Two of my students took me out for a lovely lunch. The food was absolutely delicious. I had the fish dish of the day which was grilled salmon and new potatoes. It was a perfect choice.
To the left is Elisabeth Svantesson, former Minister of Employment. Presently Deputy Leader of the Swedish Moderate Party, spokesperson for employment policies of the Moderate Party, Member of Parliament and Deputy Chair of the Committee on Employment. To the right is Lotta Finstorp, Moderate Member of Parliament specialising in social insurance and migration. She also works with health and welfare issues and transport and communications.
I work very hard and very long hours and sometimes I get tired, but my students energise me, inspire me and make me better at what I do. I care about each and every one of them and most of them remain very good friends even if we stop meeting professionally. Some of my students I have been teaching weekly since 1999!
These two ladies seem a really nice company. It’s a good thing that you are able to spend time with your students outside the teaching times. Creating social bonds is important and having good relationship with your students is essential. Teaching is not just transmitting knowledge, it is also creating a human relationship with the others (well at least that is how l see my job!).
I can’t believe that you have been teaching some of your students weekly since 1999!!! Wow this is impressive!
I guess their English must be perfect by now or they are very slow in mastering a foreign language.
I never keep my students more than two years (3 to 6 hours a week depending on their level and the Uni degrees they are taking) and l think that is a very long time. But 17 years is a record!!!!
In my case, because they are mostly politicians, they meet me weekly to discuss current affairs, trips, visits, any crises in the world and in Sweden, so that they can keep their vocabulary current and train in specific topics (if they are receiving delegations for example or may have to be interviewed by foreign media at very short notice). They often find they get rusty very quickly so this is just to keep their English in good shape from week to week. I love it!