Joy to Teach

RESTORE THE JOY TO TEACHING

By Oksana Chebotareva

 

            

The over emphasis on teaching grammar and punctuation in teaching English can deprive both teachers and students of some of the joy which comes with learning. Students can easily become bored and demotivated. Therefore, we we need a flexible methodology which can encompass different ways of studying. Storytelling might just encourage students to see learning languages as an alluring adventure.

            

BOREDOM

             

Ask many students of English what they really think of studying and the one main and common complaint  is "it is boring " or "impractical". An old joke in Russia is that "the students learns all the rules of grammar but can't speak a word of English". For some reason learning English has been reduced to the study of grammar and learning a list of vocabulary by heart where they then do a test of dictation. Learning English by rote and repetition can be overdone to the point of demoralizing not only the students but the teachers themselves. Is it not time to bring back some of the joy in learning at schools? How might we counter this boredom? Perhaps using storytelling carefully in the classroom might remind people that language is not just grammar, but also beautiful poetry.

 

Unfortunately, storytelling does not receive the attention it deserves because it demands a lot of attention and effort from teachers. It often seems easier to give grammar tests, listening comprehension and reading which can be easily downloaded from the internet. There is something to be said for reading. The effectiveness of reading in improving students' comprehensive skills and increased vocabulary has been proven by experts such as Rebecca Isbell {2002}, Rubin and Wilson{1995}, and Snow{2001}. But reading a text can become difficult for a long time. Students can be easily distracted and lose the narrative thread and hence interest. 

            

Watching a video and electronic board might not be appropriate as not all Russian teachers have such facilities and it can strain the eyes of students. Indeed, some of my own students asked me to switch off a video because it was hurting their eyes.             

            

So why not use storytelling? Although it is much more time consuming than reading a text or doing grammar exercises, it helps students maintain concentration and motivation very effectively. The reasons for this might be the eye to eye contact that the teacher manages to maintain with students. This effect was noticed by academics Zeece {1997} and Malo and Bullard{2000}. They claimed that eye contact made the experience more personal and interactive.  

            

Real dialogue unfolded between teachers and students. This research was also supported by Myers{1990}, who conducted a study of children from the 2nd to the 5th grade where some stories were read and some told. In her study she found both children and the storyteller teacher enjoyed and interacted more during storytelling than reading. in contrast, children fidgeted and looked away during story reading.

 

WHAT KIND OF STORIES? 

            

Of course, the question arises as to what kind of story we might use. It is worth asking ourselves 'What do we define as a story?' Children often tell stories which are far from being absolutely logical, but they can be creative nevertheless.

            

Susan Engel{1994} refers to Jerome Bruner offering some criteria for a narrative. He claims that a narrative must have a number of characteristics such as a sequence, a plot, or a climax, and 'a tension that meets some kind of resolution.'

            

Engel claims that a narrative is 'indifferent to facts '. So it does not always matter whether the story is untrue or not. It does not matter if the story is absurd, irrational or lacks 'an explicit moral'. A teacher should not scold a pupil for inventing an illogical story, but encourage him to be adventurous with new words.

            

What kind of sources and materials can we use to obtain good stories? Well, because not all stories will appeal to every student it is worth having a rich and diverse repertoire of stories. A teacher can go to folklore works as well as rely on Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm and so many unread Russian folk tales. Not all stories will appeal. While ghost stories might be popular among Scottish and English students, not all Russian students are enticed by them.

            

What the Storytelling sessions project discovered while narrating stories was that tales of American Indian stories as well as old Celtic tales had a great appeal to many Russians {Stephen Wilson 2019 and Mairi Koloreva 2010}. While this might work among highly educated students at Moscow State University, it may not be appropriate in schools. Not every pupil likes ghost stories.

 

USING PICTURES   

            

What materials might teachers use to assist the storyteller and students? The universal material for this is a picture . It is possible to photo copy some pictures from a book or simply open up a book of pictures while narrating the story. In our personal experience we told Japanese stories with the aid of pictures to a class.

            

After telling a story along with showing pictures to the class, students were asked to retell the stories using the same pictures.They adored it! The students enjoyed it very much and the pictures served as mental notes allowing them to remember the sequence of events and even the vocabulary of the story better. In addition, the pictures help provide the story with a solid shape and make it what psychologists call 'a shaped cognition'. 

            

Secondly, pictures can be used in a different way with small groups of children or teaching students individually. For example, small pictures of any story can be copied from any book or textbook. And they can be practically any quality. The only prerequisite for this set of pictures is that they must represent a kind of sequence or be one theme. In this way they must comply with the definition of a story. If they are cut out and given to a student they can be asked to tell any story he can think of that goes with the pictures. So the student will be involved in some kind of creativity such as inventing his or her own story thus giving them additional satisfaction. It is not a good idea to discourage students in this situation by interrupting them to correct all their grammar mistakes. It is not a case of ignoring mistakes, but correcting them later at a more appropriate time after telling the story. The teacher has to be tactful and not shout loudly at students. What the student attains from this process is confidence in expressing his ideas and inventing a story of his or her own.

            

But this method must be applied with reservations related to the level of the students. If the students' level is high you can use certain stories, but if you use the same story in a class of elementary students the children will become frustrated and even switch off.

            

A third way of using pictures is by asking students to draw the pictures themselves. Students of any age and level of English, show great enthusiasm when asked to create their own comics or stories and draw them. This works really well, particularly if it is given as homework. Even if the level of English is not high among students, drawing pictures can give a lot of satisfaction. And the student can help the student with the story and vocabulary afterwards. We used this activity with the primary school children aged 8, 9, or 10. 

            

To sum up, a story constitutes a universal activity that works well in the classroom because it is entertaining, and appealing and therefore helps the teacher to keep the attention of students. This is because a story helps maintain eye contact and thus strengthens rapport between the student and teacher. Storytelling is also economical in the sense you don't need a lot of resources or even technology. But the best material is often pictures which can be used in different and novel ways. So storytelling can be an effective method in not only boosting the motivation of students through countering boredom, but improving imperative linguistic skills such as narrative abilities, and listening comprehension. Students learn that language is not some abstract and academic activity, but something alive which people use to communicate a profound meaning of their experience. But storytelling can also play a vital role in emphasizing the important role of the teacher. In an age where it is fashionable to uncritically endorse digital technology, storytelling stresses how valuable teachers are. They can't be replaced by robots or computer courses. This is because there is always something magical about face to face interaction between students and teachers. So almost everyone might be able to actually enjoy teaching and studying again.

 

            REFERENCES :

 

            1. Bruner J. {1987} Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Harvard University Press,

             Cambridge.

 

            2.Isbell R. The Effects of Storytelling and Story reading on the Oral Language

            complexity and Story comprehension of Young Children, East Tennessee

            State University , 3.

 

            3. Engel S.  {1999}. The Stories Children Tell. W.H. Freedman and co

             New York{.Pages 46-47, 70-71}

 

            4.Malo , E, and Bullard, J{2000} Storytelling and the Emergent Reader .

            Report No. cs 217 352}. Aucklnad, New Zealand : The 18th International

            Association World congress on Reading {ERIC Document Reproduction

            service number . ED448464}

 

            5.Mayer , M {1973} Frog on his Own. New York : Dial Books for Young

            readers.

 

            6. Rubin, P.C. and Wilson ,L {1995} Enhancing language skills in four

             and five year olds. On Line , Retrieved September , 19, 2002 :

            http: // www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/cccf/00001046.htm.

 

            7.Snow, C.E. {1983} Literacy and Language : Relationships during the preschool

            years. Harvard Educational Review, 53,{2},pages 165-187}

 

            8. Zeece, P. D. {1997} Bringing books to life : literature-based storytelling .

             Early Childhood Educational Journal , 25{1} ,39-43.

Chicago Teachers Strike

Chicago Anti-war Coalition (CAWC) Statement on the Chicago teachers’ and staff strike: 

==================

With spirit and determination Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 win significant gains

— A VICTORY FOR ALL OF CHICAGO’S WORKING PEOPLE

Teachers, support staff and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 workers won much more in their contracts ratified in November  than Mayor Lightfoot wanted to give up. She complained endlessly that their contract proposals cost too much. But, as the strikers pointed out she makes sure that businesses and banks continue to snatch public money for their private real estate and other projects. 

Lightfoot has refused to give priority to education in budgets. TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money, which is siphoned off from taxes that would otherwise go to schools, is going into the pockets of contractors and other businesses. She also refuses to push for higher taxes on the rich or adding a small tax on financial transactions at the Chicago Board of Trade, etc., which would quickly bring in BILLIONS of dollars. 

The striking teachers and staff made clear in their contract demands, in their massive demos, and in press conferences, that they were fighting for the rights of all working people. 

The victories from the strike open the door to further progress. 

Raising the pay of the poorest paid workers in the system, mainly Black and Brown women, proclaims that all workers have the right to get a living wage.  This should begin with the $15 an hour minimum that workers across the country are winning. 

Capping class sizes, though not at the speed and level teachers demanded, will mean a better learning environment and shows that teachers are bargaining for more than wages and benefits.

 

For example, they demanded stronger sanctuary  protection for immigrants, and services and housing for the 16,000 homeless students.

 

Forcing Chicago Public Schools to comply with special education laws will help these very vulnerable students get their human rights.

 

Teachers also demanded all around support for students, and made some headway toward having nurses, social workers, librarians, and counselors in each school every day, with manageable case loads.

 

And there is to be a freeze against further privatizing public education through additional charter schools.

 

Public support for the strikes was based on the widespread understanding that without these basics and sufficient office workers, maintenance crews, and bus assistants, it’s impossible to create a positive learning environment.

This teaches students the importance of putting what they believe into action. 

New possibilities are now open for an educational system which enables students to help solve problems around peace and justice.

The bold spirit of the strikers can be an inspiration to students, who can develop the same spirit for tackling long-standing problems-- such as presidents and Congresspeople who launch aggressive wars against other countries which have not attacked the U.S. (examples: Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc.) 

Students can dig into why today Trump is using economic warfare (sanctions) to try to overthrow  governments which refuse to give up oil and other resources so that U.S. corporations can make superprofits (examples Venezuela, Iran, etc.). 

With smaller classes and more librarians, etc. teachers can go outside textbooks which promote the arrogant narrative that the U.S. should be #1, and that the U.S. government should decide what goes on in other countries. 

Instead, students need to discuss what is wrong and why—such as the racist police murders of Black and Brown youth and why so many end up in prisons even for minor offenses or through forced confessions and unjust trials.  

Some teachers have already been teaching beyond officially required lessons and the unfair standardized tests and constricting Common Core  curriculum. Even under bad conditions, teachers have encouraged children to reject the fairy tale that Columbus is a great hero who should be celebrated. They have supported Native Peoples’ Day to recognize not only the slaughter but also the brave resistance by Native Nations—which continues until today. 

Just as parents and the broader community supported the strikers, they will support teachers who encourage students to actively question the many myths that textbook corporations and the corporate media have fed them. 

Teachers emboldened to challenge fairy tales which claim that the U.S. is “the land of the free and the home of the brave” are key players.

To go forward, we can all become better informed by reading and discussing independent media and challenging so-called “news” that is one-sided-- in favor of the U.S. ruling class, or hides the struggles of working people in history. 

Working people, rather than staying in the background, have to fight to be decision makers to solve problems caused by the ceaseless drive for profits by the banks and corporations. Together we can decide what steps to take toward creating a better world with equal rights for all..

11.24.19

Free Fichter!

HELP FREE FICHTER!

SIGN MICHAEL BRANDNER'S PETITION

AN OPEN LETTER TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

By Stephen Wilson 

Jennifer Fichter

            

I'm writing to you with the request that you support a pardon or at least a reduction in the sentence of the imprisoned American English teacher by the name of Jennifer Fichter. Jennifer Fichter, in April 2015 received the severe sentence of 22 years imprisonment for consensual, but illicit sex with three of her 17-year-old students. Protest and indignation against this unusually draconian sentence has aroused  massive waves of support and sympathy throughout Russia not to mention the World. Almost 77,000 signed one petition. The people who have signed are deeply concerned about the fate of Jennifer Fichter. They are dreaming of her obtaining a pardon and won't relinquish the campaign.  

            

The case has had a profound impact on America's International relations as well as reputation abroad. This is why all honest, reasonable and thoughtful Americans must be concerned.

            

I and others believe that this severe sentence is unjustified for three main reasons {Although this hardly exhausts so many other reasons eloquently and acutely advanced by Mike Brandner in his petition}

            

The sentence is arbitrary, absurd and cruel. It is arbitrary because if Fichter had been found guilty in Georgia where the age of consent is 16 she would have been free today. Different American states apply their own laws which are often incompatible with each other undermining the very notion of universal justice. Justice which depends on geographical location weakens any sense of consistent universal legal norms and sounds capricious. It confuses and confounds people. For even within Florida, a 16 year old can consent to have sex with some one as old as 23. However, a Floridan cannot consent to have sex with someone over 23 unless he or she is 18 or over as Mike Brander points out.                             

            

The second reason is that the case is unusual. The usually appropriate punishment for such a violation is for a teacher to be dismissed. The loss of employment as well as accompanying stigma should surely suffice. The punishment does not fit the crime as Jennifer Fichter is no rapist, child molester or kidnapper. Yet the prison sentence of 22 years is double the average length for a rape conviction. So the crime is less serious but more severe. The students were not victims who suffered trauma or harm, but freely consented to sex. They were 17 year old who were on the verge of adulthood. The sense of injustice has been compounded by the fact that a Norwegian neo Nazis who murdered 77 people and wounded 150 in 2011 received a lesser sentence of 21 years! 

            

A third reason is that this case represents an evident and explicit violation of the eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights which declares:

            

'Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted'. The case of Jennifer Fichter clearly represents a classic example of a cruel and unusual punishment. For what purpose should this teacher languish in prison where her mental esteem is wounded and her family feel they are also serving out this sentence? It is not in anyone's interest to prolong pointless suffering. It certainly does not serve any public interest.

            

Contrary to certain media reports, Jennifer Fichter doesn't remotely represent a threat or danger to the public. And a just legal system is obliged to find a delicate balance between justice and mercy. Without compassion and right reason, legal despotism looms up. This is why we urge you to support our campaign to secure a pardon or reduced sentence for Jennifer Fichter.

You can sign it here:   https://www.change.org/p/clemency-for-jennifer-fichter?signed=true

Shakespeare

SHAKESPEARE SURVEY

By Stephen Wilson

 

            

"What use is Shakespeare to us? Knowing him won't help me get a job!  We need to be taught something more practical?" say many frustrated pupils who resent having to study what they often consider incomprehensible and irrelevant works. For a recent survey carried out by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Digital company Adobe, of 2000 British school students aged between 11 to 18, between September 6th to the 10th , found that 42% of them complained that knowledge of Shakespeare would not help them get a job. Approximately 20% stated that digital technology might help them understand the poet. Many British pupils have never even heard of Shakespeare. But the survey does not just indicate a negative attitude to the poet, but how some pupils hold a misconception of the role of school education. For schools are not just intended to prepare people for work, but to at least inspire a minimal interest in the culture and Classics around them so they can enrich their leisure time.

For instance, knowing the Classics not only encourages a better understanding of plays performed in the theater, but can encourage pleasant conversation. It might just make a dull and drab party more interesting and even help you make a friend. Who knows where a knowledge of Shakespeare can take you? The knowledge of the poet can lead to imperceptible and unanticipated results!

             

An American teacher once told me, "If they teach it at school, it sucks." When you feel forced to learn the classics and have to sit exams in it then the memory of the plays can conjure up all kinds of bad memories. But Shakespeare himself never envisaged his plays being part of the school program or a set exam. He may not have attached  importance to being published. He wanted his works not to be read, but seen and heard. The best place to go is the theater itself. At first many people don't like the idea of going to the theater in Britain because they think its a place where only affluent or posh people go. But when they see his play by accident it often has a profound and deep influence on their psyche. This is because the plays such as 'The Tempest' and 'King Henry the Fifth ' have a lot to say about grief, and the horrors of war. 

             

Jacqui O Hanlon of the Royal Shakespeare Company states : "Having access to the arts and cultural learning improves empathy, critical and creative thinking in young people. " One of my 17 year old pupils of English Natasha told me, "A person at school should  know Classics. I mean it would terrible if we did not learn Pushkin. Yes, knowing Shakespeare won't get you a job but his works are so wonderful it can really have a profound influence on people." 

             

But how justified is the claim that knowledge of Shakespeare can't help you get a job? Such a statement seems a misleading and over simplistic  generalization. It largely depends on which job you are seeking. For knowledge of the Classics can help you get a job. For example, I recall being interviewed for a job in a Bakery in Dublin and being asked "Why have you come to live in Dublin ?" When I told the manager I had come to the city to learn more about the culture and the classics because Dublin was the city where Yeats, Joyce and Beckett hailed from " the manager took this as a compliment and I got the job. I also find that knowledge of the classics helps you get work as an English teacher of foreign languages in Russia . For many Russians, knowledge of the classics is not just a hobby or pastime but a necessity. If a Russian student discovers that an English teacher is not interested in his own culture, then why should he be interested in Russian culture? The main point is not to have mass knowledge of the Classics, but to be actively interested in them. So I have found I have managed to keep some students because of the knowledge of Shakespeare as well as Bulgakov.

A teacher of English as a foreign language is often expected not just to teach students to speak or grammar but the culture he comes from. And Shakespeare is an essential part of this culture. Furthermore, the playwright 's works convey a boundless and inexorable positive energy that infects students. For example, if you looks at his play 'The Tempest' , you hear a young woman called Miranda marvel how there is still beauty in some of the worst characters in the play when she says;

  

'O Wonder ! How many goodly creatures are there here ! How beauteous mankind is! O Brave New World that has such people in it.'

             

The plays can even teach people how to love people and express their love  in a more poetic way. There is the simple line of Miranda's lover which goes : 'I do love, price, honour you.'

             

And if you want to obtain work as an actor you can find help in Shakespeare's play Hamlet , where Hamlet offers advice on how an actor should perform by not over acting , over gesturing and speaking too loudly or out of tune. Just go to act three, scene two.

             

So yes, Shakespeare can help you obtain some kinds of jobs. You certainly can't eat his works . But you can read his plays as a stepping stone to the dining room. What is crucial is not  only knowledge of Shakespeare but how to use it in a doable practical way. So we have to go beyond the academic.

Stacy Gates & IFT

CTU Vice President Stacy Gates Named IFT VP
By Jim Vail

CTU VP Stacy Gates

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vice President Stacy Gates was named the vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers or IFT.

Usually it is the CTU president who will take a position on the IFT executive board. However, CTU President Jesse Sharkey is not on the executive board.

This has lead many to speculate that VP Gates is making a move in the political field to head to a higher office, including president of the CTU. Politico stated that there have been calls for Gates or CTU political operative and Cook County Board Commissioner Brandon Johnson to run for mayor against Lori Lightfoot.

Johnson told Politico the rumors are false and he has no intention to run for mayor.

Serving on the IFT board of directors is a well-paid position. Both Johnson and Gates have two jobs that pay well.

According to an inside source, the CTU has 10 spots on the IFT Executive Board. CTU health care coordinator Annette Rizzo was dropped and Joanna Maldonado, a field organizer for the CTU, replaced her.

Dan Montgomery (IFT President) and Jane Russell (IFT Secretary Treasurer), and Gates (IFT VP) were unopposed in the election. Jesse (Sharkey) did not put his name in the running, the source told us.

Former CTU President Debbie Lynch told Second City Teachers she did not want to also serve on the IFT because she wanted to maintain her independence from the state teachers union that is considered to be more conservative.

Long Live Librarians!

LONG LIVE LIBRARIANS

By Stephen Wilson

 

            

The  bold and brilliant ten day strike by Chicago school teachers has made an indelible impression on the world. It is certainly unprecedented. It starkly shows that only fools take teachers for granted. This strike was not just about securing a decent wage, but fought for a well thought out social agenda where issues such as the homelessness of teachers and students was addressed as well as class sizes and the facilities available to school students. It is evident to any astute and objective observer that the main aim of the strike was to achieve a more caring and improved education system. Unfortunately, many important aims of the strike  were not met, such as ending an unfair evaluation system which has led to unfair dismissals as well as the failure to restore the jobs of many librarians. 

            

And libraries play a great role in schools. They are just important as nurses or psychologists. A librarian is not just some luxury or extra. It is not an inconvenient expense but an urgent necessity in schools. The leaders of the strike should have been bolder in insisting that  librarians be returned to schools.

            

The attitudes of some officials reminds me an incident I recently read in a Russian history book. During the 19th century, the local government in Suzdal were punished by government officials for daring to allocate 50  rubles for building a  Russian library. Two noble woman were arrested for teaching illiterate peasants in their free time. All this was part of the crude counter reforms of Alexander the Third and Nicholas the Second which ultimately led to the revolution. The philistine attitude of so many people who were opposed to libraries was summed up by the crude saying: 'You can't eat books'.  But in Chicago the unmentioned saying should be: "Books won't help you subsidize real estate projects'. 

            

Libraries are imperative. We urgently need a librarian in every school. Too often people share a misconception of libraries being dull, dreary and pointless places. A grim silence reigns in them as they are not part of this world. They are seen as belonging to 'the other world.' Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, a library can be an alluring and enchanting place. Libraries don't just offer a quiet place to study or books, but organize storytelling sessions where children can tell and listen to stories, writer workshops , art exhibitions and a place where people can gather to make friends with each other. A library is not just a place to read books. It can be a warm and thriving community. 

            

I recall a kind librarian who visited my school to give a talk on his profession. He asked pupils, "Which is more important ; books or people?" And then he warned, "The correct answer is people." His words have haunted me ever since. Because libraries are not just about books, but about caring for readers. My Aunt Betty once told me how a library was the only place of refuge she could go to get some peace from her strict father. So often a library might be one of the few refuges where children can enjoy some peace away from a tense family situation.

            

When I visited a local library called the Platonov library near Sokol in Moscow I was amazed at what I could see. The library was beautiful. On display one could only marvel at the beautiful photos on display, the pictures and the poems written by children as well as courses available for people of all ages. You could just feel boundless positive energy around the place. That is why we need the librarian as much as the physical education teacher or nurse. Both complement and assist  each other rather than compete with each other. Doing sport helps you read a book better and reading books can also inspire you to physically keep on the move and perform exercises. 

            

In some old schools of the nobility one of the exercises which students had to perform was to walk around in an erect position with a book on your head. The exercise was meant to help children develop straight spines. And this would at least help some of them alleviate if not avoid later back pain in old age. So although you can't eat books they can help you to straighten your spine. It sounds very practical! The role of the librarian can be priceless. You just can't measure it in terms of dollars or gold. We must  never give up the struggle to give librarians back their jobs.