I am an English Literature teacher before all.
One of the values I hold is that using the imagination, in creative writing for example, is important for the development of language skills and the intellect in general.
A well developed imagination and imaginative writing skills are extremely valuable tools.
Yesterday in my French Language class I was given a piece of homework.
The task was to write the dreams a baby has for the future.
The entire class except me wrote their dreams for the future and were things like 'I would like to be a baker' or 'I would like to make shoes'.
I wrote an imaginative response of a baby.
It went something like 'I would like to be the first world president, I would like to go to the moon, I would like to see the solar system colonised'.
The teacher did not like my answer and said 'the practical answers' (although they didn't actually answer the question asked) were better than mine.
Although I am an adult, I am qualified, and I know the value of imaginative response, I felt slightly humiliated.
Can anyone explain the teacher's behaviour please so I can understand her rather than just plain dislike her.
Thank you.
what is the problem with imagination when learning?
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fluffyhamster
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It sounds a BS task (do babies of all "people" have dreams for the future?!), especially when only 'practical' answers would be accepted (and if a teacher were simply after practical answers, it would be easier to ask the class what they'd like to V in their forseeable future - even mature people still have some plans!).
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Sally Olsen
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Perhaps she hoped that you would use the vocabulary assigned for that lesson and your answer went beyond?
It might be that she is a practical person and even in her own life doesn't dream like you did in your answers. If you could find out how she thinks about life and why, you will understand her response to your answer.
I bet she has an interesting story of why she has to focus on the practical and not on "dreams".
It might be that she is a practical person and even in her own life doesn't dream like you did in your answers. If you could find out how she thinks about life and why, you will understand her response to your answer.
I bet she has an interesting story of why she has to focus on the practical and not on "dreams".
There was no specific vocabulary assigned to me. However she certainly seems to have had in mind particular responses.Sally Olsen wrote:Perhaps she hoped that you would use the vocabulary assigned for that lesson and your answer went beyond?
It might be that she is a practical person and even in her own life doesn't dream like you did in your answers. If you could find out how she thinks about life and why, you will understand her response to your answer.
I bet she has an interesting story of why she has to focus on the practical and not on "dreams".
It seems to be an issue of how to manage unexpected responses.
Your last two paragraphs form an absolutely brilliant answer.
It seems maybe her personality affected her adaptability.
She couldn't manage my answer.
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Sally Olsen
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Funny, but I have had the opposite experience of my students not giving me what I thought were "creative" answers when I really value that.
However, in many places I have taught, creativity is not valued and in many cases, thought to be lying. I was firmly told not to give students an exercise like pretending they were a baby because it is known that babies can't think in the way required for the assignment. Asking you to think like a baby is horribly silly to the people in these countries as is asking people to think about travelling in space, having aliens arrive and many other assignments that usually come up in English handbooks of English. The students wanted to stick to what they knew and what was "real". Imagination was not a desired trait.
I changed my way of looking at the world to accomodate them and tried to imagine why it would be important to be "practical" and found many reasonalbe and logical answers depending on the situation.
However, it was required for them to imagine themselves in situations when it came to competitions and exams. The exams were often adapted because the powers that be were sensitive to cultural matters, but not always. It seems that to do well in English you have to be able to answer questions like the baby question and do it with a Eurowestern frame of reference.
When I think about it, I never heard a parent wish for their child to be President of France or go to the moon when I was in a small seaside town in Brittany. I never heard the children talk about being able to fly or have superpowers. There were many who wanted to be bakers, fishermen, shoe makers or chefs.
However, in many places I have taught, creativity is not valued and in many cases, thought to be lying. I was firmly told not to give students an exercise like pretending they were a baby because it is known that babies can't think in the way required for the assignment. Asking you to think like a baby is horribly silly to the people in these countries as is asking people to think about travelling in space, having aliens arrive and many other assignments that usually come up in English handbooks of English. The students wanted to stick to what they knew and what was "real". Imagination was not a desired trait.
I changed my way of looking at the world to accomodate them and tried to imagine why it would be important to be "practical" and found many reasonalbe and logical answers depending on the situation.
However, it was required for them to imagine themselves in situations when it came to competitions and exams. The exams were often adapted because the powers that be were sensitive to cultural matters, but not always. It seems that to do well in English you have to be able to answer questions like the baby question and do it with a Eurowestern frame of reference.
When I think about it, I never heard a parent wish for their child to be President of France or go to the moon when I was in a small seaside town in Brittany. I never heard the children talk about being able to fly or have superpowers. There were many who wanted to be bakers, fishermen, shoe makers or chefs.
Last edited by Sally Olsen on Thu Sep 18, 2008 4:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.
In Greece children want to fly and have superpowers.
Parents want their children to go to the university and study and become rich and famous.
No child here wants to be a baker or a shoe seller or anything that is not glamorous and requires a BA or a BSc.
That is why a teacher should live and become a part of the society his/her pupils/students live.
A baby has got dreams and personality and I think this topic, although it sounds silly, was a good one to provoke imagination and I am sorry but no answer (baker or president) satisfies me.
A baby would dream of water, of his/her mother's womb, of being able to walk and talk and grow and become powerful and indipendent (not waiting to be picked up or fed or given water). A baby would dream of tastes and aromas and sounds (he/she is learning the world and the world is magical), of butterflies and insects, dogs and cats, toys and other babies.
Parents want their children to go to the university and study and become rich and famous.
No child here wants to be a baker or a shoe seller or anything that is not glamorous and requires a BA or a BSc.
That is why a teacher should live and become a part of the society his/her pupils/students live.
A baby has got dreams and personality and I think this topic, although it sounds silly, was a good one to provoke imagination and I am sorry but no answer (baker or president) satisfies me.
A baby would dream of water, of his/her mother's womb, of being able to walk and talk and grow and become powerful and indipendent (not waiting to be picked up or fed or given water). A baby would dream of tastes and aromas and sounds (he/she is learning the world and the world is magical), of butterflies and insects, dogs and cats, toys and other babies.