I’m still not sure what I’m going to do for a job while on the island.  A couple of possibilities are floating around out there, one of them is teaching school at The Caribbean International Academy, a private k-12 school where we hope to send Andi and Tanner.  I’ve been emailing them about possible teaching positions and trying to envision myself leading a computer class, maybe 8th or 9th grade math, maybe History…

You get the idea.

Then two days ago I received this email:

Hi Casey,

How are you? After looking over your resume with Jake we noticed you are fluent in French. How would you feel about possibly teaching grades 1-6 French? Think about it and then if you are interested we can speak over the phone.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Michelle Minthorn
Head of Primary Junior
CIA

This was my reply:

Hi Michelle,

Great to hear from you!  Thanks for the email.

French?  To grade school kids?  I must say, that’s not what I had envisioned but I’m willing to keep an open mind. I do speak fluent French but I’m not on the same skill levels as a native, and I would have thought that being a Canadian school on an island that’s half French you could have your pick!  It’s also been 20 years since I’ve spoken it at any length longer than brief conversations with other tourists at Disney World.  I’ve found that I can still understand everything they say, but my speaking is a little slower than it used to be.  I learned while speaking with natives, I’ve been told I have “street French” and not “classroom French”, and that my accent is far better than most Americans but still American. I assume there would be a proficiency test?

I have so many questions I don’t know where to start.  Curriculum?  Do you have something set for each grade, or am I on my own?  What skill level are your students at?  Most of my experience with youth in a teaching setting has been with junior high and high school aged kids.  Working with grade school children could be adventurous!  How is the French class structured?  Would I see each grade for one period (~50 minutes) a day?

Thanks again Michelle. This is an exciting possibility!  Please do call me when you are able.

Casey Crookston