Personalization is a two way street. The kids must sense in the PQA that we really care, as a person, about them, in the midst of all of the questionning. Susan Gross has pointed this out to us so many times.
However, it is sometimes very hard for us to genuinely approach our kids with open heart in our classrooms. Schools are not often places where our hearts can relax and open up. But the old model of closed heart and mind numbing boredom, a model based fully on analysis of language and control of kids’ minds, is over now. Krashen’s research is forcing it, against its will, down onto its knees, and it will soon be exposed for what it is – mental muck, or, to be more precise, bookshit.
Our hearts now open in our language classrooms. That change is here. Some districts are resisting it with full force, with enmity and closed hearts. Others are faring better. It doesn’t matter. The change is here and is showing signs of spreading to new teachers every week.