Teaching is not just about sharing knowledge. Sara Khanzadi – ESL teacher at Framingham State University and high-school teacher – is a true example of that. Sara started her career as an English teacher during her second year of master’s degree at the Minnesota English Language Program (ELP) in 2010. However, before English, she had taught fitness classes. “That was a different kind of teaching. There your body language is very important. In fact, once, one of my students told me that I could teach anyone without using a word.” This is really interesting coming from the mouth of an English teacher as a second language. How to teach a language without using a word? Sure, she was talking about fitness classes. They are different from English classes; however, Sara has a special recipe for her teaching that makes it really special and unique.
The most important element of her teaching is humor. “I love to make people happy and laugh. It helps them foster a better understanding. When students are happy, they work together better.” The second ingredient is making sure to hear the students. “Let them understand that they are important and that their voice is unique and worthy to listen to.” Another important tool is technology. “I love to use plenty of tools that can make classes more fun.” And finally, “It is important to have a lot of grasp of knowledge to share, but I never lie to my students. If there is something that I don’t know, I say I don’t know!”
Teaching for Sara is not just about sharing her knowledge with her students. It is a matter of relationships more than merely content. She realized that when she saw one of her students from Saudi Arabia putting on her backpack the same sticker as Sara. It was a sticker of the Pride Movement in support of the LGBTQ community. Sara was astonished. She would never imagine a student from Saudi Arabia with that sticker. So, with great curiosity, she talked to her student asking why she used that sticker. The student replied that she loved Sara as a person, and she would love to have the same sticker on her backpack. Well, Sara explained to her student the meaning of the sticker, and the student became very embarrassed. Days later, Sara had a conversation with the student about this topic, and weeks later she came to Sara with a research paper about the LGBTQ community in Saudi Arabia. “So, just from one sticker, we had a great discussion about an important topic, and then she made a wonderful paper on it. I realized how someone can influence people’s lives just with simple things like a sticker.”
The pandemic challenged the world of education. However, for Sara, it was not so difficult to adapt to these new circumstances. She used to involve technology in her teaching also before the pandemic. On the other hand, she misses so much the relationship with her students. “I just want to go back to have in-person classes. I miss human interaction, I miss dancing in class, and I miss enjoying students’ group-working. It’s a different experience on Zoom. It will never be the same!”
In these ten years of teaching, Sara met a lot of international students from all over the world. Her job has put her in contact with many different cultural backgrounds, languages, and experiences of life. She gives this advice to a new student who is going to come to the US: “Have an open mind and an open heart. In the beginning, you can be very excited about this new experience. However, I saw many students becoming homesick or depressed after a little while. Be ready for that! If you are open-minded you will be open to meeting new people and speaking about your troubles with friends. Be ready to take risks and be ready to fall but bounce back on your feet again. Never give up! Because if someone has done something, you can do it as well.”
Sara shows up a great passion for teaching. She lives her job not just as a mere job but more as a vocation. Something that comes from inside and it becomes contagious for others who have the luck to meet her.
“As a teacher, I think I have a huge responsibility. My role goes beyond teaching just English. Teaching is about how to make this world a better place.”
Sara Khanzadi – ESL Teacher