French Class

In my French 101 class, I have learned that it takes a lot of work to be a teacher.  My professor is from France and is super young.  When I first realized her situation, I figured that teaching us French would be a piece of cake for her.  After all, who knows French better than a native speaker?  I'm not quite sure how it slipped my mind that her native French-ness might be more of a hindrance than a help.  At first, she had a rough time understanding our questions, and we had a rough time understanding her instructions.  Everything is much better now, and I think she is a great teacher, but it made me remember something my sister, Bailey, said a few years ago.  Bail wants to be a kindergarten teacher.  When she was talking about it, she said, "Plus, college shouldn't be that hard.  I mean, you just have to know the alphabet and stuff because that's all the kindergarteners know."  I then explained that teachers have to be able to teach effectively, not just know the material.  My French teacher knows the material better than anyone--she's been living it for years!  However, until she learned how to communicate and teach effectively, we weren't learning.  I think this is an important lesson for all future (and present) teachers.