Needless to say, English – especially the English Language – has always been my strength…even as a youth in high school. When my secondary education started, my older brother, who was also an avid reader, would borrow novels from his friends/classmates and send them to me before returning them. Reading grew on me, and the development was evidenced by my mastery of the English Language and Spanish, and to a lesser extent, English Literature.

At this point, there has been no regression in any of the three mentioned above. As a matter of fact, my teaching and interactions where Literature is concerned have also vastly improved my handling of the subject. I struggled as a student with the figurative side of things, namely figurative (literary) devices. There were some things, in my opini0n, which were taken for granted; it was assumed that the student should automatically know. However, I have intentionally sought to clear up all mysteries in my students’ minds regarding this aspect of Literature, and I have felt the shift as the students have begun to appreciate the information.

Therefore, my focus now – while I am in teaching – is to upgrade all of my students, no matter where they (think they) are in terms of their ability to handle the subject.  I firmly believe that, not only should you know what to do, but you should also know why it is to be done; the “why” factor is too often missing from the training. It is also very satisfying that I have recognised that I am enjoying this phase…and it is always a good thing that you enjoy what you do.