Genre: Information/Explanation

Introduction This paper is written from the perspective of a long-serving expatriate classroom practitioner working in the Arab Gulf , and is based on a presentation given at the 2013 Fourth Annual Gulf Comparative Education Symposium . It offers a critical examination of Kennedy's ( 2001 ) model of Language Policy and Planning , explaining how that model operates within the Arab Gulf educational context , but simultaneously questioning Kennedy's relegation of teachers to the category of " variables " . The paper argues that teachers ought to be regarded as far more than delivery agents who are tasked with passing on a set curriculum to a homogenous student population , and guaranteeing results that will satisfy the demands of external stakeholders . It suggests that truly dedicated teachers share specific inspirational qualities , and have also adopted recognizable " best practices " that make then central to the entire educational process . Key Words Context domain learner planning policy stakeholder variable . Preamble This paper is entitled Worm's - Eye View – and I am the worm . I am a serving classroom teacher , or classroom practitioner if you want to use a fancier euphemism . I began teaching in 1972 , and in the last 40 years , one thing that has remained unchanged is the contempt that many employers , managers and stakeholders demonstrate when dealing with classroom practitioners . McCourt ( 2005 ; 157 ) explains : - " This is the situation in the public schools in America . The further you travel from the classroom the greater your financial and professional rewards . Get the license , teach for two or three years . Take courses in administration , supervision , guidance , and with your new certificates you can move to an office with air-conditioning , private toilets , long lunches , secretaries . You wo n't have to struggle with large groups of pain-in-the-arse kids . Hide out in your office and you wo n't even have to see the little buggers . " This aspect of education policy , therefore , probably has global application . Paradoxically , lesser rewards are offered to those teachers who fulfill their job descriptions and actually TEACH . Dornyei ( 2001 ; 169 ) suggests that this situation can be rectified by " introducing titles such as ' super-teachers ' or ' master-teachers ' within the educational hierarchy " but that is questionable . The award of titles like " Teacher of the Year " apart from engendering jealousy and divisions within staffrooms , also offer hostages to fortune . There is , for example , the case of Sandra Hadsock , who taught at the Central High School in Hernando Country , Florida . In 2010 she was their Teacher of the Year . Do a Youtube search for Sandra Hadsock and you find a video of her punching a student in the face . She actually does it twice . This inevitably raises doubts , not only about the validity of her award but also , possibly unfairly , about the other candidates for that same title . In the 1970s , British Further Education was encumbered with an almost Byzantine hierarchy of titles . The intention was to offer a clear career path . In reality , it encouraged ambitious teachers to plan their next career move almost as soon as they arrived in post , creating a level of disruption that a simpler arrangement might have avoided .