There is no greater gift for a teacher than her students’ love! You can see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice, and feel it in their own special way of expressing themselves. You imagine this can be obvious when you are in a class or you sit next to your students. And sometimes it is. Other times it takes a little more effort or time to get there, but when you do, the joy is indescribable. But what happens when your students are thousands of miles away. What happens when they are at the other side of the world?
Being an online Greek teacher can be a challenge. You don’t always know from the start if they like you, if they like Greek, if they are comfortable or have a good time. Eventually you witness signs of intimacy & happiness. In a different way from each one of them because the general rule of children’s education applies here too: everyone learns, talks expresses themselves in a different way…. And then the best part starts: your student starts smiling, talking more and more, wondering about things they don’t know, asking questions…You are building a strong relationship and you realize that there are more ways to bond with your students than you could imagine even though there is a long distance between you.
Then you receive the first Christmas card or a little present or just a letter and you are so moved. You feel so proud and excited just in the thought of this. Guess what? You feel even more proud when you see they have written to you in Greek- it is like they speak to your heart! Of course you write back with such an enthusiasm and you wait for their response and reaction! You do not need much more when you can make them smile; and just like that, it becomes a tradition!
Exchanging cards and gifts is a way of starting a more personal and deeper connection. You see your students’ faces smiling in their family cards and you feel so happy for them & thrilled that they wanted to share it with you! You have actually a corner in your house with your students’ cards & gifts and you smile every time you look at them. You cannot find words to express your feelings because you actually feel like you belong in their family too. And your students are family for you too so you act likewise. This is best relationship you can ever achieve. Before you know it, they are coming to Greece so you start planning your face to face meeting and when you finally meet them; it is literally like you had met a hundred times before!! Because you had. There might be a screen between you, there might be a thousand miles but a teacher’s bond with a student transcends all that. Thank you to all our students for always finding the best ways to show us their love and appreciation. The feelings are mutual.
