A Teacher’s Advice

Credit: Olya D.

Have you ever experienced a teacher making you feel miserable 😭 because you’ve made a mistake?

Having worked as a teacher for 12 years in private and state schools, both online and in-person, I have noticed one common mistake in all schools. And it doesn’t matter where a school is, or what nationality the students are! 🤔

What is the wrong teaching method in all the schools that I have experienced? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I will tell you!

There are teachers who make you feel miserable if you make a mistake when learning Math, Russian, English or any other subject! The result? Students have a fear of making mistakes, not only in schools, but in their personal life as well. 🤷‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

I had such a teacher for my Russian language class 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ My toxic teacher told me I would never be good at Russian just because I made too many mistakes in my essays.

Credit: Olya D

But I also remember a teacher, who pushed us to study English when we were at a camp. We used to learn Shakespeare’s poems, as well as learn our own essays by heart. She never ever told us we couldn’t do it! We just had to, lol.  

Today I have foreign students from the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Australia. I teach up to 8 lessons a day, and I have nearly a hundred positive reviews. My Instagram blog has 15k followers. And this never would have happened to me if I believed in my Russian teacher’s negative opinion. 

I also have a website. I’m working on creating courses that will make the life of a Russian language learner much easier. Russian is one of the hardest languages to learn! It frustrates my students a lot, as well as the friends I teach. The misleading conception about learning in general is that making mistakes kills strengths, beliefs, and ability to go forward. 📚That is incorrect. I always tell my students they should be okay with how many mistakes they make when learning Russian, and then I reinforce that they are all winners in one way or another. 😧

If I could, I would give a little candy 🍭to a kid, or an adult for each little mistake they made, and I would tell them why this mistake was important, as well as why they should be proud!

Enclosed are my teaching tips which you can apply to your own life, or which you can apply as a role model:

👇👇👇

1. Think about what is the worst thing that can happen in making a mistake when trying to learn something new? Nothing! A mistake is just another mistake which leads you to your goal. 🎯

2. Think about how long you’ve been working towards your goal and think about what you’ve reached so far. Go back 6 months and remember what you were not able to do, then think about the experience you’ve gained.

3. Keep working and don’t listen to toxic and negative people who put you down. People put you down because they are couch potatoes who are afraid to try new things in their life. ❤️

4. Take some small steps every chance you can. Feel free to stop and start. You have your own way and time. Don’t watch others and compare yourself with them. You’re unique the way you are. 😊

6. Remember ‘nothing is eternal’ – ‘нет ничего вечного’. All good and bad will be gone one day. All troubles and worries as well. All your efforts today will give you some stamina and sense of personal development which will definitely improve you. 👍
7. And please don’t yell if a student makes a mistake. Don’t make them feel inferior. Our mistakes teach us, our mistakes develop us, our mistakes lead us to know right from wrong!

Written by: Olya D.

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