January 13, 2010

Written by Michael Matejka
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 09:48

A month ago, in the midst of another harrowing experience I'd rather not write about, I learned that the school I work for will close at the end of January.

Startled, to say the least.

At the time, I was actually praying--in my fashion--that my school would give me a few more classes a week. I earned enough to pay rent, buy groceries, and even go out for a beer occasionally, but I wanted more so I could travel about this fantastic new continent, go out to a restaurant every now & again, and eventually save enough so I could visit my friends & family back in the States. Instead of getting more lessons, I got laid off. Teachers aren't safe either in our current economic habitat--or, as my Czech students call it, The Crisis.

Disorient. I'd been in Prague long enough to know I truly love it. I'd been teaching long enough to know I could enjoy teaching for quite awhile longer. Just then, the floor vanished from under me. The moment of terror: long enough to love it, then it leaves.

But, like Hunter Thompson said, When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. So that's what I did. Here's how. Watch closely.

This is how magic works.

I am incredibly lucky. That's my first premise. Always have been, always will be. When the world disappears on you, you go back to your basic premises. Before I know anything else, I know that luck is with me; luck is a type of grace granted to those who believe they already have it. As far as I'm concerned, you can do this too. When people say they have bad luck, I cringe: that's the dark side of this magic.

So:

1. I'd lost my job.
2. I had basically zero savings.
3. I was living in a foreign country, which made facts 1 and 2 more troubling.

I wondered, How do I reconcile these facts with my basic premise? Where does my quintessential luck fit in this picture? I realized: something magnificent must be waiting for me, and it can't come until I get rid of my current job.

So be it. Amen.

Seek, and you shall find.

Several of my students, upon learning that my school was closing, said they wanted to continue with me privately. So, instead of my students paying the school and the school paying me, my students would pay me directly. Cut out the middle, man. Otherwise known as poaching, and it is contractually forbidden. But since my school is closing shop, they had no qualms & even encouraged students to continue with their teachers privately, if possible. I'd long known that the real money is in private teaching, but I didn't know how to find private students. I more than double my pay-rate by working privately. Well, when my school went belly-up, all of my students instantly became potential private clients--and they already knew what kind of teacher I am. No need for recommendations & references.

I don't claim to be a great teacher. I simply don't have enough experience for that. But my TEFL course was truly excellent, and though I haven't quite implemented everything I learned during that course yet, I know what a good lesson should look like. Just knowing where I should go in the future, I think, makes me better right now. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I care about my students--they know it. Put that all together and you got a teacher worth paying for.

I put out my feelers, readied myself for the opportunity, friends helped me out, luck shined her light upon me, and beginning next month I'll be making almost the same money as before for half the time worked. That's what private lessons can do for a teacher. Hopefully I'll continue to build my reputation & find even more private students.

I still need to work for a school--though my school closed, there are other schools in Prague that are hiring. I don't need a full-time job anymore, just enough hours to get me to the amount I'd wanted in the first place. Though I'm in a position where I could earn serious cash if I worked a full schedule, money has never been one of my obsessions. Instead, I'll work enough to make enough, and I'll devote more time to my novel.

Because this is all only a part of that larger dream.

 

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