Sadebugo
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 524
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 Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear Sadebugo,
I suppose it all depends on how scrupulous you are and on how tender your conscience is. It may also depend on how desperate you are for a job.
But I think the Green Acres made a very good point. The "political correctness" of your employer is, I'd say, irrelevant in most cases as long as you're doing the best job you can. I worked for the Saudi government for nineteen years. Personally, I consider the Royal Family to be an oppressive and extremely distasteful regime. However, when I was there, I always kept in mind the good possibility that at least some of my students (maybe more) were going to form at least some of their impressions (maybe more) about Americans specifically and "westerners" in general based on my behavior.
Perhaps I was mistaken, but I thought of myself as being as sort of "unofficial representative" of a different culture, and I always tried to
encourage mutual understanding and mutual respect.
We teach English, but as TEFLers, I suspect that we teach a lot more than that. How we act and what we say while abroad may have an impact far beyond what we realize. After all, the stereotype of "The Ugly American"
likely arose from the individual acts of Americans when they were overseas:
"Pejorative term for Americans traveling or living abroad who remain ignorant of local culture and judge everything by American standards."
So, isn't it our responsibility to at least try to show that America, the same as every other nation, is comprised of "decent" as well as "ugly" individuals?
I can't change the world, in the sense of replacing dictatorial regimes, but I think I can change the worlds of at least a few of my students if I can, by my behavior, break down some of the stereotypes that foster misunderstanding, dislike, and even hatred.
All we can do is maintain our personal integrity; we cannot maintain everyone else's.
Regards,
John |
Very well said, John. I appreciate you addressing this issue.
Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/ |
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