AI generated transcript:
Probably a crazy idea to record this in the middle of a bike ride.
Just taking a break just before it gets dark.
Maybe just enough light to see me.
I wanted to make a quick video about something that happened to me this week.
I had to say no to a new student.
Two new students actually.
Sometimes you have to.
In the earlier part of my career I would have said yes.
TEFL Talks
You can get a little bit bent out of shape.
I thought about it because, OK, the deal is a lady sent me a message on Facebook saying, oh, I really want you to teach my kids or can you teach my kids?
And she's a native English speaker and the kids are native English speakers.
The boy is nine years old and the girl was 12.
But the boy is having trouble reading, apparently.
So I want to help with phonics.
But it's not in other ways.
It's completely a native speaker It's a problem for me because all of my children's classes are Group lessons, and I don't have any sort of returning classes or very high level classes.
It just doesn't come across That doesn't happen very often in my career.
I've taught Native level kids a few times and it's always been entertaining and I enjoy the lessons because you can speak at a much higher level than usual and
The problem is it's hard to fit them into a regular class with non-native speakers because there's just so much at such a higher level they're at.
Even if this kid doesn't read very well, he's still got so much more knowledge behind it.
In a class it would be boring for him.
and so I'm reluctant to do that.
Also, the lady wanted both of them to be taught together.
That's always a problem I've found in my, when I've been teaching it.
If there's a vast difference in age, it doesn't work because you're having to entertain the younger one and stimulate the older one and it doesn't, it's better to do two separate lessons, frankly.
and I just don't have the time for that unless it ate into my weekends which would mean no evening bike rides like this yes I am working now doing this recording but you know this is a five minute job so I had to send a nice little polite thank you but no thank you email I hate doing it I want to help people and those are exactly the kinds of people that I can help you could argue I was put on this earth to help people like that but I just
If I help them it means I'm not helping myself to recover over the weekends and get back at it teaching everybody else.
So reluctantly I've had to say no.
And the point is sometimes you will have to reluctantly say no as your career develops.
At first, as I say, if you're short of students say yes to everything and see what happens and it's a good learning experience for you.
But, you know, as you get older and
Longer in the tooth and have more students.
It's just hard to fit them into your schedule.
And it just wasn't possible in this case without making great sacrifices, which I'm not really prepared to take at this stage of my career, as I say, if I were younger.
So what would you do in this situation?
I mean, I actually I looked around and got my wife to look around to see if there are other people who could take these kids.
And as it happens, the people that we would normally recommend
Their rosters were full, they couldn't take the kids for various reasons.
Nothing to do with the kids, just that their situation was much like mine, they're just too busy.
So, it was unfortunate.
But if something like this happens and you can't teach somebody, then the thing to do is to recommend somebody.
Because then, at least, you might get something good in the future.
We'll come back to you.
These people might recommend to you somebody that they couldn't teach that you could.
You know, I want to help these people out, but in the end it just wasn't possible.
These things happen sometimes, you know, just say sorry and move on and do the best you can for other people.
Okay.
Right.
I was hoping to get the sun set, but I left a little bit late.
The sun usually sets over there, but it's already set.
I'm going to have my American coffee.
American Coffee instead of Royal Milk Tea.
Have a good Friday and I'll talk to you next
47. Sometimes you have to say ‘no’