Attitude is a word I’ve had shoved down my throat practically all my days on this planet. First, there were my parents – I can see them now from my crib: “Attitude, young man, attitude! Eat all that spinach this minute!” Then in grade school, Mrs. Rosenberg – the wicked witch of the East Coast (and twice as ugly): “Your attitude is horrendous, young man! You’d better mend your ways or you’ll never see junior high school!” Of course, I went on to junior high school and even graduated college (that *itch)! Even as an adult, when I was engaged as timpanist of the CBC Halifax Symphony Orchestra, at one rehearsal the conductor gave me an ever-so-imposing glower of admonishment over my having thumped one passage a bit too clamorously for his taste: “Timpani! I said mezzo forte, NOT forte! Your attitude today is apparently non-cooperative.” Well, of course, being a Leo with a B-positive blood type, you can well imagine that, under the right conditions, I can be pretty damned hostile toward any type of authority – a genuine rebel, if you will. But now that I’m truly old enough to know better and have faced many of the negative aspects of life -- including those of the ESL business -- I have ultimately reached the conclusion that attitude, per se, is most important, especially when entertaining the prospect of a foreign teaching venture. Yes, many of us native speakers of English – be we from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, or subsidiaries thereof – have a preconceived attitude about teaching abroad even long before we’ve located and accepted such opportunity. And, yes, it is quite easy to become prejudiced when it comes to China, Korea, or even Japan, particularly in light of the multitudinous complaints being posted on the teachers’ forum boards each and every day of the week. On the other hand, and in all fairness, it has been likewise proven that there are, in fact, many legitimate entities in the above-mentioned locales that hire ESL personnel with integrity and treat same with the utmost of respect. Even our good friend and colleague, Paul Hodge, would agree with this. But this ever-growing deception of many of the ads representing both schools and agencies is now foremost in the minds of prospective victims as well as those who have already fallen prey. Will unionization help dispel this appalling inequity? Hmm. We shall see.

So, can we be certain of what we’re getting into? Is there any 100% sure method? Regrettably, I’ve found there isn’t, especially when considering cultural differences, varying opinions among Western teachers and … yeah, you guessed it … your attitude! It is quite obvious that the basis for assimilating information and making fair judgments lies chiefly in one’s open-mindedness. Unfortunately, however, I have found that if one is a born skeptic, there’s no changing that heavily-biased characteristic of the decision-making process. Ergo, in this instance, one must rely heavily upon the opinions of others in making important choices. This is hardly a personal process, but infinitely better than working on purely subjective instinct. But, as most of us know, even with a finite, flaw-proof method of self-determination, it is still possible to make a tragic error in judgment, and once we attempt to seek where the “guilt” lies, the question of attitude becomes more important than ever before. After such a boo-boo has been committed, immediate psychological recuperation is essential to prevent a permanent sense of letdown and self-image as a failure doomed to bear a defeatist’s attitude for the remainder of one's days on earth. But while we are doing our best to maintain a progressive posture in our daily affairs, there are still many others surrounding us who couldn’t care less about self-discipline so long as they’re getting what they want. This is where the most challenging test of self-management comes in. Personally speaking, I can’t tolerate someone’s getting away with murder while I – simple schnook that I am – must take a beating financially, socially, morally, or what have you. I am citing, in particular, the case of much younger, less experienced ESL “teachers” being hired over older and more seasoned professionals. The world’s fixation with youth is well known, yet to have it play such an integral part of contemporary education is, to say the very least, most appalling. I once knew a veteran ESL instructor of 65 or so who was extremely popular with his students and even managed to mold a few scholars in the course of his lengthy career. One day, in the middle of a lecture, he became quite ill. Reason: his doctor had earlier prescribed a change of one of his medications which subsequently clashed with still another he had been taking on a regular basis. He got dizzy, lost his bearing, and began to wildly address subjects having nothing to do with the lesson. The students got scared and ran to the office. When the teacher “came to” less than five minutes later, he noticed that everyone had abandoned the classroom. Just then, the owner of the school solicitously entered the room, his final check in-hand, with the explanation that the students had become “extremely frightened” of him and had no further desire to study with him! Mind you, he hadn't been afforded so much as a trial before his execution! Of course, had he pursued the issue, he probably could have gotten his job back, but he soon figured that his having been so hurriedly ejected from the premises was a good enough indication of the management's having no further desire for his services. After having sworn off of teaching for an entire year, I’m happy to report that Jack, a true-blue ESL-nick, is currently back in business and gainfully employed at another Los Angeles language facility. I might say, had his attitude not been one of a – shall we say –"forgiving nature," many ESL students would today be needlessly devoid of his expertise in their English studies. Nonetheless, the issue of age bias in the ESL game can be ever-so-noticeable once you pass 50. Of course, most people will question the justice of this attitude, which I am sorry to have noticed some teachers share with management. You would be surprised at some the lame excuses (justifications) I’ve had the displeasure of hearing in recent times. But before I give you my opinion, I want to ask you what you think? Should older instructors be subject to the dismissal of their years of experience in favor of maintaining a more youthful scenario within ESL schools? Gnaw on that one for a while, dear friends.

The Arrogant One