A Classic TeachSurfing Exchange

Alejandro, a web developer and former teacher from Barcelona, moved out of formal education a few years back, after becoming disillusioned with traditional learning spaces during his time teaching foreign languages in British schools. One day he decided to enrol on a coding programme running from Berlin, so he packed his bags, made the move and never looked back. But Alejandro will always be a teacher at heart - and lucky for him, he found TeachSurfing, which has allowed him to continue to impart knowledge to, and exchange ideas with, others who are invested in learning for life. After teaching a four-part Introduction to Coding course, Alejandro made the switch from TeachSurfer to participant, attending TeachSurfing legend Khaled Khudr’s recent workshop. We caught up with Alejandro to talk about his experience with TeachSurfing so far:

Tyler @ TeachSurfing (T@TS): Let’s start off by having you introduce yourself: where are you from? What’s your professional background?

Alejandro Martinez (AM): I’m from Barcelona, Spain, and I’ve been in Berlin now for a year and a half. Before working as a developer, I was a foreign language teacher in a secondary school in London. I knew what things could work and what things don’t work, but that didn’t seem to be very relevant in the UK curriculum, so I decided it just wasn’t for me. I always liked doing HTML, so I decided to do a course. After doing some projects here and there on my own, I landed an internship in Zalando. And that’s where I am at the moment, working as a Junior Developer.

T@TS: So then what was your motivation for joining TeachSurfing?

AM: A colleague [Marta Farre], introduced me to TeachSurfing. She suggested that we do it together, and I said, yeah, that sounds really nice, because I have experience teaching, so this is something completely different but I think I can still apply some of the stuff that I know about teaching. I am really, really eager to help people who really needed to have the same opportunities that we both had, because we both started in Zalando as interns, and we followed the same path. I thought I could bring some experience, and I really like the fact that I have the opportunity to help other people to get where I am now. I feel like if I was this lucky, if I had this opportunity, I have to help others get to the same point. It’s about karma! You receive and you give.

T@TS: Yes! So what kind of impact do you think your course had on participants?

AM: I think those approaching coding for the first time got a good insight into this field, helping them to discover whether this is something they like or not. Those who already had some knowledge of web development got good exposure to the core aspects of javascript development, which are essential to any Frontend Developer or Backend Developer on the JS stack. Those coming from other programming languages were able to quickly establish analogies to what they already knew, and expand their knowledge on javascript quickly.

T@TS: What was the best moment you can remember from teaching the course?

AM: For me, the best moments were those in which I could feel the engagement of students, their contributions and even their will to make the course better. Best moments also include helping out around the tables, when I could feel that students were fully understanding what I was explaining to them, and were empowered to take action on their own. Also, all those signs of gratitude expressed in many ways by the students.

T@TS: In the spirit of sharing knowledge, if you had to give one tip to a new TeachSurfer from your experience, what would it be?

AM: The first thing that comes to my mind is: relax and enjoy! In the beginning, my co-TeachSurfer and I were both very nervous preparing all the resources and everything, even though I already had experience as a teacher. But the most important thing is that, when you’re there with your students, there are so many things that come naturally, just because you are enjoying the context. And yes, you need to prepare a lot. You really need to have a number of ways that you’re going to explain things and programs so that everything makes sense together. But don’t over-obsess with that, because I think it’s about enjoying teaching others what you know, and also getting feedback from them.

T@TS: And what made you decide to switch roles from teacher to student - or TeachSurfer to participant - and register for Khaled’s Arabic Language and Culture workshop?

AM: Well, one of the reasons was that Khaled was in my workshops! So I thought it would be very interesting to see someone who you see as a student deliver something to you. Another thing is that I was very interested in what he had to say about Syria, and about what is really going on there, how everything started. We get so much information from so many mediums, and probably people have never been more confused about what’s really going on in the world as we are nowadays. So I really wanted to hear that from someone who’s from there and who has gone through that experience. The whole story about his journey to Berlin was amazing. You hear a lot about refugees everywhere: sometimes good things, sometimes really bad things; but if you really want to know what they have gone through and who they really are, then you really need to meet one and hear their story.

T@TS: On that note, was the most inspiring thing you can remember from Khaled’s presentation?

AM: For me it was really inspiring to know that when someone is pushed to those limits, you can take strength from parts of you that you never knew you had.

T@TS: What did you learn from Khaled’s teaching style that you would like to employ in your next set of workshops?

AM: It was very interactive: we had a lot of images about aspects of culture, food, places, ways of life in his country - how everything used to be before the war. Also, amazing short videos that summarized in a very easy-to-understand way the whole conflict that is going on in Syria. I have to say that the presentation was excellent, especially the whole itinerary of the trip. It was really easy to be grabbed and just be there, exactly at the moment and the place that he was talking about.

T@TS: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience with TeachSurfing?

AM: The feeling after every workshop was very energised and positive. I really enjoyed it! You get so many people telling you thank you and giving you positive feedback - or feedback that, if it wasn’t positive, actually helped you make your workshops better. So it was a great experience!