Please share your views here about the gile debate.

John Spiri: While some educators can potentially abuse their power by coercing students, or pushing their point of view, these cases would be aberrations, and this potential always exists. It's not unique to global issues. Unless a person knows the whole teaching situation--the school, the course description, the view of the Director, the students, the actual materials--it's extremely difficult for them to rightfully criticize a GILE teacher without knowing. Their point of view that, for example, teachers should be absolutely neutral, may be valid, and may work for them, but it is just one approach of many. On the other hand, these critics have contributed to the dialog and have served to make GILE educators more aware of potential pitfalls.

Trevor Sargent: I am interested in the aberrations John mentions. I assume that pushing one's own point of view on contentious issues over which there is broad disagreement, such as those that typically divide along partisan-political lines, would be an example of such an aberration. I also assume then, that Doug Brown's call for teachers to push "the" agenda in his partisan-politically charged presentation at JALT2004 amounts to promoting this kind of aberration for the classroom. What does it mean then, to have the promotion of such aberrations take place under GILE auspices, as in the case of Doug Brown's presentation?