ELT Global Issues – Barbi

ELT Report From Hungary

– Barbi Bujitas 

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 In my country, teachers’ lives are hugely determined by the socio-cultural environment that has an infusion of learned helplessness. Just as it is learned, it can be unlearned, I believe.  

There is this little friend of mine, my age minus 19 years, who likes to keep everything shipshape and tidy. The other night when we met, she parked her car in the car park’s second empty slot rather than in the first. I asked why she’d done that and her answer made me feel ashamed. She’s parked in the second spot because she saw a pole in the middle of the walkway in line with the first parking place. She wanted mothers with strollers to be able to pass by easily and didn’t want to narrow the way even further with her car. Why did this make me feel ashamed? I would never ever have thought about mothers with strollers. Why am I not as emphatic as she is? And how about the professionals who created that particular car park-walkway-electricity pole combination? What’s wrong with them?

Our culture, the one being reproduced by schools, is not one in which people can imagine being in someone else’s shoes. It’s not that we are bad people. It’s been passed down by the previous generations. What else? We don’t trust each other. We are suspicious, afraid of backbiting, and not so willing to help. We assume, rather than ask.  We overrate rank, and we break rules. Informal relationships are often more crucial than expertise. We are poor collaborators and notorious competitors. Praise and gratitude are scarce. When we face a positive attitude we suspect someone wants to sell us something. We still have the remnants of feudalism and the ruins of an absurd kind of socialism.

How about teachers? Can you imagine how it feels to work in this environment? It’s like running in water. Honestly, there are better ways. There is a peculiar vicious cycle that is still here, very similar to the cycle of failure described here by Chuck Sandy.  Our cycle of failure is much bigger:

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Lack of initiative For long decades people were trained to keep silent. Even I was taught to conform in order to avoid trouble. Of course there were times you could achieve a lot by fitting in the suppressive system, and though those times are gone, the patterns linger on. Teachers? They have to please students, bosses and parents. They are struck by financial turmoil, tired and overworked. No one seems to be willing to rescue them. In a culture of “no initiatives” it seems hopeless.

Little achievement No sense of achievement produces emptiness that is easily filled by pleasing others. Teachers? I’m a freelancer. I feel good about myself because I can afford to be innovative and some of my innovations work, but in a state school you are hardly welcome as an innovator.

Low self-esteem Achievement will boost your self-esteem, right? No or low self esteem will lead to frustration. Teachers? It’s a challenging job in a hostile environment with low pay.  If you are a teacher here, chances are you’ll burn out early.

Frustration and Judgment   How do we tackle this? A widespread way here is by downgrading others. If you feel you are a low achieving teacher you blame parents, students, and colleagues. If you feel you’re not good enough, you might say “but teacher X is even worse”. Then, you’ll be on alert to spot the X’s slightest mistake. Worse, you’ll assume others are scrutinizing and judging you in the very same way. Does peer observation work? No! Lesson observation here is a form of insult. You’ll stay away from peer observation and won’t think of implementing any kind of change, thus avoiding the possibility of being caught red handed by suspicious eyes!

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Why Am I Here?  So here I am living in an atmosphere of depression and a culture of complaining. Questionable values broadcast by manipulative mass media, poured on people deprived of critical thinking skills by long decades of similarly manipulative anti-democratic, soviet-style governments. Teeeerrrrrible! What am I doing here?

I was born here in a family where many of my ascendants we killed, tortured, and robbed of their freedom and belongings. My roots determined my direction, but I’m terribly lucky because of Web 2.0. Magically, it’s taught me some of those life skills that my family and local culture haven’t, and now changing this dark world into something brighter is the funnest challenge for me!

Flipping The World Remember my friend from that newer generation?  She is a child of this society, but she keeps in mind all the moms with the baby buggies all the time. She has the Internet. She is connected.  She speaks English. She will have enough power to get out of any kind of misery as she upgrades and upgrades and upgrades.  That connectedness will flip this world for the better.

 

 

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Learning to See – Ratnavathy


The Eyes of Your Mind  — Ratnavathy
Ragunathan

 

It’s a bright, shiny Monday morning, the last week of your teaching term. You’re standing in the middle of your classroom, amidst a group of learners deeply engaged in the task that you’ve set forth. And utter bliss slowly spreads over you. This, you feel, is the “best-practice” classroom for a teacher.

Now, let’s take a reality check. How many of us have truly felt this way each time around? More often than not, we’re faced with issues that can completely drain us mentally and emotionally. As much as we try to view them as opportunities for continuous learning, there are times that we completely succumb. We’re humans after all, aren’t we? Then, the question is, as teachers how are we going to adapt to meet the challenges that we face with our learners?

You see, the truth is, situations and individuals are often beyond our control. Nevertheless, there is one thing that’s within our reach. It’s how WE react to the challenges that we’re faced with. Can this really be done? But, of course! By using the power of learning how to see.

Turning the tables around – Contradicting your thoughts by your actions

In my journey of teaching and learning, I’ve met learners of diverse cultures, physicality and demeanor. I’d like to share this particular incident with you. It was a new term and I was waiting excitedly in my classroom, chatting with my learners and getting to know them. As I turned towards the window, I saw someone walking pass my class. Obviously, he was a new student. But what really shook me was the ghoulishly dark, sub-cultural fashion statement he was making. Pale features, very dark eye make up, spiked leather jacket and wristband, skull-faced necklace and the darkest lipstick I’ve seen on a man. And that cold, cold stare. I found myself praying under my breath “not here, not here…” And….you guessed right. The next thing I knew, he was knocking on the door and peering into my classroom with a registration slip. What did I do then? For some reason, my actions completely contradicted my thoughts. I gave him the brightest smile and warmest greeting, ushering him in like he was any other learner. Throughout the term, I treated him kindly, praising him when required, encouraging him to do better. And how did he respond? He never failed to greet me each morning with a smile, completed his homework on time, studied hard and was the most polite and participative learner of that term. That was one of my most memorable terms as a teacher. I learned a very meaningful lesson, that as a teacher I need to learn how to reconsider the dogmatism of my own beliefs by looking beyond what meets the eye. I told myself to never judge a learner by the way they portray themselves.

Seeing with the eye of your mind

I once had a learner with a terrible rebellious streak. Every past teacher warned me about him and wished me luck. And boy, was he one rebellious lad. He was always late to class, never did his homework, hated working in groups, and worst of all, he was extremely impolite The worst situation happened when I once told him “Please be quiet” to which he replied, “No, you shut up”. I was completely stumped for words. But one day it changed. And how so magical it was. I was in the midst of class when I got the news that one of my closest family members had passed away. I did the most unprofessional thing. I just stopped short and completely broke down. My learners were too surprised to react. The whole class just stared at me. The only person who jumped up and walked towards me was this boy. He held my hand and said, “Teacher Ratna, please don’t cry. Can I get you a cup of coffee? I know how it feels.” That came as a surprise to me.

A few days later he told me that he came from a war-torn country, which is constantly enduring political reform, his mother was gravely ill in the hospital and his brother was in the military service. From that incident, he toned down and turned over a new leaf. And he keeps in touch even to this day. These are what I consider “moments of awakening” for a teacher. It is sometimes a negative situation that opens our “inner” eyes. As teachers, we need to learn and train ourselves to use our inner eye to see things, or rather, see through things. And this can only be done with practice and by being open to growing alongside our students.

A wise master once said “We are three people in one; who others think we are; who we think we are; who we really are”. Perhaps, as teachers, we’d need to tap into the innermost self of the learner. But, for us to be able to do that, we first have to understand and accept who we really are! By learning how to see within us, we learn how to peer within our learners. And this is how can truly “learn how to see”.

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The iTDi Summer Sampler #3

Enjoy some summer reading with six more of our most popular posts from six of our most popular bloggers. Learn what Scott Thornbury thinks errors are and what we should do about them in the classroom, discover why Cecilia Lemos thinks lesson planning is a process, do some critical thinking with Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto, enjoy a trip into the world of stories with Chiyuki Yanase, find out what’s happening in Hungary with Barbi Bujitas, and center yourself in your mind’s eye with Ratnavathy Ragunathan.

We’ll be publishing Summer Samplers and other special features every other Weds. until the end of August. In September we’ll launch new issues on a range of topics, published twice a month on Wednesdays

Scott Thornbury
Scott Thornbury
Cecilia Lemos
Cecilia Lemos
Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto

Barbara Sakamoto

Chiyuki Yanase
Chiyuki Yanase
Barbi Bujitas
Barbi Bujitas
Ratnavathy Ragunathan
Ratnavathy Ragunathan

Connect with Scott, Cecilia, Barb, Chiyuki, Barbi, Ratna and other iTDi Associates, Mentors, and Faculty by joining iTDi Community. Sign Up For A Free iTDi Account to create your profile and get immediate access to our social forums and trial lessons from our English For Teachers and Teacher Development courses.

Like what we do? Become an iTDi Patron.
Your support makes a difference.