a lot of fun. It felt like a baby-sitting job, and in part, it is. But as time moved on, and my perspective changed, I realized that I was someone these kids looked up to. Someone they loved. What I did, and what I said, and how I handled myself, was something they were looking toward.

A lot of the material we use to teach them is faulty. Sometimes the graphics and pictures used, I would never use with my own children. At first this bothered me. I started to realize that it was me that was having an impact more than the pictures. The books they use are teaching them words, but I as an adult, am teaching them how to behave. I am also teaching them how to use those words, and the attitude, and the spirit, those words could be used in.

They don't get a lot of this at home, since the only parents that can afford full-time day care are rich. Those parents have chosen to focus on money. Perhaps they think they can better provide for their families. And so it is left to myself, and other teachers, to act as role-models for the children.

It is my job to teach them how to use English words. When they are young, this entails teaching pictographic vocabulary and phonetic sounds. As they get older, we focus more on grammar and sentence structure. Over time, the confidence they need to speak English, ideally, is instilled. The more they learn english, the more diverse the topics we can traverse.

I don't know if it is God's Will that I teach English as a life work, or if it is simply a longer transition, but I do know that I've started to enjoy it. The office politics is the same as ever, and I try to stay clear of it. Having fun with the children, and sneaking in English lessons, is my primary goal.

Some children are here from seven thirty in the morning to eight at night. It's a little sad at the end of the day to see them waiting for mommy and daddy's Lexus to show up.