Enjoying the twilight years
Ending a career
Paul Bress, Kent, UK
Some TEFLers, after they've spent some time in the classroom, decide to venture into other areas - they might become TEFL managers, trainers, entrepreneurs, writers, examiners, or they may get involved in TEFL marketing or pastoral duties. Other TEFLers are just happy continuing teaching but like to keep learning about their craft by attending meetings, conferences, reading books and journals, and, most importantly, simply by reflecting on what they do in class.
But we should not forget the TEFLers who are sick and tired of the word 'development'. In particular, in the twilight years of a TEFLer's career (a much neglected area, by the way), many teachers may feel the need to find a way of bowing out of the profession in a graceful and dignified manner. But considering the fact that the pace of social and technological change (which impacts TEFL as much as it does any other filed of human endeavour) seems to grow exponentially, this is no mean feat.
Against this background, I'd like to propose some do's and don'tsfor the vast number of people who find themselves in this potentially difficult situation. Each 'do' (in left-hand column) is contrasted with its counterpart 'don't' (in the right-hand column)
| DO'S |
DON'T'S |
| Keep focusing on the moment - savour the richness of your contact with your students (and lock it away in your memory for the future). |
Don't spend all your time in the classroom thinking about your retirement (i.e. your post-EFL life). |
| Be aware of the uniqueness of your teaching style - this is the legacy of your professional career. By the time you retire, you will have influenced thousands of people in your own special way. |
Don't feel obliged to experiment with your teaching and to jump on new bandwagons that you hear bout. |
| Teach at a pace that you feel comfortable with (even if you've slowed up quite a bit). Most students should still appreciate your qualities as a teacher and will profit considerably from what you have to offer. |
Don't feel that you still have to gallop around like a youngster. |
| Keep a cool head when looking at things like your students' exam results or your students' feedback forms. Try to develop the art of putting numbers in a wider qualitative (or 'value-added') perspective. |
Don't keep comparing your students' exam results and student feedback with those of your colleagues. |
| Keep reminding yourself of why you decided to embark on your EFL career: the privilege of having intimate contact with people form different cultures; the endless fascination of language (a peculiarly human phenomenon); the joy of seeing your students' communicative competence develop. |
Don't regret your decision to become an EFL teacher and think about what else you might have done with your life. |
When we get into our sixth decade on this planet, we are not quite the same person we were thirty years ago: physical and mental energy may have diminished somewhat. Therefore, we need to adapt the way we teach. We need to give what we can with the resources that we have. In short, we need to be real.
Paul Bress can be contacted at paulbress@tiscalio.co.uk
His website is at www.bemycoach.co.uk
[ Editorial note: for an example of a seventy year old who does not conform to the autumnal expectations of this article go to Readers' Letter 1 ]
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