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Gratitude is heaven itself
A bright college student asked a simple vocabulary question that threw me this week. “What is the opposite of jealous“?
What is the opposite of jealous? Generous? Selfless? Confident? I found myself discussing various possibilities with students adding in situations. The simple vocabulary building exercise (create 25 pairs of opposite adjectives) took a more philosophical turn. We had a lively, if a bit wandering, class discussion. I apologized for my memory lapse, urged them to check a dictionary, and promised to get back to students with a better answer.
In the teacher’s room, a fellow teacher noted “The world jealousy includes the word lousy.” We shared a laugh. That’s a good answer. How did he instantly come up with that? Why couldn’t I do that?
I felt discontent, dissatisfied, and displeased with my weak classroom answers. Perhaps the opposite of “jealous” is content, satisfied, and pleased.
Stress comes naturally when driving in Los Angeles, and my commute back home fit the pattern. Many words popped into my head that captured negative feelings, including jealous. Could I be jealous of bus riders? Really? I started to visualize a bus ride home from UCLA, sitting – no, probably standing up, for 40 minutes next to exhausted strangers. Memories of less pleasant commutes on subway rides in New York from 20 years ago returned. No, I didn’t envy or feel jealous of the bus riders.
I eventually arrived home. Boomer, my dog, barked to announce my arrival and licked my face as I entered the front door. He’s great. “Dogs are our link to paradise,” wrote Milan Kundera. Absolutely.
Gratitude. That’s the opposite of jealousy. Gratitude. Why didn’t I think of that in class? Next time.
“Gratitude is heaven itself.” Who said that? Blake? Yeah, William Blake. The great poet-painter-mystic man. Remember that quote the next time an English student asks, “what is the opposite of jealous?”
Teaching English, especially to bright international college students, helps keep me focused and clear. This week I learned the opposite of jealousy and rediscovered a favorite quotation. Consider me satisfied, content, and grateful.
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Does Uncle Sam want immigrants to learn English?
Learning to read, write, and speak English remains a legal requirement for legal immigrants to become citizens in the United States. National polls also consistently show that over 80% of American voters favor making English the official national language. Immigrants to English speaking countries like the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia also want to learn more English to gain better jobs, feel more comfortable, talk with doctors and teachers, and a thousand other reasons.
Yet funding for English language classes, especially for adults, remains quite limited. Government programs only help students learn rather basic English, often around 1200 essential words. Students can “pass” all their ESL classes and learn enough English to hold low-level jobs. The learn to listen more than speak, and read more than write. These low standards, by the way, also include a very, very low level definition of “can read, write, and speak” English for citizenship. (More on this subject in future posts.)
Many states, like California, are cutting back on all their education programs. English as a second language classes face even more dramatic cutbacks, partly because the students seldom vote. On one hand, this decision makes perfect sense during economically difficult times. Recessions and economic fears force citizens and governments to make tough choices, and cutting funds for English classes for immigrants – especially undocumented (illegal) immigrants is popular. It’s also very short-sighted and counter-productive. America is a stronger, better, and smarter country when we allow immigrants to use their intelligence and creativity, and we develop everyone’s skills.
” Uncle Sam wants you to speak English” reads a popular bumper-sticker. Uncle Sam, the traditional symbol for the United States government, probably does want everyone to speak English. The American people clearly want immigrants to know how to speak English too. A gap exists between vague desires and concrete actions. For instance, cutting English classes for immigrants seems unlikely to help them learn English.
I saw this “Uncle Same Wants You to Speak English” bumper-sticker on the way back from an English teacher’s conference again last week. I also wondered about the driver.
- Does he support helping immigrants learn English?
- Does he really think immigrants who don’t speak English will understand his message?
- Would a Spanish speaking immigrant, for instance, know who Uncle Sam is?
- Or is the driver simply stating that immigrants – who might speak two, three, four, or more languages – should only speak English in the United States?
- Or would he prefer illegal immigrants just leave the country? Was he inviting everyone to share his language and country, urging linguistic unity, or expressing a distrust of people speaking other languages?
- Would he expect French tourists, Japanese visitors, and international guests to only speak English too? Really?
Unfortunately, I never had a chance to talk with the gentleman who placed this provocative message on his car. I don’t really know what he meant by his “Uncle Sam wants you to speak English” bumper-sticker.
I hope, however, that he supports adding, not cutting, English language classes. We both would like more people to be able to speak to him and ask him questions in his best language (English) too.
What is a lifequake? Is that a real word?
Earthquakes remain a concern for people living in many places, including my home in Southern California. This awareness, and fear of sudden shaking and buildings falling, enters into many conversations.
I recently read a wonderful term and vocabulary word: lifequake. What does it mean? An event that suddenly changes your life – a car accident, being laid off, terrible illness, or getting divorced – in the same dramatic way that an earthquake might destroy a building.
Now I have a new way to ask friends to share more about awkward situations.
- How did you deal with that lifequake?
- What lifequakes have you survived?
- How will you manage that lifequake?
Is lifequake a real word? Can educated English speakers use it? Absolutely. New words and slang terms enter English dictionaries all the time, partly because our world continues to change and evolve. Lifequake clearly describes a common experience. It’s pithy and practical. While I would might hesisitate about using the term on a TOEFL or TOEIC test, I plan to incorporate into my daily vocabulary with family, friends, and students.
A fellow ESL teacher and longtime California resident believes that “lifequake” was a widely used term in the 1970s among “young, hip people.” Perhaps. Whether old hipster slang or a new Californian term, lifequake conveys an understanding that sometimes life can shock and hurt. Lifequake is a fast way to communicate a harsh reality. Lifequakes happen.
Don’t you agree?
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Another inspiring Huxley quote for English teachers
“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self… Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.” —Aldous Huxley
I found this quote after grading another pile of ESL papers. Somehow it spoke to me!
Teaching Quotations Creates Lively ESL Classroom Discussions, Shares Insights
Why do you recommend using classic quotations in ESL classrooms?
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. President and principal author of the Declaration of Independence
Classic quotations, like proverbs, brings in many insights from religious leaders and philosophers that go back even more than 2,000 years such as Buddha, Confucius, Aristotle, and the Biblical prophets in a compelling, succinct manner. These quotations remind us that some conversations have spanned centuries and cultures.
Further, you can pair two, three, and more quotations to present a wide range of ideas, beliefs, and perspectives. Some quotations might make you laugh, some might make you sigh, and a few might even annoy you. Yet bringing “the wisdom of the ages” into your English language classroom elevates the discussion. It can also encourage students to feel safer in presenting their idea.
This effective teaching technique helps ESL students both join the conversation, and add their own ideas. Our classrooms should be a lively place where students can explore ideas and experience free speech.
Including classic quotations also helps preserve the insights and comments of well-known and significant cultural figures. This technique helps both teachers and younger ESL and EL/Civics students escape the too-common delusion that the world began when we were born and provides a larger perspective. Sometimes knowing the speaker and historical era invites another way of looking at our modern lives.
Finally, a stunning number of both adult education and college students need to be introduced to significant artists, writers, leaders, and philosophers from the past. Academic literacy requires some degree of cultural and historical awareness. I always include the dates and identify the occupation of various figures to both introduce and gently cajole students into seeking out more information on significant cultural and historical figures.
Is adding the birth and death dates of authors really necessary? Perhaps not, but it certainly adds context. Plus, given the actual state of common knowledge among ESL students, including dates helps share the national story. After all, something is profoundly wrong with American education when a majority of American high school seniors in public schools can not name the war that occurred when Abraham Lincoln was president. I believe including quotations, in context, provides a small counter to this shocking level of historic amnesia.
I remain confident that our ESL students, especially adult immigrants seeking naturalization as U.S. citizens, will develop a solid grasp of our nation’s history. Throwing in a few quotations from historical figures can only help.
“Liberty can not be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” John Adams (1735-1826), U.S. President and contributor to the Declaration of Independence
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