Distance Learning Instruction

[William Vernola]

Dear Mr. Comins- Richmond:  I fully concur with your opinion, but the decision
as to whether or not Russian "flew" or not at my high school was not really
mine.  And I would like to mention the word "High school" here with great
emphasis, because I am sure that the rules of who teaches what, when and where
are different for us high school teachers than they are for the educators in
institutions of higher learning.

First and foremost I am not a Russian language teacher by first choice.  I am
a social studies teacher, also certified in Russian.  I possess a BA in
Russian Area Studies, a BS in Sec. Ed. (Soc. Studies) and I'm working on my MA
in Russian.  I have over 100 semester hours of Russian, other Slavic language
and linguistic courses, plus over two years study/work in Russia.  Two years
ago I worked in a Ukrainian high school in Kharkov to teach civics education.
This program was offered through USIA and ACTR.  I was selected primarily as a
social studies teacher.

Although a highly qualified, motivated and trained Russian language teacher, I
have never really been in the right place, at the right time, with the right
connections, and the right amount of "IN COUNTRY" time to be able to get a
Russian language teaching job - be it as a graduate TA or in any other
educational establishment.  And of course everyone in the field is highly
aware of the fact that there just aren't the number of students of Russian
that there used to be in the pool.

The distance learning environment is a quick fix that many schools across the
country are starting to embrace.  Of course it has it's pros as well as its
cons.  Last year, a colleague of mine (who in fact is a certified social
studies teacher - as a matter of fact the vast majority of teachers in the
state of MD who have full time Russian programs are social studies teachers)
taught 1 student through distance learning and this girl won a medal at the
Mid-Atlantic regional Olimpiada of spoken Russian sponsored by ACTR.

Additionally distance learning allows schools to add courses or keep language
programs going which normally would be cut, or even worse in the opinion of
some of my colleagues in the field such as Richard Brecht, the levels get
compressed into  one class.  So to a high school administrator, who can't
justify a few classes of Russian IIs, IIs, and IVs, combines 8 Russian IIs, 5
IIIs and 3-4 Russian IVs.  And that looks good on paper, but if you ask
anybody it spells disaster.  What level do you think gets taught in that kind
of situation?  Level II of course.  That's if all of your IIIs and IVs stay
motivated and happy. NOT!
So if distance learning helps alleviate that situation, and gives me a chance
to finally teach something and start a program in a school system I was hired
to accomplish 5 years ago, then I'm all for it.  (Incidentally when was the
last time you or anyone from your department stepped into a high school
classroom to help, share, impart knowledge, or just in general keep people
interested in the Russian language?  I read Dan Davidson's message every DAMN!
year in  the members report about "maintaining and strengthening ties with
area schools and supporting new programs in the Russian language."  But I
think his message falls on a lot of deaf ears in the field.

But I do agree with you in one large way.  It is a very poor substitute for 1)
a live teacher; 2) a beginning program; and 3) the first level of a language.
But it is a start and it is better than having the administration cancel your
program every year and slide the kids into German.

If you really feel compelled to sound off I can send you the names of the
administrators responsible for this decision, and you can let them have an
earful.  But since they hardly listened to me until I basically threw down the
gauntlet, I doubt whether or not they will listen to any one in higher ed.
You guys have your problems and we have ours.

And on a final note, higher education concerning itself with what goes on in
high schools may apply the old infantry anxiom from my army service - 1) you
can lead;  2) you can follow;
or 3) you can get the h*** out of the way.

Thank you for your concerns and have a nice day