A day in a life as Home-based Online English Teacher

It never crossed in my mind that I will be a Home-based Online English teacher because I only see myself working in a school setting and interacting with the students personally. It was the year 2019 when I decided to move in here to the Philippines and it's my first time staying in the province. At first, it was difficult because as we all know that in the province it has lesser opportunities compared to the city. I tried my best to find a way on how I can make a living here in the Southern part of Cebu that will suitably fit my profession. I failed in the third stage of my application process which is the technical check-up because the area I am living in has no strong internet connection so they offered another way and that is for me to be assigned to their center based in the city for my training and demonstration. I spent a week there and about to give up but what made me thought is that out of 22 applicants I am one of the three who was able to make it to the final so it's going to be a waste of time if I will quit especially for those people who believe in my capacity. When I finally passed it, I went back to the province and still hoping that I can conduct classes successfully in a limited number of students per day and I am glad that it's working.

Because of the pandemic, most of the institutions are closed and cannot operate a face-to-face class for the safety of everyone. So the opportunities of becoming a home-based teacher were increased due to the demand of the students who are studying at home or shall we say homeschooling. This is quite challenging to the students, teachers, and parents too because there will be a new system to be followed and more additional resources that needed to be utilized. Some teachers were obliged to engage themselves in new technology and this is where classes online are practiced. Through this, it gave hassle for some people, we can see how each and everyone cooperated to provide education to the learners.

In my 2 years of experience, I would like to share a day in my life as an Online English Teacher on how I begin and end my lesson to my students. I am hoping that these tips can help the teachers and parents out there to try these strategies to provide quality education and be a reliable teacher towards the learners.

1. CHECK THE BOOKED SCHEDULES AND LESSON MATERIALS

It is our responsibility to check who are those students booking our plotted schedules. Through this, you will identify the name of the student, what grade level he or she belongs and what are his or her targets to achieve the objectives that their parents are looking for. On my part, an hour before the actual class, I usually check what time I will start and how many students I will have on that specific day. This helped me a lot because I can have access to what lessons I have to discuss with the students. For example, he is a Level -k student meaning he is a kindergarten ranges from 3-5 years old then it is expected that my lessons apply to the level of understanding of the students such as Body parts, and practice introducing her or his self. By knowing your lesson materials, it will give you more time to review if there are words that are difficult to pronounce or words that aren't familiar so you can search the definition of it by the time you will conduct the lesson and possibly student will ask you what does the word means? then you are confident enough and knowledgeable to answer the question of your student.

2. DOUBLE CHECK THE INTERNET CONNECTION

Having normal wifi is actually difficult because it provides an unstable internet connection and there were times that the signal lost. It was a year of my struggle where I received complaints from the parents and warning from the company for having a poor internet connection. I know how it affects my performances and the expectation of my students. It came to a point that I was under service cancellation because my internet provider was not working for almost two weeks. I was not able to work for a month and what saddens me the most it was Christmas day and traveled to the mountain I found out the bad news. I was totally mad at myself and was not able to enjoy my trip because my concern is, how about my regular students? those students who are happy to see me. By February, I was able to move out from another house with the good people around me and find a better connection. With the help of my partner, we were able to have now a strong connection which is the Fiber one. My company saved me and let me work again with them. There were tears in my eyes when I saw again my students and I can see their excitement and happiness too to have me back to them. I just want to clarify here that in the province, not all areas are now in DSL OR FIBER and in luck, the telecommunication company was installing near our areas so it was totally a blessing.

3. SELF-PREPARATION

You have to start your day with a smile because through this, it will show a good impression towards your students. No matter how hard your life had been through or whatever problems you have encountered to yourself, you should not bring it in your workplace. Personal problems should not be expressed while you are working because this can affect the way you teach, pass negative vibes, and possibly, you cannot give quality education to your students and we don't allow that kind of behavior. Next, show how lively you are, be energetic to warm up the day. You have to condition yourself that you are mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared. Always remember, you are dealing with children and these children look up to you as their role model so we should exercise proper behavior. As you can see in the picture, I had my headband on, wore formal attire, makeup is fine but not too bold just give a slight makeover but on my case, I don't use makeup when I am teaching because the lights can trigger my skin since it's bound to my face directly.

4. PREPARE THE REWARDS AND OTHER RESOURCES

Giving rewards has never been out in the field of teaching. This is the process where we appreciate the student's work. They deserve to receive rewards because they work hard. They come to school to learn and listen carefully to their teachers. This can help to motivate students to come to school or attend the class every single day. They are encouraged to be the best version of themselves because once they did something good for themselves, they will receive what they deserved. There are many creative ideas on how we can reward the students. Since I love to acknowledge every progress my students do, so I have a collection of rewards .Even if it makes my room crowded with this stuff, but these are useful especially when I conduct classes for my students.

I have this cute board where I wrote the name of students and what lesson I have to teach to them on that day. This serves as my tracker so that I will not be lost in my discussion. You can see how I prepared the resources accordingly. I really loved to be organized because it gives a good and smooth flow to my teaching. When I present pictures to the students, I have to make sure they are friendly, colorful, and attractive. Using small images is not acceptable because we should provide clear resources to the students.

MY PRE AND POST CLASSROOM SETTING

This is the funny part you can compare how well-organized the classroom setting to a messy one. This is the usual happenings every time I ended my classes. Try to imagine having 10-15 classes straight with no break and drinking water is prohibited. My style is, when I am finished teaching the student, I dropped the resources that I can't longer use for the next students because I don't want I will mess up my table and there's a higher chance that they will be mixed up together. The people in the house were laughing at me sometimes and they said that I am like a kid too messing around the corners. But this taught me how to be disciplined because I cleaned the mess I made every day and I took it as positive it simply shows how I exerted efforts to every student I have. I have a conscience if I will just sit and provide a boring lesson. It should be more fun yet educational.

To whom I run to when I feel tired from work?

When I have break time or finished my work, I directly went downstairs and meet up with the dogs. This is Molly Tanya. She is one of the reasons to ease my stress. By hugging and cuddling with her, it took away all the back pain I am experiencing while teaching. In my partner's house, they have 4 dogs including Molly, and 7 cats. I am not an animal lover but by the time I live with them, I became one of them. I realized how helpful they are to humans just like me.

HARD-WORK PAYS

I am so thankful for the opportunity to work as a Homebased Teacher because I choose my own schedule which is very flexible. I have more time for my family to spend a great bond. I do the things I wanted to do such as cooking, traveling, and household chores. I am one of the luckiest employees who still have a job during the pandemic. Some people lost their jobs or forcibly quit and here I am continuously fighting for my future. Salute to those teachers who are dedicated and passionate when it comes to their profession. They never get tired of helping students to learn day by day. This career sharpens our patience and once we are able to surpass it, we considered ourselves effective teachers and consistent ones. For those people who never give up working to help their family, you deserve a pat on your shoulders.

I want you to be updated on my posts because soon I will help you on how to find a job and work in your comfort zone. I have lots of good opportunities and news to upload soon. In my simple act, I hope I can help someone to get employed. I am here doing my best what I can offer to you. Thank you, everyone.

Signing off,

Teacher Donna