Scaffolding Schemata

In October, 2014, I first posted this text based on a presentation given at a BrazTesol One-Day Seminar. The original title was something like Dealing with Parents . The presentation has been improved and Dealing with Parents has been put into a broader perspective: Client Relationship . At schools, our clients are the students themselves and their parents or legal guardians. Lots of times their grandparents, stepparents and nannies as well; hence the need for teachers to be able to relate effectively and productively to students - children, teens and adults -, parents and... grandparents... and nannies... and stepparents is imperative. For years now I have been reflecting on career development and career management. I have been trying to apply concepts that are widely used in business, such as having a mission and a vision, knowing about strategies and tactics, or being aware of negotiation principles to improve my own views of my career and to try and help fellow...

It's always bothered me that teachers rarely discussed their careers. I didn't know that. I knew I was bothered by the constant complaints and no action, by the lack of professionalism in TEFL (I have to admit I contributed to it), the superficial view of the profession, the lack of self-professional-esteem. Only later, when I started studying things not related to TEFL, past the activities, past the techniques, past the methodologies and into managing people, offering excellence, understanding education (not only teaching), I realized what having a career was. It is more than common to listen to engineers, doctors, administrators, lawyers, project managers discussing their careers. What position they are going to achieve in five, ten years. What company they are going to work for. What salary they are going to receive. (Does the EFL market provides its professionals with such possibilities?) I have started a personal crusade, in 2012. To raise EFL teachers' aware...

Ontem vi uma notícia do portal G1 sobre jovens que utilizam a internet para ensinar . Isso me deixou, mais uma vez, fascinado com todas as possibilidades, benefícios e oportunidades que a tecnologia e a internet podem trazer para a vida profissional, acadêmica e social de cada um de nós. Os jovens dessa notícia me lembraram Salman Khan, que criou a Khan Academy . Em 2004, ele começou a ensinar matemática para uma prima por meio de vídeos. Bom, caiu na graça da rede e já são milhares de aulas, além de exercícios, quizzes e ferramentas pedagógicas para professores. Os jovens da notícia são empreendedores admiráveis que ainda contribuirão muito para a educação. Essa história toda me fez refletir sobre educação profissional. Em tempos de faculdades para todos os lados, de críticas ferrenhas à educação de baixa qualidade, de apagão de mão-de-obra, de mercado exigente, acredito que uma das mais importantes habilidades a serem desenvolvidas por um profissional é sua capacidade de ...