[etni] In memory of Shelia Been

From: judy yaron <judyyaron@xxxxxxxxx>
To: ETNI <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:40:30 -0700 (PDT)
Much of what has made me the educator I am today I learnt from Sheila. 
Sheila was my editor for a number of years. Consequently, I was privileged to 
spend one-on-one quality time with her: long days and often even longer nights 
working on one text, one exercise or one activity - until she was convinced 
that we got it right. 

It wasn't easy. In fact, at times it was quite traumatic. 

While writing "Window to the World" she would call me daily at 4 PM in order to 
review my work. And every afternoon at around 3:45 PM I could feel the knots in 
my stomach growing tighter and tighter as my anxiety increased. I was 
petrified of what Sheila would have to say after going over my material with 
what she used to call her "lice comb".

But, I am forever grateful and proud to have been her protege. The following 
are but a few of the lessons she taught me.

* When "Television Tales" (a wonderfully rich textbook for the 8th grade) came 
out, teachers felt that some of the texts were too difficult. Sheila explained: 
"When a text is difficult, give an easy task. When a text is easy, give a 
challenging task." This "rule of thumb" has been for me a practical way of 
creating lessons without having to rewrite texts on different levels to meet 
the needs of heterogeneous classes.

* "Are you teaching or testing?" Sheila would repeatedly ask me, forcing me to 
re-examine tasks I had developed to ensure that the students had the tools, 
language and skills to perform. 

* "Have you checked the exercise?" was another one of her "favorite" questions. 
"Of course," would be my response, having gone over the answers of the exercise 
in my head. "In writing ... " she persisted. 

    "Oops!" 

Initially, I admit, I found it tedious and annoying. "Nu, really!" being 
stubborn and somewhat over confident I would argue. 

But, soon I discovered that by answering in writing even the simplest 
questions, and solving even the most basic exercise, as if I were a student, I 
would discover problems and obstacles I tended to overlook when doing them in 
my head. 

* Sheila hated jumbled words and cryptic vocabulary activities. "Remember," she 
would tell me, "not all people like riddles and some students get stressed, so 
if it doesn't have any real language value - don't go there! 'Fun' is not good 
enough. Create fun activities that are also meaningful. Or, create meaningful 
activities that are also fun!"

* Finally, there was the question, Why? 

    Why are you teaching this item? 
    Why are you asking this question? 
    Why do you want the students to perform this activity? 

Sheila taught me that if I cannot answer the question "why?" convincingly, 
then there is no real point in doing the exercise, asking the question or 
teaching an item - even if it is in the book. Sheila taught me that even the 
best of textbooks don't always withstand the "why" question with every class or 
student.       

It is with a mixture of deep sadness, pride, and love for a wonderful lady and 
a great teacher that I share these lessons with you and express my sincere 
condolences with her family.

Judy Yaron
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[etni] In memory of Shelia Been

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