As I walked into the SMC school the first time in July, with my lesson plan in my hand, which was 4 th -grade Math, I was so sure I had everything. I am an IB student; I have to work with complex HL Math and Economics on a daily basis. What could be so difficult about basic fractions?

Turns out, very hard. Not because it is a hard subject, but because teaching is a performance art, and my audience included 40 active children who were not impressed by my syllabus.

The Reality Check (LO2: Challenge and Skills) is a Massive reality check in the first few sessions. I soon understood that the lecture-style, to which we are accustomed in our IB classrooms, does not apply in this case. There is increased noise and congestion in the classrooms.

I recall a particular Tuesday. I was attempting to teach them English grammar, and I was losing them. Blank stares. Fidgeting. I had to pivot–fast. I put the textbook aside and made it a game to which they were required to act out the verbs.

Skill Acquired: Flexibility. I also got to know that communication is not only about what I say but also about reading the room. When I can convey a concept to a student who speaks an alternate dialect and has an entirely different background than I do, that is the real communication skills at work, better than any oral presentation that I have ever done in the classroom.

My objective in the proposal was the reduce inequality (LO6: Global Significance). That’s a big, scary SDG term. However, in the classroom, inequality manifests itself in the form of a clever child who does not have a pencil or a brilliant child who cannot learn because he or she does not have a supportive family.

I have a student, I would like to refer to as “R”, who was horrified by multiplication. We only had three weeks on the 6, 7 and 8 times table. The week before, when I handed him a practice sheet, he did not simply solve it, but came running to demonstrate to me, jumping up and down. And the fact that I could see that spark in his eyes not only made me feel good, but it also made me understand that there was a huge divide between them and me, both in education. It is not an intellectual disparity; it is a disparity of resources. Closing the gap, even on behalf of R and his tables of multiplication, seems to me the most significant job I have ever done.

Why 18 Months Matters (LO4: Perseverance) I admit it, there are Fridays when I am too exhausted. I am left with my personal IAs to complete, I am overwhelmed with my Econ HL homework, and the idea of walking out to the school is a pain. Calling in sick would be easy.

However, this is where the CAS part of commitment comes in. My IB deadlines are of no concern to the kids. They simply know that I had promised to meet them on Friday at 3 PM. Appearing when you are not in the mood- that is what this project is training me to do. You can never be a mentor only when it suits you.

Learner Profile Check-in:

Honest: I promise the school, and I will not break it, even when I am on my exams.

Caring: moving away from teaching content to mentoring the child.