In my opinion the very heart of this week’s reading assignments is a fascinating quotation.
Peregoy&Boyle (2005) in recalling his younger years, novelist John Steinbeck (1958) spoke of just such a teacher.
"In her classroom our speculations ranged the world. She breathed curiously into us so that each day we came with new questions, new ideas, cupped and shielded in our hands like captured fireflies. When she left us, we were sad; but the light did not go out. She had written her indelible signature on our minds. I have had lots of teachers who taught me soon forgotten things; but only a few who created me in a new energy, a new direction. I suppose I am the unwritten manuscript of such a person. What deathless power in the hands of such a teacher.
May you be such a teacher!!”(p.30)
It is not sure what kind of ESL teachers we are going to be but at least we know very well what kind of teacher we should be!
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2 comments:
I love John Steinbeck's quotation too - something to aspire to.
That quote is one of the most inspiring things I've read for any class. That is the kind of teacher I have always wanted to be. I'm not that person yet, I don't think, but I'm on my way.
I work with high school students interested in being in plays. I teach them the processes I learned, the ideals I have and the values I believe. I never tell them they must think as I do, I ask them what they like or dislike. When we view the same performance we discuss the things we like and dislike.
One day I had a student come to me and tell me about a play they had gone to over the weekend. They told me they enjoyed it, BUT there were things that would have made them enjoy it more. I had influence their thinking. They viewed the play in a way that they actively participated. I hadn't thought of that moment in a long time, but that quote makes me hope I can reach students in this way beyond theater.
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