Seek to Understand
Have you ever seen two emotional people talk past each other? Both talk and neither listen. Both want to tell the other, and don’t want to hear – or understand – what the other person is saying. This happens too often in stressful workplaces.
Stephen Covey, author of the international bestseller called “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, advises people “to seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Following this traditional wisdom can improve workplace relationships and communication.
What are some techniques that can help understand other people? Here are some tips:
• Listen first and avoid interrupting.
• Pause before speaking.
• Look people in the eye.
• Be curious.
• Ask “what” and “how” questions to get more information.
• Keep the voice down. Stay calm. Talk slow.
• Repeat or rephrase what people say to avoid misunderstandings.
What are some other tips to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts at work?
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are some advantages of staying calm at work?
1.
2.
3.
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Watching the Olympics and Starting Conversations
How often do a billion people share a smile, a sigh, or a televised event?
Have you been watching the Olympics? What has surprised you the most? Why? Who has inspired you? How?
The Olympics reminds us of heroism, sacrifice, excellence, and beauty. It can also spark many conversations.
Although I have not had the pleasure of teaching a conversation class recently, talking about sports always sparked many enjoyable exchanges - even among non-sports fans. This lesson, an except from Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for Advanced ESL students, remains a favorite.
Feel free to use it in your English classes. Let the conversations begin!
————————————————————————————–
PLAYING AND WATCHING SPORTS
“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility.”
Michael Jordan (1963- ) NBA superstar
Chatting: Talking about sports can be a great ice-breaker. Just do it!
1. Did you play any sports as a child? Which ones? Which was your favorite?
2. Do you play any sports now? Which ones? Which is your favorite? Why?
3. Do girls and women play sports in your native country? If so, which ones?
4. What is the most popular sport in your native country?
5. What equipment or uniform is needed for this sport?
6. How is the game scored? How is a tie decided? What is considered a high score?
7. How long is a game? Are there referees? How do fans usually behave?
8. Which athlete is best known in your homeland? Which sport does he or she play? What do people admire about this athlete?
9. Does your native country participate in the Olympics? In which sports are your countrymen most competitive?
10. What are some team sports? Which do you play?
11. What are some individual sports that you know? Which do you play?
12. Do you prefer to play team sports or individual sports? Why?
13. Which is your favorite sport to watch? Do watch any annual televised sporting event? Have you ever gone to a sporting event? How did the fans behave?
14. Are you a fan of any special team? What do you like about them?
15. What is their nickname e.g. Chicago Bulls, New England Patriots?
16. What does their nickname hope to convey about the team?
17. Does your favorite team have a main rival? Why? Is there a team mascot?
18. Which American athletes are well known in your native land? Which ones?
19. What are some of the ways that athletes train for competition?
20. What do you think is the difference between a game and a sport? Is chess a sport? Is weight lifting a sport? Is golf a sport? Is politics a sport?
21. Who is your favorite athlete? Why do you especially admire this athlete?
22. Do you buy a certain brand of shoes or clothes because of an athlete’s endorsement? If so, which brand? Which athlete?
23. Can you name some sports that involve animals?
24. Is there any sport that you don’t play now, but that you’d like to learn?
25. Do you think any sport rules should be changed? Why?
26. If you could, would you outlaw any sports? Why?
27. Are there any sports which are legal in your homeland, but illegal in the United States? Why? Do you think these sports should be legal?
28. What are the differences between the way athletes are treated in your native country and the way athletes are treated in the U.S.? Which ways do you think are preferable?
29. Are there any disadvantages to playing sports? Examples?
30. What are some advantages to playing sports? How do you feel while playing?
31. If you could play against any athlete in any sport, what sport would you choose?
32. If you could go back in time and attend any sporting event, which would you pick? Why?
33. What makes a great athlete? Who do you think is the greatest athlete of our time? Why?
Vocabulary: Do you know all these words? Can you add 4 more words to this list?
athlete score mascot equipment competition referee nickname rival
endorse endorsement fan brand
Idioms: Try to guess the meanings of these idioms with your partner.
She’s a team player. She knows the game plan.
The biology test was a slamdunk.
The price you’re asking is in the ballpark.
When I caught Bob’s finger in the car door, he was a good sport about it.
You dropped the ball.
Quotations: Which quotations do you like? Can you add one more?
1. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”
Heywood Hale Broun (1888-1939), American sports journalist
1. “If you don’t try to win, you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s backyard.” Jesse Owns (1913-1980), American with 4 Gold Olympic medals
1. “Sports is the toy department of human life.”
Howard Cosell (1918-1995), sportscaster
1. “Sports is like a war without the killing.” Ted Turner (1938- ), founder of CNN
1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra (1925- ), American baseball coach
1. “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Jacques Barzun (1907- ), American historian
1. “The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”
Bruce Lee (1940-1973), film star
1. “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Mark Twain (1835-1910), humorist
1. “Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport in the world.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919), U.S. President, sportsman
1. “…no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues.”
Joe Dimaggio (1914- ), American baseball player
1. “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”
Jesse Owns (1913-1980), 4 time Gold medalist in 1936 Olympic Games
1. “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’” Phil Jackson (1945- ), L.A. Lakers’ coach
1. “How can you think and hit at the same time?”
Yogi Berra (1925-), baseball player and coach
14. “There is no “I” in team, but there is in win.”
Michael Jordan (1963- ) NBA superstar
EXTENSION: Find a picture of an athlete, professional or amateur, playing your favorite sport. Cut it out, bring it to class, and describe the picture and its context.
WWW. Compelling Conversations.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Have you been watching the Olympics? What has surprised you the most? Why? Who has inspired you? How?
The Olympics reminds us of heroism, sacrifice, excellence, and beauty. It can also spark many conversations.
Although I have not had the pleasure of teaching a conversation class recently, talking about sports always sparked many enjoyable exchanges - even among non-sports fans. This lesson, an except from Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for Advanced ESL students, remains a favorite.
Feel free to use it in your English classes. Let the conversations begin!
————————————————————————————–
PLAYING AND WATCHING SPORTS
“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility.”
Michael Jordan (1963- ) NBA superstar
Chatting: Talking about sports can be a great ice-breaker. Just do it!
1. Did you play any sports as a child? Which ones? Which was your favorite?
2. Do you play any sports now? Which ones? Which is your favorite? Why?
3. Do girls and women play sports in your native country? If so, which ones?
4. What is the most popular sport in your native country?
5. What equipment or uniform is needed for this sport?
6. How is the game scored? How is a tie decided? What is considered a high score?
7. How long is a game? Are there referees? How do fans usually behave?
8. Which athlete is best known in your homeland? Which sport does he or she play? What do people admire about this athlete?
9. Does your native country participate in the Olympics? In which sports are your countrymen most competitive?
10. What are some team sports? Which do you play?
11. What are some individual sports that you know? Which do you play?
12. Do you prefer to play team sports or individual sports? Why?
13. Which is your favorite sport to watch? Do watch any annual televised sporting event? Have you ever gone to a sporting event? How did the fans behave?
14. Are you a fan of any special team? What do you like about them?
15. What is their nickname e.g. Chicago Bulls, New England Patriots?
16. What does their nickname hope to convey about the team?
17. Does your favorite team have a main rival? Why? Is there a team mascot?
18. Which American athletes are well known in your native land? Which ones?
19. What are some of the ways that athletes train for competition?
20. What do you think is the difference between a game and a sport? Is chess a sport? Is weight lifting a sport? Is golf a sport? Is politics a sport?
21. Who is your favorite athlete? Why do you especially admire this athlete?
22. Do you buy a certain brand of shoes or clothes because of an athlete’s endorsement? If so, which brand? Which athlete?
23. Can you name some sports that involve animals?
24. Is there any sport that you don’t play now, but that you’d like to learn?
25. Do you think any sport rules should be changed? Why?
26. If you could, would you outlaw any sports? Why?
27. Are there any sports which are legal in your homeland, but illegal in the United States? Why? Do you think these sports should be legal?
28. What are the differences between the way athletes are treated in your native country and the way athletes are treated in the U.S.? Which ways do you think are preferable?
29. Are there any disadvantages to playing sports? Examples?
30. What are some advantages to playing sports? How do you feel while playing?
31. If you could play against any athlete in any sport, what sport would you choose?
32. If you could go back in time and attend any sporting event, which would you pick? Why?
33. What makes a great athlete? Who do you think is the greatest athlete of our time? Why?
Vocabulary: Do you know all these words? Can you add 4 more words to this list?
athlete score mascot equipment competition referee nickname rival
endorse endorsement fan brand
Idioms: Try to guess the meanings of these idioms with your partner.
She’s a team player. She knows the game plan.
The biology test was a slamdunk.
The price you’re asking is in the ballpark.
When I caught Bob’s finger in the car door, he was a good sport about it.
You dropped the ball.
Quotations: Which quotations do you like? Can you add one more?
1. “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”
Heywood Hale Broun (1888-1939), American sports journalist
1. “If you don’t try to win, you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s backyard.” Jesse Owns (1913-1980), American with 4 Gold Olympic medals
1. “Sports is the toy department of human life.”
Howard Cosell (1918-1995), sportscaster
1. “Sports is like a war without the killing.” Ted Turner (1938- ), founder of CNN
1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra (1925- ), American baseball coach
1. “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Jacques Barzun (1907- ), American historian
1. “The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”
Bruce Lee (1940-1973), film star
1. “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” Mark Twain (1835-1910), humorist
1. “Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport in the world.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1859-1919), U.S. President, sportsman
1. “…no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues.”
Joe Dimaggio (1914- ), American baseball player
1. “Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”
Jesse Owns (1913-1980), 4 time Gold medalist in 1936 Olympic Games
1. “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ‘me’ for the ‘we.’” Phil Jackson (1945- ), L.A. Lakers’ coach
1. “How can you think and hit at the same time?”
Yogi Berra (1925-), baseball player and coach
14. “There is no “I” in team, but there is in win.”
Michael Jordan (1963- ) NBA superstar
EXTENSION: Find a picture of an athlete, professional or amateur, playing your favorite sport. Cut it out, bring it to class, and describe the picture and its context.
WWW. Compelling Conversations.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Saturday, August 16, 2008
How do you teach the difference between "make" and "do" in your English classes?
Make vs. Do
What do you do? What do you make?
These simple words cause lots of confusion for English language learners. I’ve spent time helping a very wide range of ESL classes – from advanced adult education and community college students to intermediate English students in summer courses and regular university courses – struggle with idioms with “make” and “do.”
Here is a quick, imprecise guide that helps clarify the issue.
Look at some common expressions with “do”.
• Do the dishes.
• Do some chores.
• Do your work.
• Do exercises.
• Do your best.
• Do it over.
• Do the report.
Do is used to describe an activity that you have to do, often over and over again. For instance, we “do the dishes” and “do the laundry” many times. Do also contains an element of duty and responsibility.
Now, take a look at some expressions with “make”.
• Please make time.
• You make dinner.
• You make drawings.
• You make decisions.
• You make plans.
• Your make reservations.
• You make money.
• You make friends.
Make is used to describe a creative activity or something you choose to do. You choose, for instance, to make plans, make friends, and make decisions. You have choices.
Why do we say “make dinner” if we have to do it over and over? Perhaps because cooking is seen more as a creative activity than a chore. But cleaning the table, and cleaning the dishes are just chores so we say “do the table” and “do the dishes.” That’s also why Americans say “make money” instead of “do money.” Making money is seen as both creative and a choice. Idioms are cultural. Sometimes Americans will use the verb “make” in a way that might seem strange, but “make a decision” to “do your best” and learn practical workplace expressions.
Finally, I encourage students to work together in small groups and create their own list of idioms with make and do. When I’m lucky and have time, I like to ask students to come to the white board and write their collection of idioms on the board. Homework, of course, is asking them to choose 5-10 idioms and write complete sentences.
So how do you teach the difference between do and make to your English students?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
What do you do? What do you make?
These simple words cause lots of confusion for English language learners. I’ve spent time helping a very wide range of ESL classes – from advanced adult education and community college students to intermediate English students in summer courses and regular university courses – struggle with idioms with “make” and “do.”
Here is a quick, imprecise guide that helps clarify the issue.
Look at some common expressions with “do”.
• Do the dishes.
• Do some chores.
• Do your work.
• Do exercises.
• Do your best.
• Do it over.
• Do the report.
Do is used to describe an activity that you have to do, often over and over again. For instance, we “do the dishes” and “do the laundry” many times. Do also contains an element of duty and responsibility.
Now, take a look at some expressions with “make”.
• Please make time.
• You make dinner.
• You make drawings.
• You make decisions.
• You make plans.
• Your make reservations.
• You make money.
• You make friends.
Make is used to describe a creative activity or something you choose to do. You choose, for instance, to make plans, make friends, and make decisions. You have choices.
Why do we say “make dinner” if we have to do it over and over? Perhaps because cooking is seen more as a creative activity than a chore. But cleaning the table, and cleaning the dishes are just chores so we say “do the table” and “do the dishes.” That’s also why Americans say “make money” instead of “do money.” Making money is seen as both creative and a choice. Idioms are cultural. Sometimes Americans will use the verb “make” in a way that might seem strange, but “make a decision” to “do your best” and learn practical workplace expressions.
Finally, I encourage students to work together in small groups and create their own list of idioms with make and do. When I’m lucky and have time, I like to ask students to come to the white board and write their collection of idioms on the board. Homework, of course, is asking them to choose 5-10 idioms and write complete sentences.
So how do you teach the difference between do and make to your English students?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Do your EL/Civics students know about the electoral college?
How could George W. Bush be elected President of the United States? Really.
Let me be more precise. How could Al Gore win the popular vote and still lose the 2000 U.S. Presidential election to the second George Bush? The short, unpleasant answer is that the popular vote doesn’t count – and the only vote that matters in electing presidents in the United States is the electoral college.
What is the electoral college? How many votes does your state have in the real United States presidential election? If you teach U.S. history, EL/Civics, or just vote in U.S. elections, you already know these answers – and your students and friends should too!
Check out the easy to use electoral college map hosted by the Los Angeles Times.
Among the many interesting features is that the default setting, based on the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, shows Senator McCain with a clear electoral college advantage over Senator Obama. Amidst the daily national polls, it’s easy for U.S. citizens – let alone adult immigrants and citizenship students – to forget this vital fact. You can also go to the fine Wikipedia article on the peculiar history and strange institution called the United_States_Electoral_College.
By the way, I’m one of those folks that wants to abolish the electoral college as a sad legacy of both aristocratic ideals and slave-era logic. Direct elections work just fine. Since abolishing the electoral college seems very, very difficult, we should – it seems to me – at least switch from a winner take all system for each state to a fairer system where each congressional district chooses its own electors. Adopting this more transparent, honest “tiered” system would quickly reveal the huge divide between urban and rural America across the country. If Senator Obama wins the popular vote and still loses the electoral college, I expect more Democrats to rediscover their discomfort with the very undemocratic electoral college. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Let me be more precise. How could Al Gore win the popular vote and still lose the 2000 U.S. Presidential election to the second George Bush? The short, unpleasant answer is that the popular vote doesn’t count – and the only vote that matters in electing presidents in the United States is the electoral college.
What is the electoral college? How many votes does your state have in the real United States presidential election? If you teach U.S. history, EL/Civics, or just vote in U.S. elections, you already know these answers – and your students and friends should too!
Check out the easy to use electoral college map hosted by the Los Angeles Times.
Among the many interesting features is that the default setting, based on the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, shows Senator McCain with a clear electoral college advantage over Senator Obama. Amidst the daily national polls, it’s easy for U.S. citizens – let alone adult immigrants and citizenship students – to forget this vital fact. You can also go to the fine Wikipedia article on the peculiar history and strange institution called the United_States_Electoral_College.
By the way, I’m one of those folks that wants to abolish the electoral college as a sad legacy of both aristocratic ideals and slave-era logic. Direct elections work just fine. Since abolishing the electoral college seems very, very difficult, we should – it seems to me – at least switch from a winner take all system for each state to a fairer system where each congressional district chooses its own electors. Adopting this more transparent, honest “tiered” system would quickly reveal the huge divide between urban and rural America across the country. If Senator Obama wins the popular vote and still loses the electoral college, I expect more Democrats to rediscover their discomfort with the very undemocratic electoral college. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Conversation Tip #14: Ask a question, listen!
"Want to have a conversation? Ask a question, listen."
Robert Bly (1926- ), American poet and activist
Is that concise enough?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Robert Bly (1926- ), American poet and activist
Is that concise enough?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Monday, August 4, 2008
Workplace Conversation tip: Tone, Volumen, and Context Matter!
Style matters – especially when we talk with our co-workers, consumers, patients, and supervisors. English language learners, recent immigrants, and far too many other people who work in English sometimes seem to forget this!
Consider the difference in how these requests sound.
Shut off the TV!
Please turn off the TV?
Could you turn off the TV?
Would you please turn off the TV?
Close the door!
Close the door; it’s noisy out there.
Shut the damn door!
Would you please close the door; it’s noisy out there.
Could you get the door?
Can you close the door?
Sometimes, especially in an emergency, it is appropriate to warn other people with a short command.
Call the police!
Help!
Shut the door!
We recognize it is an emergency because of the way the request is made. It’s an order.
I. When would it be appropriate to give a warning on your job? Please give 3 examples.
1.
2.
3.
But, usually, we also make our requests that are not emergencies. We can – and should- give suggestions in a kinder, gentler way.
We can use many words to make requests and suggestions:
May Can Could Would Should Might
II. Please write a request that you might give or hear at work with these words.
1. Can ______________________________________________?
2. May ______________________________________________?
3. Could _____________________________________________?
4. Would_____________________________________________?
5. Should_____________________________________________?
6. Might _____________________________________________?
Adding the word “please” makes your requests and suggestions sound nicer too!
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Consider the difference in how these requests sound.
Shut off the TV!
Please turn off the TV?
Could you turn off the TV?
Would you please turn off the TV?
Close the door!
Close the door; it’s noisy out there.
Shut the damn door!
Would you please close the door; it’s noisy out there.
Could you get the door?
Can you close the door?
Sometimes, especially in an emergency, it is appropriate to warn other people with a short command.
Call the police!
Help!
Shut the door!
We recognize it is an emergency because of the way the request is made. It’s an order.
I. When would it be appropriate to give a warning on your job? Please give 3 examples.
1.
2.
3.
But, usually, we also make our requests that are not emergencies. We can – and should- give suggestions in a kinder, gentler way.
We can use many words to make requests and suggestions:
May Can Could Would Should Might
II. Please write a request that you might give or hear at work with these words.
1. Can ______________________________________________?
2. May ______________________________________________?
3. Could _____________________________________________?
4. Would_____________________________________________?
5. Should_____________________________________________?
6. Might _____________________________________________?
Adding the word “please” makes your requests and suggestions sound nicer too!
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Solzhenitsyn, Free Speech, and Teaching English
“Own only what you can always carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, an exceptional writer of rare courage, died today. English teachers, lovers of literature, and people conscience will find his long obituary in the International Herald Tribune worth reading.
While far too many western leftists preferred to close their eyes to the nature and brutality of the Soviet slave labor system, Solzhenitsyn wrote novels that detailed the misery and repression created by the communists. His writings also made it impossible for even the most naïve leftist intellectuals to deny Stalin’s gulags – and how millions looked away. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970, but the Soviet authorities naturally prevented him from accepting his award. He spent 20 years in prison camps for his writings.
Do you have English language students from Russia? Do you know immigrants and refugees who spent their youth under the Soviet system? How did living under a communist dictatorship distort human relationships? Solzhenitsyn’s writings, once censored, may help you better understand some of the historical and cultural factors that have influenced your students and their worldviews.
Personally, I found working with Russian refugees and immigrants a very eye-opening experience. The more you learn about the old Soviet system, the more you appreciate the American tradition of individual rights and political freedom. Solzhenitsyn wrote in his 1967 novel, The Cancer Ward, about the consequences of silent conformity with Stalin’s crimes. "Suddenly all the professors and engineers turned out to be saboteurs — and they believed it? ... Or all of Lenin's old guard were vile renegades — and they believed it? Suddenly all their friends and acquaintances were enemies of the people — and they believed it?" Everyone, as in Nazi Germany, knew and didn’t want to know.
Free speech and free press remain under siege – in the United States, often from self-righteous idealists. Solzhenitsyn’s writings serve as a powerful rebuke to coercive utopians, and illuminate the power of personal choices under the most severe stress.
ESL teachers, especially EL/Civics teachers in adult education, need to emphasize the beauty, rarity, and wisdom of the first amendment guaranteeing free speech and a free press. Educators and librarians need to resist the pressure, and the temptation, to censor themselves "for the children." Classrooms must remain rare zones where ideas are openly discussed.
I chose Solzhenitsyn’s quote for the dedication page of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics to remind myself – and others – to look beyond material possessions. We need to stay awake and remain sane – even if our society begins to sprout social cancers and asking simple questions becomes dangerous.
Solzhenitsyn provides a model of resistance to tyranny.
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, an exceptional writer of rare courage, died today. English teachers, lovers of literature, and people conscience will find his long obituary in the International Herald Tribune worth reading.
While far too many western leftists preferred to close their eyes to the nature and brutality of the Soviet slave labor system, Solzhenitsyn wrote novels that detailed the misery and repression created by the communists. His writings also made it impossible for even the most naïve leftist intellectuals to deny Stalin’s gulags – and how millions looked away. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970, but the Soviet authorities naturally prevented him from accepting his award. He spent 20 years in prison camps for his writings.
Do you have English language students from Russia? Do you know immigrants and refugees who spent their youth under the Soviet system? How did living under a communist dictatorship distort human relationships? Solzhenitsyn’s writings, once censored, may help you better understand some of the historical and cultural factors that have influenced your students and their worldviews.
Personally, I found working with Russian refugees and immigrants a very eye-opening experience. The more you learn about the old Soviet system, the more you appreciate the American tradition of individual rights and political freedom. Solzhenitsyn wrote in his 1967 novel, The Cancer Ward, about the consequences of silent conformity with Stalin’s crimes. "Suddenly all the professors and engineers turned out to be saboteurs — and they believed it? ... Or all of Lenin's old guard were vile renegades — and they believed it? Suddenly all their friends and acquaintances were enemies of the people — and they believed it?" Everyone, as in Nazi Germany, knew and didn’t want to know.
Free speech and free press remain under siege – in the United States, often from self-righteous idealists. Solzhenitsyn’s writings serve as a powerful rebuke to coercive utopians, and illuminate the power of personal choices under the most severe stress.
ESL teachers, especially EL/Civics teachers in adult education, need to emphasize the beauty, rarity, and wisdom of the first amendment guaranteeing free speech and a free press. Educators and librarians need to resist the pressure, and the temptation, to censor themselves "for the children." Classrooms must remain rare zones where ideas are openly discussed.
I chose Solzhenitsyn’s quote for the dedication page of Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics to remind myself – and others – to look beyond material possessions. We need to stay awake and remain sane – even if our society begins to sprout social cancers and asking simple questions becomes dangerous.
Solzhenitsyn provides a model of resistance to tyranny.
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
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