Job Discussion Forums

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello General Forum

Sometimes when I get depressed --- or upset by the trivial bickering of everyday life, I'm often reminded of a homework assignment I worked on many years ago while tutoring expat Japanese & Chinese kids in Manila.

At that time I was tutoring a very bright 12 year-old Japanese boy whose father was a VIP at Fujitsu. He was attending an advanced ESL program at the International School Manila. One afternoon, he brought home a poem and asked me if I would help him to understand what the author was trying to say.

This may be a little 'mushy' for the forum, but when all the dust has settled,

this is (imo) what TEFL is all about. I actually memorized the darn thing!


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


The Road Not Taken

by Robert Lee Frost


Anybody else care to share something memorable; something you read that has stuck with you over the years?

[Justin Trullinger]

It's been a while since I've read that.

Thank you!

Justin

[moonraven]

The only problem: That road is becoming more traveled all the time.

[tedkarma]

Kent,

You are always spot on. That poem is posted on my fridge - and a guide for my life.

Gary Larson had a great cartoon that I taped to my wall when I was living in Botswana.

An old man is dying and his family is gathered around the bed for his last moments. He motions them to come closer as he is so weak it will be hard to hear his last words. They lean forward � and he motions to come even closer � as he is very weak. They lean in even closer for his parting wisdom. As he gathers his last breath - he whispers, "I wish I had taken that roll in the hay with Mary Lou back in '42" and dies.

That cartoon always meant (to me anyway) that when I lay on my death bed - I don't want to WISH I had done something. I want to know that my final moments will be thoughts of a life well lived.

[Ajarn Miguk]

[Roger]

Thanks Kent for jogging our numb minds with that lovely poem!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Thanks guys - I loved the Mary Lou story!

Since we're on the topic of poetry, here's a simple but useful resource:

http://jollyroger.com/poems/

[Zero Hero]

Thanks for that Robert Frost passage. It reminded me of:

"And you read your Emily D_ickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers,
That measure what we've lost.
Like a poem poorly written,
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time.
Lost in the dangling conversation,
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives."

[moonraven]

Ajarn: It's attraction mostly lies in its being the less-traveled road. When it becomes part of mass culture it's considerable less attractive, as the lowest common denominator takes over--as it has in all other areas.

[Ajarn Miguk]

[merlin]

C'mon moonraven.
Obviously the road less travellled BY DEFINITION cannot be part of mass culture. As soon as it becomes so it is no longer the road less travelled.

If you think there are too many people on the road you've chosen it's time to think: is everyone really following you or are you in fact just following the same path as others, but a little ahead of time so you get a good spot? Isn't it a little more rewarding to be on the same path as the crowd but a little ahead of them than it is to be lost in a jungle where you know no one will ever stop by?

Looking back, would you really rather be following your own path through a jungle with no positive feedback and ignorant as to whether or not you're going to walk off the face of the earth? Isn't it better to once in a while have a pack of ninnies catch up to you and validate the course you've taken, even if they do throw a snickers wrapper on the ground?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi gang

For me, "the road less traveled" was simply a clever metaphor for doing something unconventional; bucking the status quo, wearing bell-bottoms long after they went out of fashion, coming out of the closet, or choosing an unusual career (TEFL) for example.

I don't think Frost was alluding to a road per se, but that's just my take on it!

And that's what I taught the 12 year-old Japanese kid who got an "A" on his assignment.

metaphor: a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

above definition courtesy of http://onelook.com/

[Moore]

Quote "The only problem is: That road is becoming more traveled all the time"

In every country I�ve been to, there�s somebody who thinks they�re the first one, who shun the company of other expats, who don�t realize that South America was discovered 500 years ago, and the Lonely Planet guidebooks have been going for over thirty years. These people will always come out with tales of how much better it was here 10 / 20 / 30 years ago and how it�s all rubbish and expensive and touristy now (when you�re there blown away and perfectly happy with what you�ve found). They have been away for too long, the exotic-ness of being a long-term expat and being fluent in the language is about the only thing they have left going for them, so they get a bit shirty when, surprise surprise, other people show up and learn the language and suddenly they aren�t nearly as special any more.

[moonraven]

Moore:

Excuse me, but South America was not DISCOVERED 500 years ago. There have been vibrant cultures and civilizations on this continent for the better part of 40,000 years.

Your attitude--that no place exists until Whitey shows up--is one of the reasons that I don't appreciate that the professional path of EFL has become well-trodden.

Truthfully--it was rather a glib comment on my part. I did not come to Latin America to teach English--so EFL was not the path I was on. I came to Latin America to write and produce campesino theater. EFL became a way to bankroll that ongoing project.

Hopefully, that also answers Merlin's question about whether I would rather be "following my path through the jungle", etc. The "feedback" that has been primary for me in Latin America has been that of the local communities' willingness and enthusiasm and involvement in the projects which I have started. Since I was a teacher before I came to Latin America--and had received sufficient "feedback" to know that I was a credible teacher, the positive feedback I have received as a teacher, teacher trainer and administrator here has not been a novelty. That is not to say it is not appreciated--just that since teaching is not my primary path, feedback in regard to it has secondary importance.

And yes, Frost's road is a metaphor. He was talking about finding one's own path, instead of following the herd. I have never followed the herd, and when I have felt its members breathing down my neck I have taken one of those side roads another poster mentioned.

[Justin Trullinger]

This discussion reminds me of my favourite Yogi Berra quotation.

"Nobody goes to that anymore, it's got too crowded."

I think I've seen that on this board before, but it always makes me smile.

And the Frost poem is also one of my favourites- it can be a good guide to life. It seems, though, that a lot of posters are referring to TEFL as one "road." For me the road less travelled would be something a little more personal. And yes, I do believe there are many untravelled roads left within this career.

Regards,
Justin

PS Of course South America was dicovered 500 years ago! And It's really part of India, as well. Maybe all the immigrants from South America who are now in Europe should say they discovered it, and make a claim for possesion.(I hope that my ironic tone can be heard through the screen. )