Casa Rosales

Casa Rosales

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Decisions, decisions

I mentioned that I had handed in my notice at the Academy and that from the end of June, my often joyous, sometimes fraught, teaching days will be at an end for the time being.

These sort of decisions are never made lightly. I have written about my English teaching many times, though I don't know that I have ever mentioned the strange coincidence that found me teaching there in the first place. When I first arrived in Alcala la Real, I spent some time teaching in the English Centre here that has now closed. Towards the middle of March 2010 - we arrived in January - a lady came in looking for a native English speaker. As no one in the centre spoke Spanish, she was directed towards me, where I understood that she urgently needed someone to take over the oral classes in her Academy as the usual teacher had been taken ill. As I was in the middle of teaching, I said I would come and talk to her at the Academy the next morning - thinking (no false modesty here) that she had come specifically to talk to ME!

I continued in this thought for some time after taking on the job until Maria, the owner of the Academy, and I had more time to chat when I discovered that she came to the English centre to ask for help in finding someone - not expecting me to have my sleeves rolled up and teaching within 48 hours. She also told me later that her daughter had been very shocked that she'd taken me on without asking to see my TESOL teaching certificate or any formal qualifications that I held. She still hasn't seen them but when I dug them out recently, I was rather pleased to discover that I had passed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate with a distinction. Maria has always said that she took to me instinctively and as her other teacher never came back, we both feel that serendipity brought us together.

I have so enjoyed the last year where I've taken on more actual teaching, rather than just a 'chatty' class. At Level One - the first year - I have taken their full 2 and a half hour's lessons during the week and also have more time with the more advanced classes. My level 1 students have been so responsive and quick to learn and we've had a lot of fun as well as managing to complete a very demanding text book. They've taken everything on board and I the other day, I heard the youngest of the group go to another girl and ask, without my involvement, if she could borrow a rubber please - in perfect English.

When we found our house here in Villalobos, I thought that living so close to town I wouldn't have any problems in continuing work. A twelve minute car journey as opposed to an eight minute walk didn't seem likely to cause any problems.

However, the reality is a bit different. I find I have to leave the house just 10 minutes after Mateo arrives home and some days, the logistics of the five of us having slightly different plans and arrangements in town at not quite overlapping times, has made it very awkward to schedule and manage. I am missing the hours at home with the children now we have our own space and garden to enjoy together. Often, by the time I get home, I am quite tired and have only an hour or so before it's time to start thinking about supper and bed. There have been some days where I've had to leave the three of them at home on their own because FR is in Granada and that also makes me very uncomfortable in some ways - although we always have a backup plan in the event of need. And sometimes, Ruy and Romy have come with me to the Academy before going off to either swimming or tennis. This has been quite good in the summer months but wouldn't be ideal in winter when the nights are dark or the weather bad.

The worst thing - which is also the best thing - is that FR has finally got his play off the ground and out into schools. A couple of weeks ago, his group went to perform at a school in Monachil, in Granada, which he followed up the next day with a workshop. In his own words, it was everything he had dreamed of from the outset - and it can't really get better than that. In the new term, I expect he will be visiting many more schools which means he won't be home with the children or available to take them to their various classes and practices whilst I am teaching.

So, for practical purposes, though not necessarily financially responsible ones, we are going to try and manage without my teaching income - it wasn't much but it was better than nothing - in order for me to be at home for the children. I think it's the right decision but I do find myself wishing I could have the best of both worlds and keep my favourite classes and do a few less hours - but that's not an option. At first, I don't think Maria really believed I was going but we have found an excellent replacement - again by pure chance - so she's coming round to the idea and she knows that she can always call on me if there's a need to.

All I need to do now is tell the students. Without a tear in my eye...

It's so hard giving up the things we love but it's so much easier when I know I can spend more time with my children in our lovely home. I think it's best all round.


24 comments:

  1. A tough decision Annie, but making it now, as you settle into the new life in the new home sounds sensible to me. I went part time in Kirklees when Jess went to secondary school...and that seemed like a huge decision at the time...and that was when I knew I wanted to be at home at 3/5 evenings a week when she came home from school. It was the best decision I ever made....well perhaps the second best....the best, was leaving Kirklees completely !
    It means you will have a wonderful first summer and autumn in the new house and garden, learning their rhythms and adapting to their needs. Well done...a brave decision. Fondest love Janice x

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    1. Thank you Janice. Being home, being here has become a primary consideration and I shall have to look for some other work, mornings only if possible. Although the last few weeks are 'spoilt' with nearly every group taking exams, I'm sure we'll have time for a bit of fun before we say our goodbyes. And I have to remind myself that I bump into one or the other of them almost every week on the streets or at the supermarket, so it's not as though they will disappear from my life forever!
      I shall, of course, keep you informed!
      Axxx

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  2. I bet that Providence gives you some more possibilities to teach, as you seem to be so good at it and love it so much. I sometimes find that my activities get fairly drastically 'pruned' in one season, only to be unexpectedly allowed to grow in another x

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    1. I agree wholeheartedly, Hita, that very possibly something else will come along now that I'd never have found otherwise. I hope so - I'm not ready to sit at home all day every day - and I'm sure that if I keep my ears and eyes open, I'll spot something interesting.
      Axxx

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  3. Sometimes these difficult decisions turn out to be the best thing you have ever done. I hope that is the case and you dont miss it too much.
    Its great you have the freedom to make this choice and spend more time with the children although I am sure you will be missed.
    Sx

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  4. The past two years have been great and I've learnt much more from my students than I think I have taught them, to be honest! I will miss the teaching but I won't miss the preparation and the times I've had to rush out of the house trying not to be late!
    Axxx

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  5. You will miss teaching but, as you say, you'll still have contact with your students and perhaps once you sort out all the family's timetables you'll find something that suits the hours you have available.

    But...what a chance to enjoy your new home and its surroundings!

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    1. I definitely have some mixed feelings, Helen, and whilst these include feeling sorry to leave my students, they also include wild joy at being able to spend more time at home and doing things here without having to dash off every afternoon just after lunch!
      Axx

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  6. Sounds like the best decision in the circumstances, but I can understand how you feel. Is there perhaps any chance of private tuition that could fit in with your family commitments more easily?

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    1. I shall be looking for some more morning work, Ayak, but it's quite haphazard as many people don't like to commit to lessons for any length of time, so you find people starting and stopping at an alarming rate!
      I think a few things might come my way and of course, I shall be doing some more chocolating....Maybe not until after the summer though. It's warming up nicely now - not good for chocolate!
      Axxx

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  7. I'm sure you will miss your teaching but I'm also sure that you have made the right decisopn for you, and your family.
    The right decisions are often the most difficult to make.
    Enjoy your time with the children and your new home. These times won't come again so grab every minute...

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    1. I will, Gaynor - everything you say, I will, you are quite right.
      I am hoping to have a lot more fun with my family - my teaching has been fun and my children are still young enough (a couple of them) to enjoy the games we have played in class - good for them too. Thank you.
      Axxx

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  8. No doubt you'll have mixed feelings about this, but for what it's worth I think you're doing absolutely the right thing. I've been lucky enough to always work from home, so even though I was sometimes away for a few days at a time, or off to a meeting in London or whatever, mostly I was here for my lot, right up until the youngest went off to university at the tender age of 16. And I have never regretted a moment of it. I'd have gone further and been paid better if I'd put career first but it just didn't work for me. Happy days (and time to make more chocolates maybe?).

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    1. Thanks Annie. You are right about the mixed feelings but as I said above, these feelings do include some really wonderful ones about being at home more. I have seen more of the children since we have lived in Spain because I worked full time before but it could be more and I do want that.
      16 is very young to go to Uni - a bright one, I guess! Romy's only 9 so I have a few years to think how to get the best out of our time together. Chocolate might be a pretty good 'glue'!
      Axxx

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    2. Yup, a bright one. Home ed from age 10 as too bright for school and with the OU from age 13. But this is the Farmer Boy, the one that took time out from study before finishing his degree and has somehow never gone back. We wanted him to wait until 18, take a gap year or two before going, but of course he knew better. Que sera sera, and he's happy :)

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    3. Gosh yes, a bright one. And maybe showing the greatest wisdom of all by doing something he wants to do right now. Good for him. And you. Axxx

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  9. I'm sure you will make the most of your "retirement" and I do hope you have a pension sorted. Our prime minister recently shocked me out of my complacency by stopping pensions for wives with too few national insurance contributions from 2016 - sadly Mr N isn't 65 until 2017, otherwise I'd be looking back at those happy hippy stay-at-home mum years with no regrets. Still, the up side is that nobody will ever be able to call me a pensioner!

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    1. Having always been the breadwinner, I took early retirement (HA!) when we left the UK, Nilly, and I am most grateful to have a pension from my work. This does mean that I worked all the time my children were very small; I wasn't earning enough to be 'keeping' us and I am sure I'll be able to find a few hours working in the mornings to cover most of the difference, but I could quite happily settle (late) into being a happy hippy mum for the foreseeable future!
      I hope no one ever calls me a pensioner either....I want to live a long time but I don't really want to be old.
      Axxx

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  10. Having spent the whole of my daughter's school years working full-time, I salute you. I wish I had been brave enough to drop the job. And if I had to choose between teaching and chocolate, I know which I'd go for.

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    1. Thank you, Annie, I think we are very lucky as a family to be planning to spend more time together - we do have quite a lot at the moment but it could be even better.
      Interestingly, when I told one of my teaching groups that I wouldn't be teaching them next term, one bright spark immediately said - 'Oh no, that means no more chocolate.' - I guess my chocolating skills may be more impressive than my teaching skills, at least to a 12 year old.
      Axxx

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  11. Annie, though of course you will miss your students and some aspects of your teaching, it's quite obvious from your post and your replies to comments that this is absolutely the right decision for you at this point. FR's changing work patterns and the difference between living in town and out in the country would have made life increasingly sticky and it's great that you've recognised this and done something about.

    Like others, I'm sure other opportunities will come your way and I love the idea of your being able to spend more time on chocolate-making. Yum! Congratulations on a brave and good decision and here's to your new future. :-)

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    1. Thank you, Perpetua, though at this very moment, I'm feeling a little low as I think I'm going to really miss the stimulation of having a new experience every day...I thrive on change and movement and it's going to take a lot to replace teaching for that! Chocolate making doesn't rate very high on excitement. I shall have to spend the summer thinking of some appropriate work that will keep me occupied and challenged. (At least that's the summer sorted!)
      Axxx

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  12. The work/life balance is always a tricky one even before you throw into the mix family commitments and making sure everyone is where they need to be, or collected, or looked after. When my daughter was five I made the decision to leave my career as an accountant as it as too demanding time wise and so hard on her, so something had to give - either i carried on working and my daughter would have been more or less raised by a nanny, or I quit. So I quit.And never regretted it as I was always there for her.
    I'm sure it will all work out, although you are bound to miss your students and the satisfaction of seeing that you have made a difference each day.But just think of the difference you will make to your family with the extra time you are there.
    Hope it all works out.
    Gill xx

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    1. Thank you Gill for your kind and wise words. I think we had decided that in coming to Spain, I would be able to make that commitment to the children in a way I hadn't before - I worked full time - but it was an opportunity to have some income that was rather hard to resist at a time when we were paying rent every month. It feels different - and much better - now.
      I'm just a bit of an extrovert who feeds on the energy of others - so I shall miss the buzz of my rowdy, funny, lively bunch of students on a weekly basis. But I shall look for something that interests me to do in the mornings, whilst the children are at school.
      Thanks again,
      Axxx

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