chronicle

[Alexander Boguslawski]

Dear Colleagues,

I've been following the discussion of Mr. Maxwell's actions on SEELANGS
with great interest and I am particularly impressed by our delicacy and
politeness in relating to this insanity.  In the Chronicle, Mr. Maxwell
presnts his views in such a way that his departure from the teaching
profession has to be attributed to the involvement of higher forces --
God save us from such teachers!  If the goal of foreign language study
is to be able to order a hamburger -- as Mr. Maxwell seems to indicate
-- then, indeed, we should send everyone abroad and stop teaching
altogether.  However, we all know (with the exception of Mr. Maxwell)
that foreign language teaching is much more than teaching words and
grammar.  It is teaching the spirit of the country, its greatest
achievements, its cultural contributions to the world, etc., etc.  Mr.
Maxwell seems to have forgotten about it.  I am especially upset when
mediocrities come up with "stellar" ideas, and, even more, when these
ideas fall on the fertile soil of even greater mediocrities...  I know
that the "business" attitude of many schools today puts terrible
pressure on our efforts, but I still believe that even if we do not make
our students speak fluently -- perhaps if we don't make them speak at
all -- we can make them love, respect, appreciate (choose as many as you
want) foreign cultures and other people.  If I did not believe that, I
would have quit the profession many years ago.

Alexander Boguslawski, Chair
Department of Foreign Languages
Rollins College

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