"When one teaches, two learn"
I had a number of wonderful emails about my blog post – TEFL “non stick” teaching. So I decided to make the blog post into a presentation. (download here – with music – Being a good teacher) Also see my almost iconic presentation, Effective EFL...
I’m a competitive person so this post is REALLY hard for me. I’m the kind of guy who will compete to see who can stand on one leg the longest. I’m hyper competitive and work hard because I love doing so but also because of...
I’ve been wanting to write this post for a long time – years actually. Finally, here in the airport with time to kill and waiting for my flight “home” to Canada, I have the time and motivation. Teaching English as a “profession” and living in...
Recently, S. Korea announced that despite all the hostilities and tension with N. Korea, they would deliver food aid to the flood ravaged nation. (see AP article here.) This got me thinking about my own views on food and then knowledge. You see, I’ve always,...
I’m returning to my home and native land Canada in a few weeks and I’ve been thinking incessantly about “chopping wood”. Chopping wood isn’t easy! Most city folk who try it, look like bumbling fools. Even if they manage to do okay, they last only...
This is an abridged version of my closing graduation speech I recently gave (and blogged about) where I work. Words to those entering the teaching profession. Something more heartfelt and personal. Sorry for the bad audio but I did this in one take and without...
Download the book of which this is the opening essay. “In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.” It is that time of year, time to say good bye. Time to close books and put away pencils...
Last week I watched this 60 minutes episode about “lucky” kids winning paid boarding school education. Education by lottery. I don’t know why but I found it deeply disturbing. So disturbing, I just couldn’t even write about it. So I let it fester and digest...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. How to Prevent Another Leonardo da Vinci This post, written by a high school student (!!!!) says it all. How education, schools, teachers, the system fails students. Written in the form of a series...
Spring is here in this part of the world. Hope rings eternal. I call it “the filling”. The world replenishes itself and begins the cycle of rebirth. In a very significant way – teaching is this same “planting of seeds” and nurturing of the gift...
Over the last year – I’ve enjoyed reflecting on “teaching” through my forum collection, “The Tao of Teaching”.Now, you can get everything as a presentation for easy browsing. Hope you enjoy and please comment on the forum and add your own thoughts! Full Screen
Are you a subversive teacher? A teacher is that rare individual who coaxes the existing knowledge systems of his students out of hiding, drags every last tentacle of the monster from the depths into broad daylight, hoses off the slime, wrestles it to the ground...
Sooner or later, every teacher who is around long enough, will be required to submit/produce/write up, their philosophy of education. I really think it invaluable to make this “thought visible”. The process itself helps to solidify your already held beliefs and give you some “clear...
Lately, I’ve been “evaluating” a lot of teachers for the new “Teaching English in English – TET program. Been rather frustrated along with many teachers and I really needed some inspiration today. I got it in this STERLING essay by a Korean writer. He really...
Yesterday, during a teacher training workshop, I was reminded of a theory I had about “great teachers”. Long ago over many beers, in a pub in the Czech Republic, I outlined the idea that a great teacher was a “heretic”, a kind of rebel with...
I usually stay on topic but more and more lately, I’m becoming a bit of a preacher in my workshops and lectures. It happened today and so I thought I’d share a bit about my philosophy of education and what I think is paramount for...
“Every journey begins with the first step” I really truly, madly deeply, believe in the power of education. Not as a way to knowledge but wisdom — as a way of forming a proper relationship between yourself and that “outside”. Tat tvam asi” , the...
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