I got this question from a colleague:
With new standards being put out, anti-teacher legislation being proposed in so many states, more and more “accountability” being demanded, it seems as if the teaching profession is being thrust further into the traditional, Stone Age way of teaching. So my question is, “Will we, and by WE I mean TPRS teachers, win this fight? 98.9734% of politicians don’t give a damn about good, sound, brain-friendly teaching methods; they care about tests, test scores, and “keeping up with China”. So I sometimes wonder to myself “Is it worth taking all the time, energy and sometimes money (paying for workshops) to learn this absolutely awesome teaching method if we are going to eventually be forced through legislation to revert back to the old ways?” Or will we win? Will we convince the politicians, administrators and everybody else that this is THE ONLY WAY to successfully teach a foreign language? By the way, I’ve discussed TPRS with my principal and I have him on board, he’s a very forward thinking guy, but the politicians aren’t on board.
My response: I offer this metaphor as an answer: There are two buildings next to each other. One has been there for 75 years. It is made out of wood. The other is just being built, it doesn’t even look like a building yet. It is made out of state of the art materials and is designed by forward thinking architects whose designs are based on the latest green technology. Termites have been at work in the first building for over 50 years. But nobody can see that. The other building, free of termites, not even finished, doesn’t even look like a building yet. In spite of that, people want to buy space in the new building. They are willing to put their hard earned money into that investment even in an economy where there is too much building space available already. The have a vision that this kind of new green building will one day be the best for all concerned, even if they can’t see it completed now. They trust their gut that it is the right thing to do. Time goes by. The new building keeps getting built. The people who invested their all in it believe in it. The other building keeps moving clients in and out and selling space as usual, people coming and going without a clue of what is about to happen to that building. But, one day, the termites’ seventy-five year invisible rampage of destruction fully over, in one second, as happened in New York ten years ago, the old building collapses. Over time, the new building is completed. It’s elegance graces the skyline of the city. It just looks good there, since it is much more in tune with architectural design and research that is current. This new building conforms to national and state codes that are truly current. That day – the day of the new building, what we are building now – is coming, and much faster than any of us has any idea.