Ingrid Rodrick Beiler works with student Omar Hamideh during an English class at Bethlehem Bible College.
Name: Ingrid Rodrick Beiler
Hometown: Washington, D.C. (Peace Fellowship Church)
Assignment: Teaching English at Bethlehem Bible College and co-ordinating the college’s English program. I also help out with administrative tasks in MCC’s Palestine and Israel office in Jerusalem one day a week.
Typical day: Involves some time at my desk and some in the classroom. I teach a college English class and an adult English class. Between classes, I plan my lessons and attend to program planning for the college’s English program, which includes designing curriculum, ordering materials, recruiting teachers or creating tests.
“I have had so many wonderful students.”
Joys: Interacting with colleagues at the college over morning tea, lunch and meetings. Students sometimes invite my family and me over for dinner, giving us the opportunity to see different neighbourhoods and villages around Bethlehem. These students are men and women, Muslims and Christians, young and older, and rural and urban, and I appreciate this entree into some of the diversity of our local community.
I enjoy getting to apply my training in teaching English as a second language. I had previously only taught in the U.S., and it has been a good growing experience to teach in a different country.
Challenge: Making the most out of limited resources, in time and money. This is a challenge for students too, who are usually juggling work and family in addition to classes.