Sometimes Teaching Takes a Backseat to Soccer

Tonight there is a big game between Ecuador and Venezuela, and as a result, my night class was all but canceled. It's kind of funny. Normally I teach from 6-8 p.m. and was already planning on letting the class out at 7, since it's pointless to expect anyone to stick around. The game is part of the qualifying matches to play in the World Cup.

It wouldn't be fair to expect students to stick around for a night class for a game that's as big as the Superbowl or World Series. It wouldn't be fair, but every game is like that. When I walked into the office today the secretary informed me that I was to let class out at 6:30 and then proceed to the nearest TV and watch the soccer game. I had no problem obeying.

It's just kind of tough to teach a class in 30 minutes. You don't really get through much at all, and as soon as you get rolling, it's time to go. So all told, it was kind of a wasted class altogether. And tomorrow we're watching a movie. So I hope that by the end of the week the students have actually learned something.

After giving the first tests of the semester, I had to offer some extra points so that the students that failed won't fail miserably. Just kind of scrape the top of failing. It's tough to expect much when you don't really know what the educational system is like, but I'd hope that the students would have done better. It's just going to take some more dedication and attention to the needs of the students to see what they really need time on.

So right now I'm at home watching the game with the family. Ecuador was up 1-0, but Venezuela just scored while I was typing this, so now it's getting exciting. The whole country is watching. This is the most important thing going on tonight. Back to the game.