Text 9A2-II
As I was driving, the snow had started falling in earnest.
The light was flat, although it was midmorning, making it almost
impossible to distinguish the highway. I turned on the radio to
help me concentrate on the road ahead; the announcer was
talking about the snow. “The state Highway department advises
motorists to use extreme caution and to drive with their
headlights on to ensure maximum visibility.” He went on. “The
state highway supervisor just called to say that one of the plows
almost hit a car because the person driving hadn’t turned on his
ligths.” I checked, almost reflexively, to be sure that my
headlights were on.
How can information serve those who hear or read it in
making sense of their own worlds? How can it enable them to
reason about what they do and to take appropriate actions based
on that reasoning? My experience with the radio illustrates two
different ways of providing the same message: the need to use
your headlights when you drive in heavy snow. The first offers
dispassionate information; the second tells the same content in a
personal, compelling story. The first disguises its point of view;
the second explicitly grounds the general information in a
particular time and place. Each means of giving information has
its role, but I believe the second is ultimately more useful in
helping people make sense of what they are doing. When I heard
the story about the plow, I made sure my headlights were on.
In what is written about teaching, it is rare to find
accounts in which the author’s experience and point of view are
central. A point of view is not simply an opinion; neither is it a
whimsical or impressionistic claim. Rather, a point of view lays
out what the author thinks and why. The problem is that much of
what is available in professional development in languageteacher education concentrates on telling rather than on point of
view. The telling is prescriptive, like the radio announcer’s first
statement. It emphasizes what is important to know and do, what
is current in theory and research, and therefore what you — as a
practicing teacher — should do. But this telling disguises the
teller; it hides the point of view that can enable you to make
sense of what is told.
Donald Freeman. Series Editor’s preface. In: P. R. Moran.
Teaching culture: perspectives in practice. Boston (MA): Heinle, 2001 (adapted).