Granby Alum Teaching English to College Students in Mongolia

MONGOLIA — Ryan Kertanis is taking on an entirely new world - literally.

The 2012 Granby Memorial High School graduate is currently in Mongolia, teaching English to college students through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. He is one of seven people currently assigned to that Asian country.

Following his first day of teaching last week, Kertanis wrote a lengthy blog post, which is published here:

Exhilaration, joy, anticipation, nervousness, trepidation , fear; these are the ingredients for the swirling cauldron of emotion that is the first day or school, stirred and carefully attended by students, parents, and of course teachers. As students and parents prepare for the first day so to do the teachers who are tasked with delivering the knowledge that is so highly prized by all.

The first day of school in Mongolia is a big event, the streets are packed with small children in perfectly appointed uniforms, parents in tow, adolescents heading off on their own for the first time, and teenagers doing everything they can to add some style and flair to that blue and white school getup.

As I walk to school on the first day I scarcely notice them at all, consumed by the reality of the situation at hand. I am about to begin my first day as an English teacher, for college students, in Mongolia, and to be honest I am quite nervous. The anticipation of stepping in front of that class for the first time is invigorating but also terrifying; three weeks of training was good, but this is the real deal.

As I walk into class the students stand and greet me, and I think to myself, “Well that’s nice, at least they recognize I’m the teacher, maybe if I act like I know what I’m doing they’ll believe me…”. I should mention two things: first, I am co-teaching this class so I am not completely alone, but when you get up there and look out at all those faces it sure does feel like it. Second, I have had three weeks of intense teacher training with an absolutely brilliant teacher, I have learned so so so much about teaching, different methods, lesson planning, assessment, linguistic features, pronunciation, setting goals, the whole nine yards.

The fact remains, however, that this is my first real class in front of my students and I really want to make a good impression. I start by teaching them the Hobart Alma Mater, well the chorus at least. It is pretty simple and uses colors and descriptive words and I just like singing it. The class is really loving it and then… picture time!!!!!! Yeah Mongolians love photos and so halfway through class we stop for a great photo session with apples and signs and the whole shebang.

Shortly after the photo session I am informed that I will be taking photos at the elementary school… yay picture day! Nothing like a reverse photo bomb to get the nerves out!

I’ve learned in my short time here that whatever you plan will more than likely not happen, which as it turns out is a great stress reliever. So as I am carted over to the secondary school I feel pretty calm, my first lesson went pretty well, I’m going to take photos, and oh yeah Ryan, you have to introduce yourself to around 300 kids and their parents….. wooohoooo.

As I walk onto the stage my friend and co-teacher Ganbaayar is speaking to the crowd, introducing the principals of the school, the president, and me! I have to say having this guy around has been a blessing and having him introduce me was a confidence booster, but I was still pretty nervous when he handed me the mic.

So there I was standing in front of all these eager kids and their parents, microphone in hand. “Hello everyone, my name is Ryan Kertanis, I am a Fulbright ETA from the United States, and I am so excited to work with you all this year…” and then I may or may not have said “Hello from America.” I kinda blacked out after I said my name. All I know is that people clapped and my coworkers said I did alright, so I definitely didn’t ruin U.S.-Mongolia relations, phew.

As I reflect back on my first day I’m struck by both the similarities and differences between the U.S. and Mongolia. On the one hand, both days are such a celebration of a new start and the pursuit of education: we put on our best clothes, have a good breakfast and head out the door just as Mongolians do. There’s a pomp and circumstance to the whole thing, and for good reason - education is of the utmost importance, in a developing nation like Mongolia, but also in the U.S. where recently we haven’t been doing too hot in global rankings.

The difference I think is the way that Mongolians cling to and cherish the education they can provide for the younger generations. In the U.S. many of us take education for granted, we see it as a constant in everyday life, even in the poorest parts of the nation. Mongolia is not too far removed from a time when education was few and far between, and although literacy rates are high, the depth of knowledge here was lacking in the past. Mongolians see the opportunity afforded to their children if they are well educated, and many parents sacrifice it all in order to get a child to university, or a good secondary school.

My point in this is not to say we as Americans should give up everything to give our kids the best education possible. In fact I think the point is we don’t have to give up much at all to get our kids a great education, so maybe we should support that a little more. We should cherish the resources that we have, the thousands of amazing teachers who labor so hard every day, and we should appreciate the opportunity afforded to us by the simple act of going to school in the United States.

I am increasingly aware that I would have never set foot in Mongolia if it had not been for the great public education I received. And so on that note, I conclude my first day of school with a sincere and honest thank you to all the teachers I’ve ever had, from a new teacher who will try his best to impart a fraction of the knowledge that was imparted to me.

Photos courtesy of Ryan Kertanis