By Ruben
I started teaching English at The Open Door when I Googled ways to volunteer in my
area. It’s been three years now!
I’m not a professional teacher by any means. So being responsible for what other
people are learning, it felt nerve-wracking [at first]. But once you’re there, you’ll see
that you don’t have to be an expert to do some good. The only requirement is to
want to be there.
The students ask meaningful questions, and some come up to you with personal things.
I have students tell me, ‘Hey, teacher, I’ve been at my job for five years, and I want to
ask for a raise. Do you think you can teach me how to do that?’ It’s an amazing
opportunity to teach them. I see the time I’m spending with this person is making a
tangible difference in their life, and you think, ‘Wow, I hope he gets his raise, and I’m glad I had a chance to help him do that. That he trusted me.’
Another student asked if I could give her citizenship classes during the summer. We did
it, and she took her exam, and now she’s a citizen! She called me and said, ‘Oh, look, I passed!’ And she invited me to a restaurant to celebrate. It’s little things like that where you see, ‘Wow, I’m doing something.’
The community is amazing. You know, you have your work life and your family, which can get chaotic at times, but then you come here, and it’s like “Cheers,” where everybody knows your name. I’ve seen people who volunteer, and they’re bankers, tech people, different things, but what unites us is teaching here. And we keep coming back because we know that it’s not a wasted effort.
I would totally recommend that anyone try volunteering at least once. You’ll learn things. You’ll teach things. But at the end of the day, you’ll feel so fulfilled that you did something that you are not getting paid for, but you know is rewarding beyond words.
Join Ruben in teaching ESL at The Open Door!
