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From: Virginia Tardaewether <tarv@chemeketa.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8819] RE: clarifying "murky waters"
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Paul
Thanks for your comments.
Why is it that some ESL folks/staff feel that they know more than their
students?
Va
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Rogers [mailto:englishtoday2002@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 07:16
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8782] clarifying "murky waters"
Ujwala,
You said: "I am not criticising teachers, but we
cannot seriously believe that even our beginning
learners do not hold political opinions or are worried
about the state of the nation and their own survival?"
No-one has said anything to contradict this
assertion. But if a teacher can be unjustly fired and
studnets can be removed from classes unjustly, then
the rights of teachers and students must be the main
issue, and the basis of the point that I raised which
you and others are avoiding.
You also need to explain how your ideal would be
realized in a class of 25 in which a teacher speaks
only English and the students do not know English.
You list a number of problems in ESOL, Ujwala. And
you appear to put administrators and teachers on the
same plane.
Well, if you are in a position to interview
teachers, I must assume that you are an administrator.
The issue I am raising begins with unjust policies
crafted by beaucratic administrators.
Paul Rogers
You have just proved my point. We have decided for
> our learners what they
> need to know, how much and what kind of knowledge
> they need. We also ask our
> learners to Come to learning, instead of bringing it
> to them. We do not have
> a national policy on ESOL levels, curriculum, nor
> teacher qualifications. We
> have no standards for testing either. We have vastly
> varying opinions on
> what kind of English needs to be taught. We work in
> muddy waters Mr. Rogers,
> that is what I was referring to. The interpretation
> of what kind of English,
> what aspects of knowledge need to be learned are
> left to either
> administrators or teachers. I have interviewed
> numerous teachers who had NO
> background in ESOL, much less adult education (a
> number were k-12 trained),
> who were thrown into an ESOL class and told,
> "Teach." I am not criticising
> teachers, but we cannot seriously believe that even
> our beginning learners
> do not hold political opinions or are worried about
> the state of the nation
> and their own survival?
>
> regards
> Ujwala Samant
>
>
>
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