Received: from mtiwmhc12.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc12.worldnet.att.net [204.127.131.116]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id h22H5RP17397 for <nifl-esl@nifl.gov>; Sun, 2 Mar 2003 12:05:27 -0500 (EST) Received: from hppav (217.dallas-10rh16rt-tx.dial-access.att.net[12.86.219.217]) by mtiwmhc12.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc12) with SMTP id <2003030217052011200sa4lde>; Sun, 2 Mar 2003 17:05:20 +0000 Message-ID: <003601c2e0dd$1fd5e160$d9db560c@hppav> From: "Carol Speigl" <cleespeig@worldnet.att.net> To: <nifl-esl@nifl.gov> References: <4B73F518F0F98A4EA67DDAA3DB84941A2B0F1E@SCCDMAIL.SCCD.CTC.EDU> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8693] Re: RE: War as a cross-cultural issue Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 10:59:43 -0600 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 Status: O Content-Length: 3947 Lines: 92 Allan, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I see my job as teaching my students to read, write, speak, and comprehend English. I try to do so by introducing life skills as well as critical thinking skills. I will introduce a topic (prior to introducing the topic we agree to disagree with respect for each individual's opinion) I never give my opinion until the end and then only if asked. I make it clear however, that my opinion is just "my opinion" and does not mean that the students should adopt it. Just because our students have not mastered English does not mean that they can't make their own decisions. My job is to help them express their own opinions based on an exchange of information among the members of the class. Carol Speigl ----- Original Message ----- From: "French, Allan" <afrench@sccd.ctc.edu> To: "Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-esl@literacy.n Sent: Monday, February 24, 2003 4:57 PM Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8593] RE: War as a cross-cultural issue > While I have strong opinions on many national issures, I don't feel comfortable being an advocate for one stand or another in the classroom. As educators in (or from) a democratic system, I feel that we have the professional obligation to inform our students of (or show them how to find out about):(1) the basic facts of the case, (2) what the American president does as well as his reasons for doing so, also (3)to inform our students of the criticisms of the president's policies, then (4) let the students discuss and decide for themselves, and to possibly reflect on their own nations' past policies. As an ESL instructor, my priority is always to take advantage of the content to lead them to improved English literacy and communication. This latter is more important to me than the content itself. How well they learn and discuss is more important than whether they end up agreeing with me or not. If they initiate the inquiry, then I try to draw their own perceptions and und! > erstanding out as clearly as their level of English can make it. If anything, I play devil's advocate against any side, just to get them to better describe or explain their own understanding and positions. > > Allan French > ESL Instructor > South Seattle Community College > afrench@sccd.ctc.edu > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Charles Jannuzi [mailto:jannuzi@edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp] > Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 12:17 AM > To: Multiple recipients of list > Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8579] War as a cross-cultural issue > > > Well here I am, an American in Fukui, Japan, and I have EFL students asking > me, Why does the US attack everyone all the time? Why has war become almost > an annual event? > > What do I say? My country right or wrong? That American's unsurpassed power > somehow gives it the moral right to decide who lives and who dies? > > Do I get indignant and tell my students they are talking 'crap'? My students > right here in Fukui City can go ask their grandparents if they want to hear > real memories of what war actually means. The entire city was incinerated, > and the forested hill in the center became one giant charnel. > > I walk there every week among the trees and look at the thousands upon > thousands of gravestones that show life after life barely lived and then > snuffed out. > > Indignation is cheap. I don't think of their questions as attacks. I tell > them what my views are, and they actually appear thankful that not all > Americans think like the current administration does. > > I suggest some Americans I know review what freedom of speech means. They > might start with the recent articles of John Pilger, an Australian. Written > in a plain English that most federal emergency management bureaucrats can't > touch. You might also ask why is it that such blunt journalism makes up less > than 1% of what is published and almost none of it in the mainstream press > in the US. > > Charles Jannuzi > Fukui, Japan > >
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