0:00:15.268,0:00:17.515
I started teaching[br]undergraduate English courses

0:00:17.515,0:00:22.311
in the University of Puerto Rico,[br]Aguadilla Campus, about 20 odd years ago,

0:00:22.669,0:00:25.641
and I quickly became frustrated.

0:00:25.935,0:00:27.196
I love my job,

0:00:27.196,0:00:30.935
but I was frustrated with myself,[br]and I was frustrated with my students.

0:00:31.063,0:00:34.473
And it wasn't anything[br]my students were doing wrong.

0:00:34.842,0:00:37.315
On paper, they were learning English.

0:00:37.323,0:00:38.464
I would give them tests,

0:00:38.464,0:00:41.858
and they'd know everything about pronouns,[br]adjectives, syntax, grammar.

0:00:41.858,0:00:43.196
You name it, they knew it.

0:00:43.196,0:00:47.563
And they could prove it[br]by passing the tests in writing.

0:00:47.690,0:00:50.632
However, when I tried to have[br]a conversation with my students,

0:00:50.699,0:00:53.240
when I tried to have[br]just a casual conversation,

0:00:53.491,0:00:56.144
I would get this[br]deer-in-the-headlights look

0:00:56.144,0:00:57.144
like ...

0:00:57.144,0:00:58.230
(Laughter)

0:00:58.389,0:01:01.942
And then they would go into what I call[br]"Porky Pig Syndrome."

0:01:02.194,0:01:03.188
They would go,

0:01:03.188,0:01:04.768
(Imitates Porky Pig's stutter)

0:01:04.768,0:01:06.223
(Laughter)

0:01:06.223,0:01:08.694
It just wasn't working.

0:01:09.099,0:01:14.401
And I was frustrated[br]because I said, "I can't do this."

0:01:14.474,0:01:17.615
These young men and women,[br]when they graduate,

0:01:17.615,0:01:19.844
they're going to go[br]into a work environment

0:01:19.857,0:01:23.558
in which they are expected[br]to think at higher levels of cognition.

0:01:23.588,0:01:27.676
They're expected to analyze,[br]to synthesize, to evaluate,

0:01:27.676,0:01:30.972
and they have to do it in a language[br]that is not their first language,

0:01:30.972,0:01:31.982
in English.

0:01:31.982,0:01:33.697
And I wanted them to be there.

0:01:33.697,0:01:37.718
And what happened was that I started[br]experimenting with this and that,

0:01:37.718,0:01:42.161
and after a while, I developed[br]a system which I think worked.

0:01:42.741,0:01:46.782
I call it "Teaching English[br]without teaching English."

0:01:47.213,0:01:49.648
What I did was I moved away[br]from the grammar,

0:01:49.648,0:01:51.824
and I developed a system

0:01:51.824,0:01:54.574
in which I divided the class[br]into three stages.

0:01:54.574,0:01:58.572
The first stage, I give[br]my students a BS detector,

0:01:58.593,0:02:00.414
and this BS detector

0:02:00.423,0:02:02.169
(Laughter)

0:02:02.331,0:02:06.721
is a fully functional, portable[br]but high-maintenance mental device

0:02:06.721,0:02:08.686
that they install into neurons.

0:02:08.686,0:02:14.409
And whenever they detect BS,

0:02:14.409,0:02:16.489
which is very frequently,

0:02:16.489,0:02:17.897
(Laughter)

0:02:17.907,0:02:20.086
the alarm should go off.

0:02:20.105,0:02:21.924
"BS, BS, BS, BS."

0:02:21.948,0:02:23.278
(Laughter)

0:02:23.633,0:02:24.658
How do I do that?

0:02:24.658,0:02:26.478
Well, the BS detector has three parts.

0:02:26.478,0:02:29.830
Part number one[br]is critical thinking skills.

0:02:29.830,0:02:33.507
I have my students learn[br]that whenever they read anything,

0:02:33.507,0:02:35.194
whenever they listen to a TED talk,

0:02:35.194,0:02:38.171
whenever they listen[br]to a debate, a conversation,

0:02:38.190,0:02:41.737
they should ask[br]a number of specific questions.

0:02:41.761,0:02:45.424
For example, Is the speaker[br]being specific?

0:02:45.562,0:02:50.120
People who know what they're talking about[br]usually are very specific.

0:02:50.120,0:02:54.238
They can say who, what, where,[br]when, how many, how often.

0:02:54.238,0:02:59.528
Now, people who are -[br]how shall I say it? - BS artists

0:02:59.528,0:03:01.918
will run away from specificity.

0:03:01.918,0:03:07.934
They will not be specific because[br]specificity entails responsibility.

0:03:07.934,0:03:09.982
And when people are not specific,

0:03:09.982,0:03:13.385
I point out to my students[br]that usually it's one of two reasons.

0:03:13.385,0:03:16.056
Either they do not know[br]what they're talking about,

0:03:16.056,0:03:19.497
and there's nothing wrong there -[br]we're all ignorant in different fields.

0:03:19.497,0:03:21.882
And if you don't know,[br]you cannot be specific.

0:03:21.971,0:03:23.654
That's a human trait.

0:03:23.779,0:03:26.172
But sometimes people are not specific

0:03:26.172,0:03:30.604
because they don't want you to know[br]what they're talking about.

0:03:30.650,0:03:36.061
And now there's an ethical element[br]of betrayal there, of concealment.

0:03:36.061,0:03:41.586
So, the first thing that they[br]need to learn is ask specific questions:

0:03:42.014,0:03:44.497
Is the speaker comprehensive?

0:03:44.664,0:03:46.803
Is she looking at[br]all the available evidence?

0:03:46.837,0:03:49.338
Is the speaker looking at[br]the burden of proof?

0:03:49.381,0:03:50.510
When you say something,

0:03:50.510,0:03:53.920
you are responsible[br]for providing evidence for that claim.

0:03:54.454,0:03:57.963
If they're talking[br]about a scientific topic,

0:03:57.963,0:03:59.532
is there replicability,

0:03:59.532,0:04:02.561
is there experimental data[br]to support that claim?

0:04:02.775,0:04:07.013
And once I get that part[br]of the BS detector firmly installed,

0:04:07.013,0:04:10.508
where they will ask specific questions[br]on whatever they read, see or hear,

0:04:10.910,0:04:12.770
I go to the second part.

0:04:12.770,0:04:15.817
They should detect logical fallacies.

0:04:16.175,0:04:20.521
And logical fallacies are mistakes[br]people make in the reasoning process.

0:04:20.798,0:04:21.908
And we all do it.

0:04:21.908,0:04:23.192
For example,

0:04:23.192,0:04:26.319
(Spanish)

0:04:26.775,0:04:29.323
Every time I forget my umbrella, it rains.

0:04:29.323,0:04:31.323
Do you really think there's a relationship

0:04:31.323,0:04:34.371
between the weather[br]and you forgetting your umbrella?

0:04:34.705,0:04:36.067
Wouldn't that be fantastic?

0:04:36.067,0:04:39.540
Because then this four-year drought[br]they have in California -

0:04:39.540,0:04:41.144
(Laughter)

0:04:41.144,0:04:45.019
all we have to do is get Californians[br]to forget their freaking umbrellas,

0:04:45.309,0:04:48.068
and then it'll rain, okay?

0:04:48.460,0:04:50.062
That's a non sequitur.

0:04:50.062,0:04:53.478
That's the name of that fallacy [br]of false cause and effect.

0:04:53.491,0:04:55.929
A happens, then B happens.

0:04:55.952,0:04:58.809
And then you assume that A caused B.

0:04:58.832,0:05:00.681
Maybe, maybe not.

0:05:00.711,0:05:01.962
You have to check.

0:05:02.187,0:05:06.187
Another logical fallacy[br]which is very common is ad hominems.

0:05:06.187,0:05:08.346
And ad hominems are nasty little things

0:05:08.346,0:05:11.085
because this is when[br]the person gets personal.

0:05:11.097,0:05:15.314
Instead of attacking your arguments,[br]the person attacks your person.

0:05:15.324,0:05:17.524
They attack your integrity.

0:05:17.574,0:05:20.985
And unfortunately, political debate[br]is usually polluted by that.

0:05:20.992,0:05:22.927
When somebody is loosing an argument,

0:05:22.940,0:05:25.880
instead of sticking to the merits[br]of the arguments,

0:05:25.904,0:05:26.916
they back off,

0:05:26.916,0:05:30.081
and then they start[br]getting nasty and offensive.

0:05:30.094,0:05:32.001
Ad hominems are terrible,

0:05:32.012,0:05:36.241
but they're very useful in the hands[br]of people who have no scruples.

0:05:36.270,0:05:39.117
And another logical fallacy[br]that's very popular

0:05:39.117,0:05:40.837
is argument from authority.

0:05:40.837,0:05:41.861
This must be true

0:05:41.861,0:05:45.126
because somebody who knows[br]more than me says it's true.

0:05:45.408,0:05:48.197
And I have my students learn

0:05:48.197,0:05:51.801
how to identify at least five or six[br]of those logical fallacies.

0:05:51.855,0:05:57.344
The third part of the BS detector[br]I take from Benjamin Bloom.

0:05:57.344,0:06:01.860
This was a wonderful scientist[br]who started thinking about thinking.

0:06:01.901,0:06:05.940
And this guy said, "What do we do[br]with our brains when we're thinking?"

0:06:05.961,0:06:10.169
And he identified five or six skills,[br]depending on which taxonomy you use.

0:06:10.195,0:06:16.485
And for example, the basis of all learning[br]is remembering, memorization.

0:06:16.619,0:06:20.337
And you need that for everything.

0:06:20.447,0:06:21.847
You need that for everything.

0:06:21.847,0:06:26.650
However, if you stay at that level[br]in which you only memorize and you repeat,

0:06:26.650,0:06:28.445
that's not deep thinking,

0:06:28.525,0:06:30.285
that's not deep thinking at all.

0:06:30.285,0:06:32.240
And now, you have the situation

0:06:32.240,0:06:38.151
where you must find out[br]if the speaker is really a deep thinker.

0:06:38.151,0:06:40.737
Does he know his stuff in detail,

0:06:40.737,0:06:43.371
or is he merely repeating[br]some talking points

0:06:43.371,0:06:44.878
that somebody gave him?

0:06:44.878,0:06:47.456
Again, questions will help you identify

0:06:47.456,0:06:50.465
whether you're dealing[br]with a deep thinker or not.

0:06:50.465,0:06:55.045
And here you analyze,[br]you synthesize, you evaluate.

0:06:55.242,0:06:57.352
That's where I wanted to take my students,

0:06:57.352,0:07:00.407
but first I had to get[br]an obstacle out of the way.

0:07:00.793,0:07:06.482
Most people feel that it's wrong[br]to change your opinions, to be tentative.

0:07:06.483,0:07:08.324
And no, that is not true.

0:07:08.364,0:07:11.922
If we want to grow as a person[br]and as a society,

0:07:11.922,0:07:18.822
we need to be open to change our minds[br]and change our minds constantly

0:07:18.909,0:07:22.445
because as the world changes,[br]we must change with the world.

0:07:22.552,0:07:25.053
And I'm going to quote[br]George Bernard Shaw here.

0:07:25.053,0:07:26.687
He made the following observation.

0:07:26.687,0:07:30.673
He says, "Progress[br]is impossible without change,

0:07:30.673,0:07:34.407
and those who cannot change their minds[br]cannot change anything."

0:07:34.945,0:07:38.783
So, I had to destroy that paradigm[br]that you must know all the answers.

0:07:38.783,0:07:41.297
No, you should know all the questions

0:07:41.324,0:07:43.421
and not be afraid to ask them.

0:07:43.602,0:07:46.031
Once they have the BS detector[br]firmly installed,

0:07:46.123,0:07:48.311
we move to the fun part of the class.

0:07:48.333,0:07:51.705
Here we watch TED talks,[br]we go into YouTube,

0:07:51.746,0:07:55.391
we read essays form the Internet[br]or from the local newspapers.

0:07:55.395,0:07:57.249
And we don't use textbooks.

0:07:57.267,0:07:59.875
We use whatever is happening in the world.

0:07:59.952,0:08:03.750
For example, this semester,[br]we're talking about the Syrian refugees.

0:08:04.073,0:08:06.599
Four million people[br]running for their lives.

0:08:06.920,0:08:09.991
Why are they running? Where are they?

0:08:10.008,0:08:14.557
More than 1,000 have drowned[br]trying to get from North Africa to Europe.

0:08:14.750,0:08:16.000
That's current events,

0:08:16.000,0:08:19.405
and I want to make my students aware[br]that this is happening.

0:08:19.472,0:08:23.203
And we also speak about[br]Puerto Rico's economic crisis.

0:08:23.203,0:08:27.362
And here we have a wonderful[br]resource: Joseph Stiglitz.

0:08:27.606,0:08:33.094
Joseph Stiglitz is a world-class economist[br]who even has a Nobel Prize for economics.

0:08:33.132,0:08:37.069
And this guy wrote a few articles[br]about the situation we're in

0:08:37.069,0:08:38.931
and made specific suggestions.

0:08:38.931,0:08:41.456
So, we bring that to class,[br]we read it, we discuss it.

0:08:41.456,0:08:44.646
We compare with what local politicians[br]are saying and doing.

0:08:44.850,0:08:48.482
And that fosters[br]an atmosphere of conversation.

0:08:48.482,0:08:53.430
And most of the students are so involved[br]on what's going on in terms of content

0:08:53.456,0:08:57.396
that they're not really aware[br]that they're acquiring the language,

0:08:57.690,0:09:01.252
because the central thing is, "Let's talk.

0:09:01.268,0:09:03.355
Let's check out what fulana wrote.

0:09:03.455,0:09:05.556
Let's check out what fulano said.

0:09:05.556,0:09:06.990
Let's compare notes."

0:09:06.990,0:09:09.403
Now, I have two ground rules

0:09:09.403,0:09:14.393
for this noisy, semichaotic[br]or chaotic classroom.

0:09:14.393,0:09:17.479
Number one: ad hominems are not allowed.

0:09:17.529,0:09:20.609
Under no circumstances[br]are you to offend personally

0:09:20.641,0:09:23.208
or attack another person's integrity.

0:09:23.889,0:09:28.632
You must respect everybody's freedom[br]to differ from you.

0:09:28.922,0:09:30.002
Rule number one.

0:09:30.002,0:09:32.882
Rule number two is ideas are not people.

0:09:32.907,0:09:34.928
Ideas do not have rights.

0:09:35.185,0:09:38.464
So, if somebody says something dumb,[br]something that's questionable,

0:09:38.464,0:09:40.614
including me, the professor,

0:09:40.614,0:09:44.360
you should feel free[br]to question that idea.

0:09:44.402,0:09:46.566
And that's not only a right that we have -

0:09:46.566,0:09:50.066
to question ideas[br]that don't make sense to us -

0:09:50.066,0:09:53.136
it's maybe an ethical responsibility

0:09:53.182,0:09:58.042
because a bad idea, if left unchecked,[br]can do a lot of damage.

0:09:58.614,0:10:03.412
We forget, for example, that Adolf Hitler[br]was in power for 12 years.

0:10:03.641,0:10:07.641
How did this man[br]who was so brutal and so evil

0:10:07.641,0:10:11.854
get control of one of the most[br]civilized nations of Europe?

0:10:11.854,0:10:13.048
Well, easy.

0:10:13.078,0:10:17.818
His crazy ideas were not[br]questioned early enough.

0:10:17.818,0:10:22.574
So, by the time German intellectuals[br]and people who had values were aware

0:10:22.574,0:10:26.384
that this guy was taking them[br]to a world war,

0:10:26.417,0:10:28.935
he already controlled[br]the nation's narrative,

0:10:28.935,0:10:33.567
he controlled basically everything:[br]the military, the police, the media.

0:10:33.600,0:10:38.030
And he just had too much power.

0:10:38.050,0:10:42.404
It took a world war[br]to remove Adolf Hitler from power.

0:10:42.622,0:10:45.066
So, when you see a bad idea,

0:10:45.076,0:10:50.918
especially a bad idea that can hurt people[br]physically or emotionally,

0:10:50.948,0:10:54.906
you may be morally obligated[br]to raise your voice and say,

0:10:54.914,0:10:57.527
"Mnh-hnhmmm. That's not a good idea."

0:10:57.527,0:10:58.536
Okay.

0:10:58.536,0:11:02.619
So, in this component[br]of interaction in the classroom,

0:11:02.646,0:11:05.889
once we have that out of the way,[br]we go into the third area.

0:11:05.911,0:11:09.477
And the third area is reading and writing.

0:11:09.477,0:11:12.997
And again, I have to remove[br]from my students the notion

0:11:12.997,0:11:16.667
that making mistakes is somehow bad.

0:11:16.947,0:11:18.441
No, it is not.

0:11:18.553,0:11:21.580
It even has a name; [br]it's called developmental errors.

0:11:21.617,0:11:23.815
So, if you want to learn a language,

0:11:23.815,0:11:28.095
you must be willing[br]to make mistakes, lots of mistakes

0:11:28.095,0:11:31.747
because that's how you know[br]the boundaries of linguistic rules.

0:11:31.770,0:11:33.399
So, I try to create an atmosphere

0:11:33.445,0:11:35.859
where my students[br]feel completely comfortable

0:11:35.859,0:11:39.789
to say whatever they want to say,[br]however they want to say it.

0:11:39.843,0:11:40.889
And it's interesting

0:11:40.889,0:11:42.851
because at the beginning of the semester,

0:11:42.851,0:11:45.112
I usually get two[br]or three students that'll say,

0:11:45.112,0:11:47.162
"Profe, a mí el inglés no me entra."

0:11:47.602,0:11:49.751
"I mean, I just can't deal with English."

0:11:49.756,0:11:52.469
And these same students -

0:11:52.469,0:11:55.569
when we're in the heat of the debate,[br]of the conversation,

0:11:55.569,0:11:57.611
they want to take part[br]in the conversation.

0:11:57.611,0:12:02.411
And then they start leaning to the left[br]and leaning to the right,

0:12:02.424,0:12:07.572
and they ask the magic word,[br](Spanish) "How do you say ...?"

0:12:07.582,0:12:09.362
(Laughter)

0:12:09.362,0:12:11.750
But then when they say,[br](Spanish) "How do you say?"

0:12:11.750,0:12:13.902
the other student says,[br](Spanish) "Like this,"

0:12:13.902,0:12:18.987
and then there's peer tutoring,[br]and it's happening spontaneously.

0:12:19.645,0:12:22.557
I don't even have to wait[br]for these kids to raise their hands,

0:12:22.557,0:12:24.223
because I saw what happened.

0:12:24.223,0:12:25.233
They look at me.

0:12:25.233,0:12:29.445
Once we have eye contact,[br]I say, "Julio, what do you think?"

0:12:29.445,0:12:32.079
And then Julio starts speaking in English.

0:12:32.089,0:12:35.231
And then he goes into a little bit[br]of Porky Pig Syndrome sometimes.

0:12:35.231,0:12:36.251
(Laughter)

0:12:36.251,0:12:38.496
He starts going,[br](Imitates Porky Pig's stutter).

0:12:38.496,0:12:39.686
(Laughter)

0:12:40.582,0:12:43.465
When he goes there,[br]when he gets the Porky Pig Syndrome,

0:12:43.465,0:12:45.375
sometimes he feels a little embarrassed,

0:12:45.375,0:12:47.956
and I say, "No, no, no. Go on."

0:12:47.956,0:12:50.815
And then he says, (Spanish)[br]"Can I say something in Spanish?"

0:12:50.815,0:12:52.792
"Of course. You want to use Spanglish?

0:12:52.792,0:12:56.096
Use Spanglish. Tell us what you think."

0:12:56.096,0:12:59.707
And they realize[br]that they can make mistakes.

0:13:00.179,0:13:02.137
And nobody is going to judge them.

0:13:02.202,0:13:04.176
Nobody is going to grade them worse.

0:13:04.223,0:13:09.303
This is part of the language[br]acquisition process.

0:13:09.674,0:13:11.594
Now, there's something interesting.

0:13:11.674,0:13:16.117
Before I adopted this method,[br]I felt a little awkward.

0:13:16.117,0:13:19.521
It was like, for example, trying[br]to have somebody understand

0:13:19.531,0:13:23.547
what a special plate,[br]a special food tastes like.

0:13:23.547,0:13:25.227
And you describe the food.

0:13:25.227,0:13:26.258
You say, "Oh, my God.

0:13:26.258,0:13:28.728
It tastes like this,[br]and it smells like that,

0:13:28.728,0:13:30.535
and the texture is like this."

0:13:30.554,0:13:36.787
And can you really share the experience[br]of good food like that?

0:13:37.200,0:13:39.458
Somehow it doesn't work.

0:13:39.458,0:13:43.002
So, now you say, "OK. I want you[br]to get a good cookbook

0:13:43.002,0:13:45.065
and memorize the recipe."

0:13:45.662,0:13:48.060
And will that do the trick?

0:13:48.828,0:13:50.104
No, no, it won't.

0:13:50.104,0:13:56.728
The only way of experiencing[br]what good food is like, how it smells,

0:13:56.728,0:13:59.156
the texture, the taste

0:13:59.156,0:14:01.176
is another way.

0:14:01.176,0:14:05.346
And I want to take my students[br]to the point where they understand

0:14:05.346,0:14:08.448
that language is a wonderful -[br]it's a living thing.

0:14:08.488,0:14:10.658
And there's no way[br]you can learn a language

0:14:10.658,0:14:12.768
by simply memorizing rules,

0:14:12.768,0:14:14.746
by concentrating only on grammar.

0:14:14.746,0:14:18.665
And once these students are comfortable[br]with making mistakes,

0:14:18.665,0:14:22.106
the exchange in the classroom[br]becomes so much more dynamic.

0:14:22.118,0:14:24.389
Finally, when we get[br]to the writing process,

0:14:24.426,0:14:28.609
we go to the part[br]where we say, "OK, let's write."

0:14:28.629,0:14:32.934
But again, form is secondary to content.

0:14:32.967,0:14:35.406
I want them to get their ideas,[br]to get the evidence,

0:14:35.406,0:14:37.596
to get their feelings on paper.

0:14:37.596,0:14:39.224
And once they do that,

0:14:39.224,0:14:45.647
then they go into stage number two[br]which is, "Let's correct the paper."

0:14:45.663,0:14:50.319
So at first, you focus[br]on content, not form,

0:14:50.319,0:14:54.649
and then you focus on form, not content.

0:14:54.649,0:14:58.055
This is where you correct[br]all the grammatical mistakes

0:14:58.055,0:15:01.872
and you look at the mechanics[br]of the language, so to speak.

0:15:01.872,0:15:04.520
And they write summary-reaction papers

0:15:04.520,0:15:08.214
in which they concentrate[br]on one thing at first,

0:15:08.214,0:15:12.091
and then they worry about the form[br]of the language later.

0:15:12.131,0:15:19.045
And I always stress[br]content is more important than form.

0:15:19.099,0:15:20.511
And I'll prove it.

0:15:20.598,0:15:23.903
You take Stephen King,[br]or you take Isabel Allende.

0:15:24.195,0:15:26.145
These are world-class writers.

0:15:26.175,0:15:28.727
Well, these people,[br]when they write their manuscripts,

0:15:28.727,0:15:30.307
they send them to the editorials.

0:15:30.307,0:15:32.827
In the case of Stephen King, Viking Press.

0:15:32.844,0:15:35.643
And in Viking Press,[br]they have a professional nerd.

0:15:36.026,0:15:37.159
(Laughter)

0:15:37.159,0:15:40.767
And this professional nerd is going[br]to go through Stephen King's manuscript,

0:15:40.767,0:15:43.718
and he is going to make[br]all the corrections that are needed.

0:15:43.723,0:15:46.009
Now, who has the fame and fortune?

0:15:47.379,0:15:48.613
It's Stephen King.

0:15:48.634,0:15:51.367
It's not the expert on grammar.

0:15:51.660,0:15:54.064
So, you can learn grammar from a machine.

0:15:54.064,0:15:56.093
You can have somebody[br]proofread your paper,

0:15:56.093,0:15:58.380
but you cannot fake content.

0:15:58.460,0:16:01.218
You cannot fake the passion[br]and the suspense

0:16:01.219,0:16:05.266
that goes into a good short story[br]or a fantastic novel.

0:16:05.602,0:16:10.284
And my goal is for my students[br]to understand a number of things.

0:16:10.797,0:16:13.335
Learning is a painful process.

0:16:13.365,0:16:17.163
You have all these narratives[br]that society gives you.

0:16:17.163,0:16:19.305
Everybody around the world[br]has narratives.

0:16:19.334,0:16:22.779
And these narratives dictate[br]how we feel about things.

0:16:22.809,0:16:25.666
But sometimes, these[br]narratives can be wrong.

0:16:25.696,0:16:27.952
And that's where we get[br]cognitive dissonance.

0:16:27.982,0:16:30.203
And cognitive dissonance basically says,

0:16:30.203,0:16:33.203
"Oh, my God. I can't believe that -[br]what you just said."

0:16:33.203,0:16:35.514
But now you have to make up your mind.

0:16:35.524,0:16:37.728
Why are you rejecting that new idea?

0:16:37.758,0:16:42.799
Because it's wrong or because you have[br]a predisposition against that?

0:16:43.159,0:16:45.252
So, you have to explore your narratives,

0:16:45.272,0:16:47.893
look at whatever is causing[br]the cognitive dissonance

0:16:47.953,0:16:49.882
and then form your opinion,

0:16:49.882,0:16:55.066
an opinion based on reason,[br]on critical thinking, not on prejudice.

0:16:55.297,0:16:57.517
So, hopefully at the end of the semester,

0:16:57.517,0:16:59.997
my students will take[br]a few things with them.

0:17:00.377,0:17:03.944
I want them to understand

0:17:03.944,0:17:08.354
that there's nothing wrong[br]with asking questions.

0:17:08.354,0:17:10.932
They should be intense question-askers.

0:17:10.932,0:17:13.502
They should resurrect[br]the little boy or the little girl

0:17:13.502,0:17:14.692
that was a three-year-old

0:17:14.692,0:17:19.947
and was driving mommy crazy or daddy,[br](Spanish) "But why? Why? Why?"

0:17:19.947,0:17:22.710
And, "Shut up. Don't ask[br]so many questions.

0:17:22.710,0:17:24.772
(Spanish) Children should be seen and ..."

0:17:24.772,0:17:26.042
You know the rest.

0:17:26.042,0:17:27.702
(Laughter)

0:17:28.884,0:17:32.102
So, we beat the curiosity[br]out of our students,

0:17:32.102,0:17:33.143
and by sixth grade,

0:17:33.143,0:17:36.192
they will not ask a question[br]if their life depended on it.

0:17:36.213,0:17:40.268
And my job, I believe, is to resurrect[br]that little kid, that little girl

0:17:40.268,0:17:42.048
and say, "You know something?

0:17:42.048,0:17:45.808
Ask questions constantly,[br]even dumb questions.

0:17:45.808,0:17:46.948
Ask them."

0:17:46.948,0:17:50.815
And you should fear[br]not the people who ask questions.

0:17:50.855,0:17:54.185
You should fear the people[br]who fear questions.

0:17:54.615,0:17:58.686
Because growth and maturity,[br]and all things in life

0:17:58.686,0:18:01.670
come from our ability to say,[br](Spanish) "Why?

0:18:01.673,0:18:03.532
Why should I believe that?"

0:18:03.602,0:18:06.374
People that are smart,[br]that are competent, that are ethical

0:18:06.374,0:18:08.024
are not afraid of questions.

0:18:08.024,0:18:10.478
Sometimes you just[br]can't get them to shut up

0:18:10.478,0:18:13.411
because they're so passionate[br]about what you're talking about

0:18:13.411,0:18:14.604
or what they believe

0:18:14.604,0:18:17.197
that they will just flood you[br]with information.

0:18:17.237,0:18:20.830
That's what I think[br]we should concentrate on.

0:18:23.952,0:18:27.448
I want to close this talk[br]with this thought:

0:18:27.753,0:18:29.821
"I believe my job as an educator

0:18:29.821,0:18:32.724
is to open as many doors[br]as I can for my students

0:18:32.724,0:18:35.752
while allowing them the freedom to decide

0:18:35.752,0:18:41.364
if and when they want to cross[br]the threshold of any of these doors."

0:18:41.714,0:18:46.633
I want my students to learn how to cook,[br]not to learn how to read a book.

0:18:47.183,0:18:52.162
And that's how I teach English[br]without teaching English.

0:18:52.662,0:18:53.694
Thank you.

0:18:53.694,0:18:57.062
(Applause) (Cheers)