It's real

"Real," like "fix," is one of those words that I struggle to explain to my ELL students. Of course I can think of many examples and uses for the word "real."

Which is real? Which are fake? (Image courtesy of Dino de Luca / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

However, the reader/English major/discussion-lover wants so badly to leave the door open for critical thinking and reflection on the more metaphorical uses of that word and I find myself holding back the explanations that will just add too much confusion to the learning soup.  We'll have to revisit that after there is a little more language to use as footholds, I tell myself.

Well, it's real for me now.  All of this is real!  I will be an ESOL teacher here in my home county beginning September of this year and I could not be more thrilled!

Now starts the summer of prep.  I am a planner and it's probably going to take years for me to learn in my heart the lesson I already know (thank you to the many wise teachers who have shared it) in my head: I'm not going to know exactly what to do in every single situation and I cannot always prepare for it.  I'm going to do my best to prepare as much as possible in advance, pretending I don't know that fact... because you would not believe how excited I am by this job/profession/life I am going to lead!