Onions and teaching

 

[red onion cut open*]

I suddenly realized that I am in the middle of my fourth decade of teaching. Not only that, in some four years, I will retire (please note: not get to or will have to) from teaching (but not translating). Clearly, I am a much different teacher today than I was twenty years ago or even ten years ago. As I thought about that evolution. I realized that I had finally reached the third layer of teaching, the emotional connection, which only could follow after attaining thorough knowledge and skillful communication, at least in my case.

To explain, the first step in becoming an effective teacher is exceptional knowledge of the subject matter, which creates both teacher self-confidence and student belief in the teacher. It would seem obvious that teachers master the subject matter but it actually takes years to attain the complete control of all the details required to properly teach the material. “Student” level is not enough to effectively teach anything. It is necessary to know the material backwards and forwards, at 4:00 AM in the morning. That assurance provides the teacher with the backbone to stand in front of a sea of faces and explain a matter as “the expert”. Students quickly identify any lack of certainty. They recognize on whom they can depend for reliable information, which creates their trust in the teacher.

Freed from the stress of subject matter management, teaching becomes the art of classroom management and communication with students. Effective teachers learn what techniques aid students in learning and which actually harm. For example, if a teacher hands out written material that mirror the spoken words, the students will probably not listen. In terms of preparing material, outstanding teachers know now to break down complicated processes into short simple steps, a vital skill for reaching those students that struggle with the material. On a one-to-one basis, student-teacher communication involves openness and patience mixed with wisdom in cultivating and maintaining the learning relationship even when rejecting the substance of the student message. Clearly, teachers being human beings, educators have their own individual style, which must be authentic, as well as strengths and weaknesses. Fine-tuning the techniques takes years and is always a work in progress.

In my opinion, the next, maybe last, stage goes beyond subject matter teaching  and expands to educating, even mentoring in some cases, which involves significant self-confidence and emotional intelligence on the part of the teacher. Students of all ages are people that are developing, often without guidance. They are searching for a way to cope with the challenges of the present and a direction for the future. On the other hand, teachers are also human, also coping with numerous demands not only from the students but also from their own situations, including a decreasing amount of energy as they age. It is clearly impossible for a teacher to take on students as their own children. That is not a practical or even desirable role. Yet, a teacher can influence students by providing words of encouragement and support, suggesting solutions and approaches and merely just listening. For example, a teacher can go the extra mile if a student is going through a crisis or requires extra help. Sometimes, a teacher’s faith in the ability of the student to learn a given skill is far more effective than a grade. Teachers can identify students lacking self-confidence and encourage them. This task require significant time and energy, which is generally only available once the teacher masters the other aspects of the profession.

To avoid any misinterpretation, even with my long experience, my teaching is far from perfect. Teaching is an art, not a science, and is never fully mastered as each class and each day are unique. Moreover, experience and skill do not necessarily have a causal relationship, i.e., there are amazing newbie teachers and awful experienced teachers. Yet, while the material of teaching any material is clearly finite, we teachers are dynamic, changing with the circumstances and age. In the twilight of my teaching career, I am still evolving and discovering new ways to help students, which helps me maintain my enthusiasm for the actual teaching part of the profession. Teaching is truly a bit like an onion not only it can be both taste sweet and cause tears but also because it demands time and effort to master its many layers even if they are not obvious at the beginning.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

 

Law education, present, past and future – a personal tale

 

[Raspberries in different stages*]

I just successfully completed a semester course on contract drafting from the Concord Law School, an accredited online law institution. It had been more than 30 years since I completed my year of law studies at the University of Oregon and some 17 years since I began working as a legal translator. As a result of this course, I reinforced my opinions about learning and age, my previous career opinions and I best manner of legal writing.

In the spirit the well-known expression, education is somewhat wasted on the youth. I discovered that not only was I able to follow and keep up with complicated material at the “old” age of 60, I actually understood and absorbed it better than I did then. To clarify, my discovery was that my many years of experience translating contracts as well as the immediate need to apply my learning allowed me to achieve more learning. Far from age being a disadvantage, I not only still “have it” but am much a better law student today than I was then. For the record, my average on the course was 86 but the main satisfaction was proving to myself that I was still capable of formal learning.

The course also calmed any doubts I had had about my choice then to not continue law school. I completed the year not on probation. Those that went to law school will understand the significance of that. However, after 3 days, I already understood that I lacked any of the main motivations to become an attorney, specifically, the drive for money, fame or justice. The knowledge I gained from that year helped me greatly in my second career but I do not claim that I knew that at the time. Nothing in life is wasted, including seemingly irrelevant knowledge, but we do not know when we will need it. This course resurrected the mixed feeling of the love of legal theory and language and a lack of interest in actually working as an attorney. As I wrote in a previous post, intuition is generally correct.

Finally, the course material, both that previously known and that new to me, reinforced my belief that legal language in English, like all text in English, can and should be clear and accessible. Steven Erikson wrote that tradition was the last bastion of fools. Clearly, fools did not write legalese but there is no justification today for writing texts that only judges and attorneys can understand. Part of the course involved understanding and rewriting contracts and regulations in such a manner that not only simplified the language while retaining the content but also brought out inconsistencies and omissions in the original text, which had been long lost in the circuitous phasing. With this knowledge, I will confidently apply plain but correct language in my translations and strive to educate other translators that “garbage in, garbage out” is not an effective strategy either for the legal customer or translator. I now am fully certain that legalese can be understandable to lay people without losing precision.

Thus, with no homework this Saturday and feeling “free” just like any student after the end of the semester, I look back on my course on writing contracts with great satisfaction in regards to my understanding then and now. Furthermore, I intend to share my knowledge of the relevant techniques with others at any opportunity. Education is growth at any time of one’s life.

For those interested in more information on plain English in legal writing, I will be giving a 2-hour workshop at the Translation and Localization Conference at the end of September.

* Picture subtles help the blind access the Internet.

Picture credit: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/elstef-3091248/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=5298416">Elstef</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=5298416">Pixabay</a>

Industry 4.0 revolution revelation

 

[Evolution*]

By sheer coincidence, I participated in three online conferences this week. By greater coincidence, they all related somehow to the fourth industrial revolution. The first conference was a webinar organized by Kerem Tech, the Galil Tech and Startup Community, to introduce industrial engineering students to the real world of industry. The following day, the Braude School of Engineering had its annual pre-academic school year meeting online and discussed various aspects of the current and future distance learning. Finally, I participated in a large event organized by the Galilee Accelerator for Smart Industry, the Braude School of Engineering and various local and national government entities to discuss industry 4.0 and offer opportunities to connect aspiring startups to established enterprises. All this zooming provided me with a wave of knowledge and some understanding of the current technological revolution in terms of progress, process, leaders and personal cost.

As I learned, according to the approach, four industrial revolutions have occurred. The first one was around 1765 when industry began applying large scale mechanization. The practical application of an internal combustion engine in 1870 completed changed the landscape. In 1969, the invention and use of semiconductors introduced mass use of computers. Finally, currently, Industry 4.0 is implementation of automation to replace many functions currently done by people and create mass real-time integration of data and processes.

Like all the previous revolutions, the progress of automation has been very uneven. Smart factories, houses and even towns have been built but they represent an extremely small part of the total picture. In industry, as one speaker mentioned, in many factories, workers still manually carry out the quality control process. Even when automated systems are used, they tend to send the data to a cloud for further analysis instead of being available real-time, often due to the multiplicity of systems and data types. Education is still stuck somewhere between the second and third revolution with chairs, tables and markers co-existing with tablets, laptops and Moodle. The temporary ceasing of frontal lessons due to the Corona virus has given the development of remote learning techniques an incredible boost but afterwards the natural conservatism of the system, among other factors, will at best lead to some type of hybrid teaching structure. If someone has any doubt regarding the resisting power of tradition, the French were still making planes one at a time in 1939, some 30 years after Ford began mass production of the Model T. Thus, it is reasonable to believe that this fourth revolution will take a long time before it becomes the norm even under the pressure of the Corona and its aftermath.

Another aspect of this process that struck me was how difficult it was to simplify processes in order to allow automation. One presenter after another emphasized the need for commitment, patience and outside experts to patience create patience effective integration. In education, this same multiplicity of systems is currently complicating life for both students and lecturers, who are struggling to manage the various means of communication, each with its own logic and combination of features. However natural the revolution may seem (as in Marx and Engel’s theory of political economics), in practice, the transition is demanding in terms of physical resources and people.

Listening to the various entrepreneurs and fascinating ideas as well as the presentations on various factories and colleges that have already introduced changes to one degree or another, I noticed the driving power of people with ideas. These pioneers, young and old, see that it was not only possible but beneficial to “do it” another way. They may not fully grasp the consequences of the changes they propose but they know that the old way leads to irrelevancy and bankruptcy. The examples of IBM and Sears as well as the whole education systems pop immediately to mind. While the need to stay in business or to attract students may be the force leading to implementation, the small but growing number of process engineers, industrial and educational, are the creative power behind the revolution. Revolution involves both pushing and pulling.

Yet, as a bit of a dinosaur, I cannot help but ask one question: who benefits from revolutions? It is clear the mill owners of then and the multinational online companies today, including their stockholders, have certainly profited. On a certain level, workers overall face less physical risk and earn more than they did in the past while consumers have much wider variety of affordable items to purchase. Even today’s students have the luxury of attending the lecture when it is convenient for them and even viewing it several times. Yet, it is unclear whether the average worker, consumer or student is fundamentally happier in spite of the improvement of the material situation. This concern may be wistful, too philosophical or even irrelevant but as revolutions do not progress on an even pace, they do not benefit all parties equally.

It is my hope that the Industry 4.0 resembles the evolutions of humans under Darwin’s classic theory: slow but relentless progress. It is probable that in the future all houses and factories will resemble Asimov’s house in There will come soft rains and education will be both online and effective. Until then, I will strive to follow and enjoy the process as well as participate in further conferences.

*Captions open your pictures to the blind. 

Picture: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=3885331">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=3885331">Pixabay</a>

I am a flashlight (with apologies to Christopher Isherwood)

Computers and Internet have changed education. While schoolrooms still use books, paper pen and pencil, the tools of learning are increasingly computers, laptops, pads, cell phones and Google, not to mention Facebook and Instagram. Wikipedia has replaced Encyclopedia Britannica. I, as a teacher of English to engineering students at a college in Israel for over 25 years, have experienced this transition first hand, admittedly with mixed feelings and some resistance.

This revolution brings into question what exactly the role of a modern teacher is. Specifically, children have direct, unlimited and easy access to far better sources of information than any single teacher can produce. Students can find countless problems and solutions, including explanations, for any technical exercise in any field online, including English grammar, mathematical problems and chemical reactions. These online services are available around the clock, whenever students have the time and inclination to learn, as compared to the artificial hours of 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Moreover, the students can make errors, work at their own pace and express confusion without fear of ridicule from others, unless they choose otherwise. In other words, they can choose their ideal conditions.

Notwithstanding all these advantages, while today’s students may know more facts, they are far from better achievers from their antiquated parents or even grandparents. A look at achievement test scores, matriculation tests and even Facebook conversations worldwide paints a sad picture of current thinking and understanding skills. It is as if the plethora of information is at the expense of the ability to understand it. As a way of analogy, ancient Greek and Roman doctors, lacking imaging equipment and often the right to even do an autopsy, extrapolated incredible amounts of information from their limited data.

Several years ago, my department head, for some reason, asked the staff what we thought our main role was. My answer did not mention grammar, reading comprehension or vocabulary. I wrote at the time that it was to open the world to our students. What I meant and still mean is that my role as a teacher is show how information is related, the connection between past, present and future and the manner in which this world was and is being created.  I am not there mainly to provide facts or techniques but to shine a light on the whole picture, much of which students are completely ignorant and unaware, and give them tools to understand and interpret it.

As an example from my youth, in High School, we were studying the American Civil War (1860-1865), specifically its background. The teacher has us recreate the Dred Scott Supreme Court case (1857) in which it was ruled that a black man that escaped from the South was still considered property even though he lived in the North, where slavery was illegal. We spent at least two weeks researching and playing our roles.  During these two weeks, that teacher could have covered much more material, i.e., information.  However, we students gained an understanding of the social, legal and political situation in the United States before the Civil War, which could be extrapolated to after the war and even today and how to understand decisions from other cultures and eras that don’t make sense today. Thus, the teacher did not feed us facts but instead illuminated a historical and learning process.

As I am fortunate to teach a subject that is a tool, not a body of knowledge, I have the privilege of discussing, exposing and educating. Teachers can and must communicate the how and why, not only that the what. Learning should not only create pride over good grades but also a feeling of “wow” as a result of a moment of illumination as suddenly, for a moment, the world becomes clearer and more connected, even four dimensional. Teachers are, at their best, the flashlights of understanding, then and now.

Law of the Land, modern style

There is an Israeli play entitled I am here because of my wife.  In that manner, I was present this week at a lecture by Or Yohanon called 150 pay slips. The topic was mortgages and how to choose the correct one. I don’t regret attending it as I improved my knowledge of mortgages, relevant vocabulary in Hebrew and modern means of communications.

In terms of content, house financing in Israeli is vital and complex. I myself barely understood it until this lecture even thought I took out a mortgage only a few years ago. The basic reason is the relatively high cost of housing in terms of apartment prices and income. In simple terms, starter housing is out of reach for most young Israelis without significant help from parents. Furthermore, the majority of Israelis cannot keep a budget as proven by the extraordinariness of anyone not in overdraft. Delayed gratification in terms of spending is not a developed concept in Israel. Finally, Israel has suffered from inflation, leading to the indexing of certain types of mortgages. This has and can lead to the principle actually increasing over time and even the doubling of monthly payments. That is how the dream house turns into a nightmare.

Aside from the informational aspect, the sociological view of society was fascinating. First, the speaker himself represented the new generation. He referred to himself by his first name, wore a very faded tee shirt and jeans and used language filled with Hebrew slang and terms in English. He immediately admitted that he had no formal financial education and was an IT engineer in practice. That said, he appeared completely knowledgeable about the material and made it clear when he was not sure nor did he try to tell people which specific type of mortgage to offer. Yet, I find it hard to imagine some 20+ years ago, any financial adviser would have given a lecture to some 100 or more people looking, acting and speaking like a college student at UC Santa Cruz, my alma mater. People would not have taken such a person seriously, rightly or wrongly.

On the other hand, I could sense a bit of the Banana Slug (the UCSC mascot) spirit, albeit in a modern form. He viewed his effort to educate people about how to get a livable mortgage as a personal crusade against the banks and media, which choose not to prepare people for their most important financial decision of their life. While he lacked Marxist fervency, the speaker clearly had a personal agenda to prevent banks from overly enriching themselves at the expense of naïve young and not-so-young Israelis. On the other hand, his modus operandi was perfect for his audience, including through Facebook, an Internet site (150 pay slips) and forums. His technique is apparently successful as his lectures are generally booked a week in advance. He speaks of the language of his audience, both in terms of words and means.

So, even thought I was there for the ride to ensure marital bliss, I learned about mortgages and modern communication. I honestly wish Or success in his efforts to educate people about this topic.