Today we bring you the last part of our Plenary Speakers interviews section. We are delighted we can introduce David Fisher. Let´s meet him!
Besides being an experienced teacher-trainer, David is also a theatre actor and director. He taught English at various schools and institutions in Prague before starting The Bear Educational Theatre in 1996. Since then the theatre has expanded to play thousands of shows to school groups across the Central European region and beyond.
As an actor, David is a regular guest with the Prague Shakespeare Company and he has had parts in a variety of films and TV series. His main focus though is promoting drama in education. He does this by leading regular workshops and seminars with teachers and students and by continually expanding the activities of The Bear Educational Theatre.
3 things you love about teaching:
- Creating a positive atmosphere in the classroom,
- The challenge of finding the best way to help each different class
- Helping people feel better about themselves
3 thing you find difficult about teaching:
- Expectations around test results
- Being lazy = always doing the things I know work well
- Some teenage classes are nearly impossible to build rapport with.
3 things you can´t do without as a teacher:
- Dictionary (my spelling is not as good as it was)
- Grammar reference
- Blackboard or whiteboard (I don’t like to be dependent on technology – old school)
When did you decide to become a teacher, and why did you choose this field?
I came to it naturally when I graduated from University (Philosophy) and wanted to travel. I started to teach English and found that I love teaching. Both my parents were teachers and it always felt right for me.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I run an educational theatre, so I act, direct, produce theatre etc. Otherwise I would like to learn and play music, and do magic. In another life, doctor would be my profession of choice.
What personal strengths do you find especially helpful in your teaching?
Living in the moment, adapting to the current situation, not being afraid of making mistakes.
What do you think is the greatest challenge our students face today?
Not having time to grow up properly and go through the different stages of development at their own pace. Students today are treated as important consumers by our society and they are pushed to want more and more sonner and sooner. I think they feel a lot more personal power than students of the past. Certainly more than I had at that age.
In some ways it is very good that students today have access to plenty of different options and ways to realise themselves. On the other hand important skills are being dumbed down as young people are fed a diet of thrill and instant gratification. Skills such as empathising, delaying gratification and learning to give in order to get are difficult to promote in the modern environment. But these are the things that students need to get from somewhere if they are to have meaningful long-term relationships and also if they are to learn how to learn.
What is the most difficult aspect of teaching today?
Students always have an easy answer at their fingertips today. It is hard to engage them in the process of learning, rather than the process of just getting through tests and jumping through hoops.
I visited my niece in the summer and a whole team of people were helping her write her A level coursework. She did very well. My nephew’s girlfriend is from Thailand and she says that most of her colleagues from University would pay 500 dollars and have their diploma work written by somebody else. Another friend, teaching in Kosice told me her secondary students were very angry with her when she gave them a piece of literature to read that was so new and unknown that they couldn’t find pre-written essays about it on the internet. I am sure everybody has hundreds of stories like this.
What is your favourite teaching material?
I don’t teach classes any more. I remember the old Headway series fondly. Now I like to improvise and role-play when possible.
How have your former teachers influenced your teaching career?
Very much. Like everyone I had favourite teachers from Primary to University. The best ones were open, able to listen, and genuinely enthusiastic about their subject.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Accounting.
What are the most important characteristics young people can acquire?
Empathy, openness to others, a capacity for pleasure (not everybody has this). I don’t know if you can teach these things, but the theatre is a good way to start trying.
Are you looking forward to coming to Hradiště? What are you going to talk about?
Yes. I will bring my family and play a theatre show with my wife, Lenka. We both love the show and are looking forward to it very much. I will (probably) talk about how the way we teach and learn is often a lot more restricted than necessary and why it is important to relax and bring fun and relationship-based material into the classroom.
2015 Shades of ELT 