Are you promoting your program from the inside out?

June 13, 2010

I like to say that marketing is about people and sales is about the dollars. Marketing is about developing excellent relationships and building a reputation of excellence so others want to work with you. The most effective marketing starts from the inside out. This includes the marketing of educational programs, be it an English as a Second Language program, a literacy program or any other kind of educational program.

Here’s how: Managers, administrative staff, teachers, tutors and all staff become your program’s ambassadors in the community; not because you want them to, but because they want to. Are you the kind of administrator who inspires your staff to be an ambassador for your program?

  • Do you treat them as if they are the most important aspect of the program? Excellent teachers = excellent program.
  • Do they have their own business cards? A business card is a symbol of professionalism. Can you really afford not to have them? If your teachers don’t have this “business basic”, the message you are sending is that they are not considered professionals.
  • Do you ask for their input? What are their ideas on how to clean up the school, improve the program and extend your reach further into the community? Do you ask them to act on their ideas by pitching in to help the school improve?

If you want to market successfully, start from the inside out. Make sure relationships within the school are the best they can be.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Who inspired you to work in literacy and languages?

June 11, 2010

My last post on Why Teachers are No Longer Revered as Sacred generated a couple of comments that got me thinking. In particular, I thought about my mother, who was an ESL Literacy Tutor back when I was little. I was 8 or 9 when learners started coming over to the house in the evenings for their lessons. (Back in those days, there were no issues with learners coming over to the tutor’s home.) Over the years, she had a number of different learners. One by one, they’d come through the door and she’d put the kettle on, as they got settled for their lesson.

The “learning sessions” were partly about reading and writing, partly about using English, partly discussions about Canadian culture vs. the learner’s culture, partly about her listening to them talk about how much they missed their loved ones back home. For a number of years at Christmas, we’d invite the learners to our home to share Christmas Day dinner with us. For some, it was the first time they’d experienced Christmas; for others it meant not being alone at a special time of year when they were feeling particularly homesick.

I never really thought much about all the hours my Mum worked as an ESL literacy tutor. Decades later, I now work in languages and literacy. I can’t help but think that somehow, those early experiences were imprinted on my brain and in my heart. My dear old Mum, who passed away over a decade ago now, who had a grade 10 education until she went back to school in her 40s to get her GED, inspired me early on to work in this field. Thanks, Mum, for the inspiration.

Who inspired you as a child to work in the field of languages and literacy?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, ESL, languages, Literacy, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Why teachers are no longer revered as sacred

June 10, 2010

In 1971 a scholar by the name of Robert Nisbet claimed that “the man of knowledge and his pursuits were sacred”. Much has changed in the 40 or so years since professor Nisbet wrote those words. And it goes beyond the fact that do we not write only in the masculine gender any more. While teachers are still regarded as knowledgeable, they are no longer revered as sacred. While some may lament, and even resist it, teachers no longer enjoy the “aura of the sacred”, as Nisbet calls it.

In today’s world where technology is moving at the speed of light, young people are very aware that they know more than many of the “over-30s”, especially when it comes to technology. Adults regularly turn to young people for help and coaching on matters of hardware, software and social media.

Old, traditional, hierarchical and patriarchal attitudes are giving way to more collaborative approaches. Old, authoritative, “teacher-centred” or “expert-centred” approaches to teaching are as out as black and white televisions. Are you still lamenting the days when the teacher was worshiped?

Reference:

Nisbet, R. (1971). The Degradation of the Academic Dogma: The University in America, 1945-1970. N.Y.: Basic Books Inc.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

University’s English Language Program accreditation restored

June 8, 2010

A few weeks ago I did a post about English Language Institute at the University of South Florida having its accreditation revoked by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA), an international standards and accreditation organization for English language programs. (See the original post here.)

Thanks to a reader who pointed me in the direction of “Accreditation Restored to U. of South Florida Program” by Inside Higher Ed. the same publication that reported on this initial situation. Higher Ed now reports that the CEA has agreed to “restore recognition, conditioned on the university now showing that there was no meaningful change in control of the program, and that it still met all standards (which the university says is the case)”.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, ESL, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

It pays to be nice to funders. (And it’s trendy, too.)

June 7, 2010

There is a shift occurring when it comes to working with funders, and in particular, the government. Today savvy educators and program directors are demonstrating how funding makes a difference, rather than simply asking for more and more and more. Demonstrating the impact that funding makes is a less antagonistic, more positive approach. It is a growing trend in the non-profit and voluntary sectors (National Council for Voluntary Organizations, n.d.) and is also emerging as a trend in education.

The Movement for Canadian Literacy (2009) asserts that literacy and language organizations are are “moving away from the adversarial, activist approaches of the past, to take increased responsibility for building stronger, more positive communication and working relationships with government“ (p.12). The new trend is that after clearly demonstrating the positive impact funders have made on students and prorams, language leaders say, “See the impact your contribution has made? Thank you. Thank you for investing in our students and our future. Their future. Now let’s see what can accomplish with your continued support…” Seeing government and funders as partners and “investors in the future” is a trend that is likely to continue.

References

Movement for Canadian Literacy. (2009). Ready or Not… Perspectives on literacy and essential skills in this economic downturn: A Canadian baseline study. Ottawa. Retrieved from: http://www.literacy.ca/?q=literacy/literacyprofessionals/resources

National Council for Voluntary Organizations. (n.d.). Demonstrate Your Impact.   Retrieved May 27, 2010, from http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/recession-resources/crisis-management/demonstrate-impact

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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