A Master Doesn’t Necessarily Make you a Master

Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs.

One of the first questions
I ask my students when I start a new course is often one of the most difficult
for them to answer. And no, it’s not like a former boss of mine once told me, “The
first day of class I look for the most difficult grammar point and then really
let them have it.” No, my first question is much more straightforward, yet
perhaps even more challenging to answer…that is if the student is being honest
with me and more importantly, with themselves. Quite simply I ask them,
“Why are you here?” Some go into automatic mode and reply like robots, “because
English is very important for my future.” Others with perhaps a bit more experience koranically recite, “because I need it to communicate with clients from abroad.” Then
there are those who are brutally sincere and say point blank, “I need the piece of
paper.” Not exactly a great start from a learning standpoint but at least they are being honest
with me and with themselves. As an educator it pains me to hear this but I completely understand. In a culture that demands paper rather than ability, my class
is simply a necessary step (or obstacle) in order to obtain that indispensable piece of paper. For
the civil servant position that the student is chasing, they won’t be asked if
they can in fact use the language and convert their knowledge into usable
skills, what matters is if the numbers in their file tally up more than the next. Rather
than checking what they can do, if they are actually good teachers. tourist guides or
project managers, if the numbers on the paper add up to more than what the next
candidate has, they get the job. Where I come from, your qualifications are
important, and of course not falsifying them, but what employers really want to know is what you do for them and their
business. You might have a Master from Harvard but what have you done with that
knowledge? How have you translated it into a workable skill? Until this focus shifts, cases like
the disgraceful Cifuentes Master (among countless others) will continue to remind that this archaic method of measuring ability is just that, archaic. It all brings me back to my ex-boss who never could quite figure out why the students from the States
never came back and I’m pretty sure she had more than a few Masters.