So I wrote this article for our volunteer newsletter about an incident that happened to me. I found it humerous so here is the article that I wrote and will now share with you all. I call it “The Death of a Hangman”
The Death of a Hangman
Recently I taught an open lesson for the teachers at my school. The lesson was very interactive complete with music and a crossword puzzle and the students were thoroughly active the entire lesson, a rare occurrence at my school. Towards the end of my planned lesson I realized that we would have a few minutes left in the class so being the good TEFL volunteer that I am, I pulled out the game Hangman to kill some time. Apparently, it wasn’t just the time that I would be killing that day. After a very tense game, the man was on his last leg, the students finally were able to come up with the correct answer to the riddle “We like English Class.” I concluded the lesson and waited for my jury to deliver their verdict.
Seeing as how my students were very active and actually participated in the class without me going postal I thought I was in for some high praise for my lesson. Trying to remain humble I nonchalantly walked over to my fellow teachers and asked for their opinions of the lesson, expecting them to extol my well-planned lesson. I was anticipating a “berek ella” or maybe even a “moledes.” Unfortunately my ego would not be stroked, immediately, the Russian teacher who had observed the lesson stuck her nose high in the air and said the lesson was “Boljek” crushing the high vision I had of myself. I asked her what I could have done better and she spat at me in Russian words that I could not understand further deflating my pride. I quizzically turned to my counterpart who explained to me that the teacher was upset that I used “violence” to teach my English lesson. She said that by playing “Hangman” I was encouraging violence and immoral thinking in the classroom by letting my students try to kill an imaginary stick man that I had drawn on the board. I was flabbergasted. Didn’t she see how hard my students tried to save the man?! Didn’t she see the agony in their eyes and hear their groans as I drew the man’s first leg?! These students didn’t want this man to die! They were doing all they could think to save the man from his death by noose! To them the game was not encouraging violence, but acts of bravery! That student who called out the last “k” left the class a hero because he had saved the man from his death! How could this game be considered anything but a game of heroic proportions? But alas, all that the teacher saw was a game where a stickman almost died and that was detrimental to the 9th form students’ psyches. To her these students would all become future murders.
I am no longer allowed to teach with the game “Hangman” and am now forced to use the alternative of “Old Car.” That is instead of drawing a man on the board to encourage valor I am to encourage vandalism by drawing a car on the board. Whenever the class says the wrong letter I am to deflate the tires, break the windows, and kick in the doors all in the name of morality.
