Am I Doing the Right Thing?

After 3 years of resisting all attempts to get me to teach English in local schools, I succumbed to the pressure at the end of last week and went to discuss it with a teacher & Director. I told them of my reservations about teaching – no teaching experience, no desire whatsoever to be a schoolteacher, very little confidence in my ability to teach in a school and my insistence that I would not give more than 2 days a week – but they said to give it a try. I think they’re quite desperate since their previous teacher has taken a job at another school just before start of term. I signed the application papers, gave a copy of my Passport & Bachelor’s Degree certificate and went on my way, still not convinced that I was doing the sensible thing from my perspective.

I’d be quite happy to teach very small groups of kids or, even better, adults and would probably be quite good at it – it’s the thought of the large classes that isn’t to my liking. I’ve been asked to help a local police officer with his English and that is quite appealing although the legality might be a bit “iffy” at this point.

I woke up this morning, Sunday, in a foul mood and the only reason I can think of is that I’m due to start teaching tomorrow. I don’t want to do it!! If I was keen, I’d be excited at this point, not grumpy.

In life, very little truly worries or fazes me but public performance is about the only situation that’s guaranteed to have me quaking in my boots. I see teaching as a public performance - I’ve been on the receiving end of teachers/university lecturers enough to know that a teacher whose heart isn’t really “in it” is pretty useless.

My grammar is quite good; despite having no training in the teaching of English grammar, I was well-taught at school & my diction is good when I want it to be, if a bit on the quiet side.

A strange thing is that a friend of mine, a Scotsman, is not qualified to teach in any respect other than being a native speaker. By his own acknowledgement, my English is far better than his. He’s also just been asked to teach and has jumped at the chance. For that simple reason, I think he’ll be a far better school teacher than I could ever be.

I’d rather bail-out now and let them find someone who wants to teach. The alternative is to give it a try but I’m 99% sure I’d quit before too long. Leaving at that point would, IMO, be far worse for the school.

Am I doing the right thing, in your opinion? I don’t think your replies will change anything but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, nonetheless.