GROWING OLD? I hate the thought of it! In fact, when I was younger, I used to kneel in prayer to a miniature Madonna in my bedroom to remain forever young. HA! A lot of #@!&*#+ good THAT did! Probably all the fear and anticipation I felt made me age EVEN FASTER! But here I am, pushing 68, and still very much a part of the ESL world. Only, during the past few years, I've found work a wee bit on the scarce side. And WHY? Is it prejudice against older folks in the old marketplace? Against New Yorkers? The way I dress? MY attitude? Truthfully, I see no reason for bias so long as I can still teach and, in fact, inspire my students to be all-smiles at the end of a grueling 2 to 3-hour TOEFL session. I realize there ARE teachers older than I who are still gainfully employed as ESL instructors, but after a rather intensive investigation, I feel those instances are few and far between. Verily, from what I am able to gather, for the greater majority of us "old codgers," BANISHMENT FROM SOCIETY seems to be the accepted scheme of things ... or at least that's how some of us have been made to feel. No matter how hard I've tried of late, I seem to get passed over, but NOT in the positive manner by which the Children of Israel were "passed over" by that nasty Angel of Death so very long ago! Despite my education and many years of experience in the field, it's almost as if I were chosen to suffer for merely being over 65! Work? Well, I manage to do some ESL subbing, in addition to tutoring a few college students, plus some writing assignments -- albeit all of this does NOT amount to the full-time living I had enjoyed for so many years up to the recent past. Now before you feel impelled to take out your Stradivarii and join me in one Grand Lament, let me state that this is NOT a plea for sympathy. Nay, nay ... it is intended to be a description of what I've discovered to be a disaster from which so many still-active and still-capable sexagenarians are suffering as a direct result of fewer teaching opportunities being made available for them in a marketplace that has seemingly abandoned them.

Look -- I'm not so foolish as to dismiss the fact that ESL instruction has more or less become a question of YOUNG teachers instructing a basically YOUNG student quorum. It's a question of SALES if nothing else, as the ESL world has recently become fiercely competitive and school owners have had to consider, first and foremost, what pleases their CUSTOMERS most. Naturally, that hardly indicates a fair shake for the older instructor, but ... there we have it. Shall we form AN OLDER TEACHERS' UNION to demand our equal rights? HA! That would probably go over as big as an Azar WHITE grammar book in a TOEFL class! I hate to think that distant places like China and Korea constitute the ONLY answer for teachers over 60! Ah, me ... growing old(er) is certainly no joy, especially when you still have your wits and health under control and, moreover, are quite capable of making a meaningful contribution to your chosen field of professional activity -- in this case, TEACHING.

EMPLOYERS: Am I right ... or AM I RIGHT?