tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828415387916366867.post6476267226122010858..comments2024-03-08T13:06:37.359-08:00Comments on The Joy of ESL Blog: PBLA Drove Me to Better Self Care (and other good news of the week)Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08182881635816655061noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828415387916366867.post-48591424374841944302017-03-14T14:57:35.006-07:002017-03-14T14:57:35.006-07:00Claudie,
Thank you, as always, for taking the time...Claudie,<br />Thank you, as always, for taking the time to leave a comment here. Your voice is such a valuable contribution. KellyKellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182881635816655061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828415387916366867.post-35148015431602451402017-03-10T05:16:58.484-08:002017-03-10T05:16:58.484-08:00Interesting title to your blog. A very good teache...Interesting title to your blog. A very good teacher, dear friend, believes that the stress of PBLA precipitated her heart attack (I can give you her name to check. Of course she did not return to teaching.)<br />Two days ago we were told we would start "to be trained" in the "magnificent" PBLA (I have been following this assiduously for years. It's a mess. It is a government funded and mandated UNPROVEN experiment with, imo, an invalid construct. Impractical. Out of touch. poorly designed and poorly written) We received our "PBLA READINESS SELF-ASSESSMENT" <br />assignment to complete before this morning's session.For me - I already do all the items regularly (as my manager had told me I do). "I was advised to "Learn more about Assessment for Learning" strategies to continue to enhance your practice". <br />Later there was a note:<br />"Understanding change in our professional lives: <br />* Real change occurs over time. It takes effort to adjust, find resiurces and develop effective strategies. It is sometimes uncomfortable.<br />* Without change we cease to develop professionally.<br />* ESL learners benefit when instructors make the effort to enhance learning through PBLA."<br /><br />(This last claim is unproven. And tgere us no evidence tgat learners did not receive beneficial learning pre-PBLA. I have a proven track record NOT using PBLA. As do most teachers I know.)<br /> I have to wonder what patronising, selfserving, bureaucratic individual wrote these words. Not a teacher, not a trained psychologist or sociologist or academic, not someone who has respect for other adults. <br />I have been warned to keep an open mind (I always do, but tempered by a responsibility to myself to think critically). I have been warned tgst if I resist I will be disciplined. Interesting.claudiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203496693621797550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828415387916366867.post-71299310825587971092017-03-05T19:45:58.478-08:002017-03-05T19:45:58.478-08:00Anonymous,
I'm so sorry you read this post as...Anonymous, <br />I'm so sorry you read this post as a white flag. I am trying to walk that difficult tightrope between speaking truth to power and turning into Negative Nelly. My plan with this blog is to continue reporting what comes most natural to me: the sources of joy. In the case of this week's post, it's the lemonade I squeezed from one of the lemons. I will continue to report my challenges and those reported to me by other teachers. I'm attempting not to have two critical blog posts in a row, but as you may or may not have picked up, even this attempt at a positive one is laced with back-handed compliments and tongue-in-cheek. It's the best I can do given that I believe PBLA with literacy students is possibly overkill. With seniors who don't change levels, it is most definitely inappropriate in my view.<br /><br />Nobody has threatened me. As far as I know, my manager and her manager don't even read this blog. But PBLA is not optional for the teachers at my agency.<br /><br />I don't want PBLA to turn me into someone who only gripes. Not only is bitterness not good for my health, but I believe I am going to garner more credibility from our community if I attempt some semblance of balanced reporting and also mention the good days.<br /><br />All this being said, I have to remind everyone that I am NOT a typical teacher in her second month of full implementation. Most teachers undertaking this have twice or three times the number of students that I have. Most have more demanding home lives than I have (no husband, kids or even pets here).<br /><br />One teacher I know was told by her husband that he'd kept track for a week of the time she spent at home on things for work. She was, he told her, working her way down to minimum wage. I am afraid to keep a log and find out what my pay would work out to.<br /><br />I hope you'll continue to contribute and are not too disappointed in me. --KellyKellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182881635816655061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828415387916366867.post-21539012402616548912017-03-05T05:39:11.096-08:002017-03-05T05:39:11.096-08:00Did your employer threaten to fire you? Is this w...Did your employer threaten to fire you? Is this why you are backing down from the fight? PBLA hasn't changed...has it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com