Why I Love Thrift Stores and Teaching

This blog is a combination of two of my favorite things: thrift stores and teaching.  Why combine these two things?  Because I love them both!  Here is a little background about with I love thrift stores and teaching so much:

I first began thrifting as a child with my sister, and as I grew older my love of thrifting grew as well. There are so many reasons why I love thrift stores.  First, and most obviously, thrift stores are cheap.  I have bought like new clothing (and sometimes new clothing) from thrift stores for much less than they would cost in retail stores.  Second, thrift stores encourage the reuse and repurposing of items that might otherwise be thrown away.  I cannot put into words how much I dislike our current throw-away culture, in which items are either constructed to break or meant to be replaced by a newer, "better" version of the item.  By shopping at thrift stores, I hope to distance myself from this current throw-away mentality.  Lastly, and most importantly, items from thrift stores have history.  One of my favorite paintings in my home is a ridiculous, hand-painted portrait of a poodle with a bow in its hair (see picture below).  Although I love the sheer ridiculousness of this painting, I also love knowing that someone loved their dog enough to commission (or perhaps paint themselves?) a portrait of it.  This painting, unlike those from a retail store, has history- that is why I love it so much.

The Infamous Poodle Painting

 

 

 

Although I haven't been teaching for very long, I love it as much as I love thrifting.  Truthfully, I didn't choose to be a teacher as much as I fell into it.  In college, I majored in French and hoped to one day live and work in France.  As a senior in college, I applied and was accepted into the English Assistant program in France.  Surprisingly, I fell in love with teaching English to EFL students more than I fell in love with living in France.  That isn't to say I won't ever live in France again, you never know what the future has in store ;)  As for why I love teaching, there are many, many reasons.  I love teaching ESL/EFL because I love languages, and I hope to impart this love of language to my students.  I also love the cultural exchange that takes place in the ESL/EFL classroom, where the teacher and students alike share information about their cultures and backgrounds. Lastly, I care about my students and I hope to provide them with the foundation in English that allows them to succeed in the future. 

So, join me in my future posts as I share some of the things I've thrifted or seen in a thrift shop and how these items could be used in an ESL or EFL classroom!