Many is the day when Ive sat here on my perch pondering over my status as an ESL instructor within the private sector of education. Granted, Ive had education and international experience enough to qualify me for such a lofty position, yet just a few things seem to be missing. These are:

>(1) income equal to that of any instructor of "specialized education"

>(2) actual recognition within educational circles as a specialist.

Man! Hasnt the test and other paperwork preparation stepped up lately? And is it not true that most ESL schools are demanding that much of this be completed on the teachers own time? Whats more, how about these low wages? Its hard to believe there are so many schools in the private sector that still pay as little as $12 per hour to part-time staff. Granted (thank God) many others have been slowly awakening to the necessity of exerting a modicum of decency in their dealings with ESL instructors, here in the States there is apparently still a long way to go to balance the scales.

WHY has the ESL field not measured up to the standards of public institutions in the same area of endeavor? Perhaps its because of its great attraction to recent college graduates who are elated to have any type of experience to place on their otherwise sparse rsums. But this is not to ignore guys like yours truly well over age 50 who are happy to acquire any kind of ESL work in what has often been regarded as a slightly more than biased area of teaching. Whatever the circumstances, one cannot, in all good conscience, dismiss the fact that an instructor who does the job must be regarded as an employee worthy of a living wage, not to mention recognition as a contributing peer within the educational realm. I ask you, what can we do to get that message across to Mr. US Employer and perhaps, at long last, change what has unfortunately become a traditional, yet wholly unreasonable, state of affairs?

Love to all,

The Arrogant One