"The Unplanned Class" By Jaison Jimenez (Teacher Lore)

            The unplanned class

                                                   By Jaison Jimenez

Here I am, on the last day of the 2nd level in the English Immersion Program. I can’t believe it’s over, considering they’ve only been my students for 2 months. It’s 8 o'clock on a Friday morning and I stare at them, browsing and browsing in my mind for ways we could make the last of this class a relaxing experience after a lot of hard work.  I honestly hadn’t planned the class for that day, so I grabbed my marker and drew a line in the middle of the board. Then, I divided the class into two teams and all of a sudden, we could find ourselves playing our so well-played vocabulary game “Ladders”. One student would write a word on their side of the board and another student, standing right next, would write another word beginning with the last letter of the word the other student wrote, then they would repeat the process until one of them repeats or misspells a word.

           We were having a lot of fun. I could admire the great view of my students playing and sweating to the rhythm of that spontaneous, competitive, but also healthy vibe we had created.

I was having just as much fun as my students by just looking at their faces. I could sum up what I perceived with the “final exam over + next level = Bliss” equation. What happens when everything you’re seeing and thinking about at this moment leads you to a second level of reflection? That’s exactly what happened to me. While my students were waiting for me to decide whether Carlos had spelled the word correctly, I was going deeper and deeper down the road of teaching and learning. I remember the words of my teachers at college who always talked about the importance of being aware of the so-called “Hidden Curriculum”. I told myself: Jaison, English is an escape for them!

The classroom was filled with voices that had been full of hopelessness at the beginning of the level, but now they were marked with satisfaction and fulfillment which could be noticed behind their Hoorays!!!!!

I stood right in front of my students and began saying my words. Words that could serve as postage stamps for a see- you-later letter. I remarked how surprised I was by their performance and growth throughout this level. I was startled by the fact that they could manage to pass and learn despite the hardship they were carrying on their shoulders.

I opened my heart at that moment and let them know how valuable they were to me. I started giving advice to each one of those 27 souls. 27 runners who struggled so much to get where they were at the moment. It was almost time to leave and teardrops started falling from our eyes. We could fill up a well with those tears, then I tried to get my voice back to give them a blissful thank you message.  I thanked them for helping me be better at teaching, for making me a better human being.

I never thought so much could take place after a class that I hadn't taken the time to plan. It was a moving experience for my students. No, no, no, no, no, wait a second, it was a moving experience for my students and for me because English is an escape for all of us.