Fighting the school

Something has happened today that gives a useful insight into a problem that might come up from time to time. What do you do when the school insists that you do something you know to be ineffective, stupid or just flat out wrong?

Let me tell you what happened.

 A few days ago I was told by my school that the students would soon be getting a new oral English text book and I was expected to make it my sole, or at least primary, source for future lessons.

I've now got a copy of the book.

I wish I was writing this as a parody but the reality is so ridiculous as to be beyond satire. Remember this is supposed to be the only Oral English text book that I use and I have been instructed by the school to use it exclusively. It's an instruction that I fully intend to disregard – disregard to the extent of not using it at all. I'll fight my corner when they complain. The whole thing seems to be based on the premise that every single student in the school will leave school and become a local tour guide.

The title of the book tells you what to expect. It doesn't mention English at all – it's called “Travelling Around Yangshuo”.

There are fifteen units and I am supposed to use one a week.

The titles of the units – and this is verbatim from the contents page – are

A Brief Introduction to Yangshuo

Food In Yangshuo: Local Cuisine

Food In Yangshuo: Special Snacks of Yangshuo

Food In Yangshuo: Special Agricultural Products

Accommodation In Yangshuo: Living Environment

Accommodation In Yangshuo:Famous Hotels

Accommodation In Yangshuo:Special Homestay

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Travel Plans

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Travel Information

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Packing For The Tour

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Asking The Way On The Trip

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Sighteseeing

Famous Scenic Sites In Yangshuo: Tips On Tours

Transportation About Yangshou: How To Get To Yangshuo

Transportation About Yangshou: Activities Around Yangshuo

Talk about monomania! I have no idea whose ill-conceived project this is but if if I try to teach that I'll have a riot on my hands by week three. So, as I said, I shall do what I have done before with such daft ideas and ignore it totally. I'm fully prepared to argue my case with the teachers, the principals and everybody else involved. What I'm not prepared to do is waste my time and the students efforts in this daft enterprise.

This isn't the first time I've come into conflict with schools over what they want me to do and what I know, as a pretty experienced teacher, is the right thing to do. When that happens you have only two choices. You can just say "OK, I get paid either way" and do it or you can take a stand and argue for doing the right thing. I always do the latter. Imagine how difficult my classes will be to control by the time we get to the tenth lesson on the same subject. I've sometimes been told to adopt a more Chinese style - with more drilling and rote learning. My answer to that is "fire me and hire a Chinese teacher - it's cheaper". So far no one ever has. 

"I'm not saying you should get into knock-down arguments about every little thing but there are times when you should politely and respectfully say "No". Whenever this has happened in the past the school has ALWAYS backed down. What I'll do when I hit a situation where they won't back down remains to be seen.