Harajuku Cafe

I attended a professional workshop last year put on by the people who produce the textbooks we use. Genereally most people don't like these professional workshops because they are presented by people who lack technique in the profession. If you are not a teacher let me preface--teaching is all about technique. The student has a behavior that has to be corrected so you employ a technique to correct the behavior. The incorrect behavior may be not understanding judicial review, improper preposition use, or consistently having to leave class to use the restroom. To correct the behavior, you have to employ a technique that puts the student on the proper path. This workshop that I attended was presented by one of those people. Taught in the industry for the last five years, M.A. in TESOL, blah, blah, blah--she had no techniques to offer.

I don't begrudge having to go to these seminars since it is an inevitable part of being a teacher. For me, one hour, two hours, three hours; I don't care how long the seminar goes on for if I get one usable technique. That may seem like a lot of time to waste for one technique but you have to realize that after the first few years of teaching ESL, a good technique that you have not used before is hard to come by. That being said, I really don't care about how long the seminar lasts as long as I can get one good technique. Give me one, just one, and I am good.