Lesson #37: Be vulnerable and take risks
Don’t look over. Don’t look over. Don’t look over. During my last week in South Africa, I went with a group of students on the Garden Route. We were with each other 24/7: kayaking, hiking, and dancing. We were fearless. It made me realize that if they could do half the things we did on that trip, why do some students have a fear of making mistakes in the classroom? Harvard conducted a study that found the important time to develop a second language is before 18. Yet Language Institutions, like Education First, work with students between the ages of 18 to 80. Since this is a multi-billion-dollar industry, it is easy to see that they have the clientele who are willing to take the first step in putting themselves out of their comfort zone . In my experience, the best students and teachers are the ones who are vulnerable. I can do this. Companies such as Berlitz, Education First, and International House pay enormous amounts of money to ...
