Impressions from the Pilgrims 30th Anniversary Conference,August 2004

Dear Editor,

A Pilgrims Thirtieth Anniversary Conference after having been teaching for forty - three years myself ? What for? What expectations? Enormous promises: "Humanistic Teaching in the XXI century." Excusez du peu !!

Sitting on a bench near the duck pond to relax, I mused and thought, " There is a somewhat subdued atmosphere, no sense of groundbreaking discovery."

- Not being at work in the meantime - yeah just leaving the grindstone behind: worth it.

- Hearing what has been happening to the English language - I needed that.

Content goes hereMeeting some people I had been in touch with before - Except for two people, all the others were unknown to me. Not unsurprisingly, I got the impression I was by far the most senior participant, and somehow enjoyed it. I could hear, see and feel how younger generations of teachers where coping with the new generations of learners and the English language, this was particularly true during the afternoon and evening programmes. Did I use to be like that?

Not really, my generation was "seeing the light" - discovering new territories. The comments here were very business-like, "Her instructions were not always clear, which led to a lack of organisation." " How about writing them?" or "He wasn't ready to go beyond improving language learning."

I myself have become business-like, "She has got me to see how to make some things snap together." "That was not really useful for me in my context - sorry wrong choice." " Ah ah that's something that I can learn." --- "No fights at all! " - "Ah! Another possible way to get teachers to discover what it means to be a humanistic teacher."

... "Mmm it would seem that humanistic language learning has come of age .... it is developing, expanding, improving ....It is self - assured and no longer seen as 'excentric' ......... It has its methodology, its discovery procedures."

"Christ! Does that mean humanism is winning the war, not just battles anymore??"

" It was worth realizing this and getting this feeling" " See you next time, ducks" ............

PS: Back home I checked, described some of the things I witnessed and found no passionate rejection. Pilgrims was certainly an important actor in bringing this kind of change over here. I'll be back for the XXXV anniversary conference, probably before.

Clem Laroy, Belgium.