At first sight, teaching English must be the same anywhere in the world. Or is it? Firstly, the schooling system can be different. And, most importantly, the attitudes of the kids can be different. "The Yogurt Man Cometh" contains a wonderful selection of insights into teaching in Turkey, and is a great read for those currently in the US considering job offers for the 2008-9 academic year. As Revolinski says, when he was asked at the interview "What do you want to know about Turkey?" he wasn't sure at all what to ask! "An apartment and two roommates would be provided for me, along with furniture and basic household items. I would have health insurance and a free lunch every day at school. … What's Turkey like? How could they explain a culture in a job interview? How would I answer a question such as What is America like?"
So, for all teachers preparing to come, or considering coming, to Turkey, here is a list of questions and answers that are my crib-sheet for your homework entitled Teaching in Turkey, prepared from Revolinski's memoirs!
Q: What does the job entail?
A: "Really, all you have to do is keep the children talking in English. That's your job."
Q: How do we start lessons?
A: In the words of his department head, "When you enter the classroom, the students should all stand to attention. This will seem weird at first but make them do it. They know you are American teachers; if you go soft on them the first week, they will be hard to control."
Q: Do I need to bother with a lesson plan?
A: Each class period you have to make an entry into the official class record book, a "thin, oversized blue book. According to the Ministry of Education, each hour of each day of the school year must be entered. You enter the date, the name of your course, a brief description of the lesson, and then sign your name at the bottom. If it is a two hour class ... then you must fill it in for both hours."
Q: Who is the most important person in the school?
A: The principal (müdür), whose title will of course often be said by foreigners as if it is "the Mooder," and this often reflects their attitude and superior stance, too. "Whether he were Mr. Principal or not, he would have commanded a room. ... It was a lecture, more than a staff meeting."
Q: Presumably as it is a Muslim country there aren't many women teachers?
A: Wrong! Many of the department heads, and even school principals and some school owners are women. "Many of the faculty were women, and none wore Muslim headscarves. Several held important positions, including Ayşe Hanım, the assistant principal and disciplinarian for the middle grades."
Q: Should I pack my jeans?
A: Revolinski remarks that the male teachers were "generally distinguished, grey-haired professors in nice suits." Now, you may not be able to add years to your age to get more respect, but you can dress like them for the same effect in the classroom.
Q: Are the kids friendly?
A: Just going down the corridor Kevin was beset by kids who "simply wanted to say 'Hello, teacher. How are you? I am fine tanks (no 'th' sound). See you, teacher.' Then they would go away smiling back at me, and running into each other."
Q: Any behavioral problems?
A: With some kids, a simple look suffices. But the older ones were a little more rowdy, harder to control, but adorable. "Though I had to struggle to contain them, I never felt that darker, sarcastic and cynical bitterness which I often felt from many American students." After a riotous hour, the cheeky rascals would hug him as they left the classroom, saying: "Sorry teacher. Next week we are better."
Q: So teachers are respected, then?
A: Sincerity and respect were qualities Kevin met with throughout the grades. "Popularity did not demand disrespect or defiance." Keenness to help will shock teachers who are more used to viewing "an apple for the teacher" suspiciously. "I dropped a pen; three kids leapt from their seats to retrieve it before I could even lean forward."
Q: And if I have more questions?
A: Make sure you get on well with a more experienced foreigner on staff. "Yet another Ask Linda session seemed to be necessary."
Even if you are not a teacher you will enjoy seeing your own experience reflected in Kevin's anecdotes. I may not have ended up accepting six kilos of yogurt delivered at my door, but in my first week in Turkey I did by one kilo of green peppers from the market (yes, two full carrier bags) because I didn't know how to say just 200 grams.
The resonance of these stories to our own expat experience makes them seem like old friends to us, and many foreigners in Turkey might be tempted to say, "I could have written that." But Revolinski's skill is not what he says, but the way that he says it. I challenge anyone to describe crossing a road I Turkey as entertainingly as he does, in the four whole pages he dedicates to a single crossing!
"The Yogurt Man Cometh" by Kevin Revolinski, published by Çitlembik, paperback YTL 12, ISBN 978-994442401-3
