Moral Conundrum VI: A New Quandary

[janggut]

i've one for all of u to consider. like Flix's in Moral Conundrum V, it's based on real life situation.

i have this colleague (A) who teaches an accounting paper which is mostly on theories. Last Monday another colleague (B) & i sat in A's class. It was the first class of the semester & we wanted an overview of the paper so we can help our students (in terms of English) who take this paper.

B & i noticed that A mispronounced a lot of words. It was really bad. As English teachers we thought that A needs to attend English course. Of course, we keep this opinion to ourselves.

A few days ago, i overheard some students in my class during break. They were talking in Mandarin & they were laughing. To my surprise (more like shock) they were laughing at A. They pronounced the words the way she mispronounced them & they laughed. Yes, that's quite cruel but the way i see it, A had it coming with her atrocious English.

Now, what should i do? As a colleague, English teacher, person? On what grounds? Do i tell her? Do i tell my superior? Do i keep quiet?

Looking forward to your views & how u would handle this.

Edit: Got this extra info from another colleague on A. Once there were students who went to see her. They told her that they couldn't understand her lectures. She asked them why & they said that her teaching & explanations weren't clear. Her face turned black. This tells me that she may not take the truth too kindly.

[Glance A'Lot]

That reminds me of a situation I had with a friend/colleague while working for the Occupation Forces in Germany (American).

She consistently mispronounced 'determination' and 'determine' as "déttermine" and "déttermination" - and, since I had an agreement with her to help her English, I corrected her (not as inconspicuously as I thought).

Two things happened - 1) the American officers frowned upon my impoliteness, and 2) she was sure I was wrong, as the Americans pronounced it the same way. Later she asked one of them, and he admitted they pronounced it her way in order for her to understand (and out of politeness).

She blew up, as this is not the way for her to learn better English.

Now after this side step - If your colleague does not have the same attitude towards learning, and isn't aware of her deficienies, you owe it to the pupils to help her improve.
Secondly, if she does not become aware of her deficiencies, someone evaluating her in her job may one day - and then she could be in jeopardy of losing her job.

If she doesn't accept it on your personal approach, and she doesn't have to take your word alone for it, then yes, I think superiors should be alerted - firstly for the pupils, and secondly for the quality image of the institution you (both) work for.

[LaFille]

I had a chemistry teacher 2 years ago that was in the same position as A (except, worse, in French, his/our mother tongue). And in his case too a bunch of students laughed a lot about it.

I agree with Glance that you should intervene toward her. Not doing so is maybe sparing her ego/pride but it's not helping her to be a better (and eventually happier) person, and if she doesn't know the impact of her ways, the fall would be more brutal if she learns it through the students' mockery or through her superior, I think. Coming from a friendly colleague would be softer to take and there's no need to mention the students, just talking from what you saw when you attended her class. I also think it would be better if only one of you goes to her so she doesn't feel ganged-up on or further humiliated by the sight that there has been consultation about her case in her back. If she doesn't take it well and turns mad at you, you have all those good reasons to justify your point (the students, the image, the job).

[janggut]

@ Glance & Fille -> been thinking of that personal approach both of u're recommending. i've to admit, i'm a little scared to approach her for fear of her blowing up at me & may not talk to me anymore.

well i guess some things can't be helped. i need to think further on this. thanks, Glance & Fille.

side note: A did ask about her class. however she asked B, not me, & that she asked during lunch, when we're in a restaurant. asking a question like that in public tells me that she's either not serious in asking that question or she wants to know about her students.

[twoheadedragon]

An interesting, and fairly common situation here (minus the students making fun of the teacher, since their pronunciation is even worse).

I'd advise you help the teacher. Try to tell her (in a nice way, of course) how to pronounce certain words, and encourage her to find a way to practice her English more often. Of course, you shouldn't present this in a blunt way. Present it tactfully.

[Dark Phoenix Rising]

I'm with the others in that they need to know, but I would probably ask if she wanted to sit in on a couple of your classes (the same way you did for her). And when she's there try and cover some of the stuff that she finds difficult. If she doesn't take that well, then you will need to let her superiors know so that they can provide (or suggest) additional training.

If it comes to letting your superiors know, it may help to have some of your collegues also pass the message up, so that they take you more seriously.

[LaFille]

Jul 26, 2009 0:53:45 GMT janggut said:

@ Glance & Fille -> been thinking of that personal approach both of u're recommending. i've to admit, i'm a little scared to approach her for fear of her blowing up at me & may not talk to me anymore.

well i guess some things can't be helped. i need to think further on this. thanks, Glance & Fille.

side note: A did ask about her class. however she asked B, not me, & that she asked during lunch, when we're in a restaurant. asking a question like that in public tells me that she's either not serious in asking that question or she wants to know about her students.

I can see the eventually of her blowing up at you and not wanting to talk with you anymore... However, it could also be temporary if it happens. If you have good intentions, go gently without making her feel pushed and with tact, there is no valid reason why she could stay mad at you. ...And in the case that she would, then maybe it is just not worth taking her mood so much at heart; the hit would come sooner or later, and without your intervention possibly in a much less dignified way. Of course, a work environment full of tensions isn't very sane, so the importance to give to her reaction must depend on how close you are and how close your jobs require you to be...

If having her attend a class where her difficulties are covered, I think it would be better that it be at least a class of students that she doesn't teach to if not a completely exterior/unrelated group. Her students will notice what's going on, and may end up laughing at her and humiliating her even more.