Tag Archives: humanism

Occupying The ‘Clash-Room’ By Banning Censorship In The Classroom

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Closed For The Duration“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?”
– Kurt Vonnegut

 

“Fear of corrupting the mind of the younger generation is the loftiest form of cowardice.”
– Holbrook Jackson

 

Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. How open-minded are you?
  2. What role do you have in terms of choosing material or designing the syllabus?
  3. To what extent do you censor yourself in the classroom?
  4. What sort of topics are you most likely to censor?
  5. Who died and left you free rein to censor anything?
  6. Why are you stunting your students’ growth as individuals in society?

Oh, do I have your attention now? Good! Welcome to the real world and a discussion on banning censorship in the classroom, with a view towards helping you ‘occupy’ your teaching practice.

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Creating Losers: Rethinking Games And Competitions

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Crying_babyConsider the following quotes and decide which statement is more aligned with your views of learning:

(A) “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

(B) “Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Suffice it to say that I guess you all know where I’m going with this post! To what extent would you agree that competition is ‘healthy’ in the classroom?

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Getting At The Whole Truth: More Quality Management Questions

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Magnifying_glass_2911This post is part of an ongoing series on Quality Management for language schools.

In my last post on quality management for language schools, I put forward some ideas on how to address a school staff when undertaking the development of a ‘home grown’ quality management scheme. I also covered questions aimed at teachers that should be included on a survey with a focus on the academic administration of a school. In this post I will continue to discuss such a survey and questions that relate to all employees concerning the school’s administrative and marketing operations.

To be honest, these two points may raise some hairs on the heads of school owners, specifically because they cut right to the core of a school’s management in terms of control and honesty, otherwise known as fair dealing. It’s true that leaders don’t normally like their authority or ethics questioned. Nonetheless, in relationship to ensuring quality no one is above reproach.

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Getting Started With Quality Management: Asking Teachers The Right Questions

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This post is part of an ongoing series on Quality Management for language schools.

So, you’ve decided to jump into the ‘quality’ pool. Your reasons for doing so may be varied, but most likely, if you are a school owner or have been charged with the task of establishing a system of quality management at the behest of the school owner, you are probably wondering where to start. Answering this question is what this post is about.

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Quality Management For Language Schools: A Preface To Establishing Your Own Scheme

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Quality Circle

What Is Quality Management? Do you really need it? Some claim to have it, others want it. Some offer it for a price, and others will ‘run for the hills’ if they hear word of it.

If you work in an organization long enough, eventually you will hear the terms ‘quality management’, ‘quality circle’ or ‘quality control’, as surely as you would hear the word ‘trendy’ if worked in the fashion industry. In fact, go to any bookstore, and you’ll find tons of books espousing all manners of theory and practice for business concerns.

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Freeganism: A Lesson Plan

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Note: this article was written and first published online by out dear friend and colleague,  ‘Teacher Dude’, on his blog: http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.gr

I once came across an article about ‘Freeganism’. It was titled “One Person’s Dumpster Is Another’s Diner” and was written by Becca Tucker, and posted on AlterNet on March 21, 2007. The article begins: “A subculture of people make a statement by living off the waste of millions.” For three days, a reporter gave it a dumpster-diving go in the “freegan” paradise of Manhattan.” I thought that it would make for an interesting lesson. As the article is quite long and complex this would be best done by advanced students.

The link to the article maybe found here: http://www.alternet.org/story/49547

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Correcting Student Composition: Teacher Mindsets And Student Egos

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As a follow-up to my last post on using correction codes, I thought it was appropriate to look at little deeper into the whole task of correcting students’ work, especially in terms of how teachers relate to doing this ‘chore’.

Having spoken to many teachers over the years, not just EFL teachers, I get the fact that probably that correcting papers, especially at home, is probably very low on the totem pole of reasons why one decides to become a teacher. Still, it is a vital function of the teacher, and moreover, one that directly impacts our students’ creative efforts. So, we should tread lightly and give some thought to our mindset when doing this.

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