Here is my theory: it is not that foreign language study is different from the study of other subjects, except to the extent that people do not realize study means practice. It and a few other subjects, are more labor intensive from a teaching point of view, however.
And: I have had major trauma around language teaching about three times, at three key points in life, and never addressed it.
And: language teaching feels violent here because it involves: instructors fighting tooth and nail, research faculty losing jobs due to teaching in too modern a way, and students filled with resentment and fear because they know already that la letra con sangre entra.
And: I really am an elitist, these Tea Party students fresh off the oil rigs or fresh back from “Vegas” are too rough for me, or perhaps I am not an elitist but am uncomfortable teaching those who would be brownshirts.
We, nonetheless, had a good meeting today. I, however, still do not fully understand why people thought I would betray everything anyone holds dear if I did not come to Maringouin to teach Spanish.
I am traumatized from being told this should be my first priority, and from trying to learn to love it best. Or we can say the opposite: I do love it best and I hate to see it, my favorite pet, kicked around and bleeding on the floor.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 