When I was a young English teacher in Japan, all wet behind the ears, the greatest challenge of all was teaching kids.

I dreaded those kids’ lessons.

Like most people that come over to teach, I had no experience.  I had never taught English or anything else my whole life.  I got used to teaching adults pretty quickly.  It was fun and interesting.  I had finally found a job that I enjoyed going to.

But, the kids were another story.

The reason why teaching kids was so stressful was that I had never been around kids.  Of course I liked kids, but I didn’t know what to do with a group of 6 or 8, and the training they gave me at this company was worthless.

But, over time, teaching kids has become the most rewarding part of my job.  Now that I know how to teach kids and do kids lessons, they are the best.

I know some teachers in Japan who refuse to teach kids;  they can’t handle it.  It takes lots of energy.  After an afternoon of teaching kids, I’m exhausted.  But it’s a good exhausted feeling.

Another reason lots of teachers don’t like dealing with kids is that it’s difficult at first.  You have to have a lot of terrible lessons where you aren’t quite sure what you’re doing and the kids are running all over you, before you start to figure out what works and doesn’t work.  Some people don’t have the patience for that.

But teaching kids is the best.  I love kids, and when I teach them, I can become a kid.  Kids are naturally curious, so if you can just get them interested in English, they’ll beg for more.  They’ll be practically crying when the lesson’s over!

From the teaching point of view, teaching kids is rewarding because you can actually see them progress.  Month after month, you can review and see all the new things they’ve learned.

In a way, it’s easier to teach kids than adults.  No kid’s ever going to ask you, “What’s the difference between I will and I am going to?”  The actual vocab and grammar you teach them is simple and easy.  You might find that boring, but to me it means I don’t have to worry about all the tough stuff.

Still, classroom management is an issue.  You have to be very patient, and you have to love and care about your kids.  Some kids will always act up, and you just have to give them a little extra help.  It is difficult at first, but when you figure out how to do it, it is a great experience.

I know some teachers who refuse to teach adults, too!