Decentralised Teaching and Learning

This is a short post to announce the release of ‘Teacher Stories’—a glimpse at the ups and downs of our lives as language teachers.

You can download the anthology as a pdf here, or as an epub from Smashwords below.

This varied collection includes an all-night bar, a chicken, and a power cut, so there’s something for everyone! The general aim was: to make visible the lives of ordinary teachers.

As stated on our website: “Teaching and learning transform lives, but when those transformative moments have passed and the learners go home, we are the bodies that remain when the chalk dust settles. It’s time for these bodies to cast off the images projected onto us and show our whole selves as we really are.”

‘Teacher Stories’ was also an experiment: can we really pull this off? Naturally, there were ups and downs, but we got there. This shows that with a little drive and determination teachers can do things for themselves, without waiting for institutions or those-with-power-and-resources to notice them.

That’s the belief behind this project, and behind Teachers as Workers Special Interest Group (TaWSIG)—that teachers can act positively to improve their lot.

Now you’re familiar with the aims of the project, would YOU like to contribute a story to the next anthology: Teacher Stories 2?

Think about it—everyone has a story to tell.

Finally, to paraphrase Dr. Seuss:

We have brains in our heads.
We have feet in our shoes.
We can steer ourselves
Any direction we choose.
We’re not on your own. And we know what we know.
And WE are the people who’ll decide where to go.

Enjoy the holiday teachers – see you in 2016!