ELT News Think Tank

This Month's Think Tank Panel

Marc Helgesen

Peter Viney

Curtis Kelly

Chuck Sandy

Panelists: Peter | Marc | Curtis | Chuck
Date: February 2005

Topic: "What ELT books influenced you most as a teacher?"

Curtis Kelly

ELT books? None. Not one of the books I am recommending has anything to do with teaching English, but they all have everything to do with teaching. I doubt any of the rest of you have read them, but they are well-known in the field of Education, and I think when you read my comments, you will.

Peter, you said that your choice of books betrayed your age, but check out mine: five from the nineties and double-0ies. I guess I am a lot younger than you!

“Not one of the books I am recommending has anything to do with teaching English, but they all have everything to do with teaching.”

'The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs' ­ Elliot W. Eisner
3rd edition, Prentice Hall, 1994 (available from Amazon)
My first choice is a fascinating book about schools, about teaching, and how it hammers our heads. Eisner discusses educational philosophies that unconsciously shape teacher notions, and the hidden curriculum that shapes student notions (such as “Be in your seat on time!”). He also points out, though, that most curricula are determined by the textbook writers rather than teachers.

Eisner is a curriculum expert at Stanford, but don't let his position fool you. He was originally trained to be a painter, and through his artist's eye we get a view of education most of us are blind to. Just look at these exceprts taken from chapter 13, which can be downloaded here.

The dominant image of schooling in America has been the factory and the dominant image of teaching and learning the assembly line.

The canons of behavioural science have too often determined what shall be studied and what shall be regarded as important in education.

Operationalism and measurement have focused so heavily on behaviour that the quality of the student's experience has been generally ignored or seriously neglected.

The history of the curriculum field has been dominated by the aspiration to technologise schooling and to reduce the need for artistry in teaching.

Ahh, I can just about hear Chris Hunt clicking on Amazon to buy this one. And now, to be fair on the age issue, Peter, I confess. The version of Eisner's book that I read was the first edition, published in 1979, not the edition listed above.

'The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life' ­ Parker Palmer
Jossey-Bass, 1998 (available from Amazon)
I cannot really say that this book was one of the most influential, but I am going to recommend it anyway. Palmer approaches teaching as a kind of spiritual endeavor, in which we must look into our hearts and minds to better understand what we do. Teachers weave a complex web between themselves, their subjects and their learners, so that the learners can then weave their own. Sounds like constructivism. Here is an excerpt:

This book is for teachers who have good days and bad -- and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning, and the teaching life.

'Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners' ­ Laurent Daloz
Jossey-Bass, 1999 (available from Amazon)
This is a delightful and highly readable book in which Daloz mixes stories about helping adults go back to school and research that explains their problems in doing so. He characterizes the teacher as mentor, using Luke Skywalker's guide, Yoda, and Dante's guide, Virgil, as perfect archetypes. The mentor asks the questions rather than give the answers, and eventually, moves farther and farther away from the learner. But why take my word for it? Here is what Parker Palmer, the author of my #2 choice said:

Essential reading.... This book will help more of us grow into one of the most life-giving relationships we can have with another person, one that will bring deep fulfillment to our own souls. Daloz has given a great gift to all who teach and learn.

If you don't read the whole thing, at least read the middle chapter on William Perry's discoveries about college student intellectual growth.

'The Adult Learner, a Neglected Species' ­ Malcolm Knowles, 1990 (Amazon)
'A Way of Being' ­ Carl Rogers, 1980 (Amazon)
'Designing World Class e-Learning' ­ Roger Schank, 2002 (Amazon)
To keep my contribution short, I am lumping the last three into one commentary. All three have shaped my view of education in a fundamental way. They may seem to be readings on very specialized topics ­ adult learning, psychology, and e-learning ­ but they are not. Each provides a view of human relations and learning that will change the way you deal with vocabulary, speaking practice, lateness, and anything else you deal with in class. Knowles' book provides alternatives to the teacher-centered pedagogy, Rogers teaches us to give “absolute positive regard” to our learners, and Schank preaches that school does not really teach, only real-life experience does, even if it is virtual experience in a simulation.

So, how's that, Think Tankers? You thought I'd be listing Procedur Elementale for Teaching English, The Oxford Corpus Compendium, Understanding Syntax and Lexicon, or books like these, didn't you? However, the books that influenced me were not manuals on how to use the tools, but guides to understanding my role as a carpenter.

I am looking forward to reading your choices as well.

Panelists: Peter | Marc | Curtis | Chuck

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Curtis Kelly, Heian Jogakuin University

Author of Writing from Within

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