Grants & Awards: Sally Wellman Memorial Teaching
Award
Please scroll to the bottom of the page to find
out how to nominate a deserving ESOL
professional for this honor.
The Award Committee Co-Chairs
Are: Yilin Sun and Elena Smith
Sally A. Wellman
Excerpts from the Keynote speech at the Spokane
Area ESL Conference
October, 1991
If
you decide to get into English language teaching,
you'll find yourself one of a number of committed
individuals who will accept your way of doing things
and they will expect commitment from you. Once you
start into English language teaching, you'll never
be the same.
English language teaching changes a person,
affecting self-concept and altering egos forever. By
moving the self from center stage, raising awareness
of other people's value systems, challenging the
self to learning a non-judgmental way of life and
leading a person into a way of living that causes
constant introspection and learning, we all have the
opportunity for change.
Yes, English language teaching is a life decision.
Remember what Albert Einstein said as he was dying,
“It would have been so nice to have been a plumber.”
He was expressing a simple desire for a life
uncluttered by professional responsibilities. I
think we all wish for the simple life - at one
moment or another. Yet, once we're in this very
person-oriented field, we become addicted to the
highs we get from intense human interactions as we
work with our own cognitive system and expand those
of our students to include the possibilities of
understanding the world and the human condition
through the English Language, the rhetorical
patterns, the thought processes and the
understanding available therein.
English language teachers learn to be like ballet
dancers, always stretching and reaching, always
turning and trying to be grace and gentility
personified - always on our toes. Spinning as we do,
I suppose it's harder to be heels; we get to see a
bit of human nature. And what we see, we learn to
value because we recognize it as the human story.
English language teaching is a commitment - like a
religion, like a way of life: to stay free, to be a
link to a different world, to be different, to be a
champion for others, to serve as advocate, to be the
one who represents all the positives and negatives
of the English speaking culture, to be an outcast at
times because of the xenophobic nature of society,
to be humble, ever recognizing that there is so much
to learn from those we teach. This is the persona of
the TEACHER, the basis for the building of respect
for other people so that the world can become a set
of interdependent communities, a world of peaceful
existence.
Yes, we're talking about taking responsibility for a
lot, including the wise use of power. English
language teaching is more than a job. It is a life
decision and a commitment. As I explore the
dimensions of the profession, I explore also, the
potential for human development, starting with me.
I concur with Mae West when she said, “Too much of
a good thing … is wonderful.”
About the Wellman Award
The recipient of
this award will receive a one-year WAESOL
membership. . Deadline for nominations is September
15.
What are the nomination criteria?
-
The nominee
must have at least five years of experience and
be currently teaching in the field of ESOL (ESL,
EFL, or ELL) at any level, K-12 through
university. Half-time is acceptable.
Who may nominate and what information
must they provide?
-
Anyone from
the institution or community may nominate a
teacher for the award. This would normally
include students, parents, colleagues,
paraprofessionals working with the teacher,
volunteers, and administrators. The person
nominating the teacher need not be a WAESOL
member.
-
The nominee
must demonstrate a passion for ESL, devotion to
students, and a positive presence in the
community, as Sally demonstrated in all her
work. Please address these qualifications in
your letter of recommendation.
Elena Smith,
Ph.D.
Washington State University
Intensive American Language Center
McAllister 130
Pullman, WA 99164-3251
Email:
essmith@wsu.edu
