Why Did I Become the Caucus’ Chair?
Lucie Moussu, Purdue University, lmoussu@purdue.edu
This is a question that I asked myself many, many times last year! Why did I agree to take on so many responsibilities when this was going to be my last year as a PhD student? Why did I agree to write hundreds of e-mails along with budgets and articles when I had to focus on my dissertation? Why did I spend so many hours thinking about schedules, stickers, handouts, and meetings when I was already very busy with an exhausting job search? These are excellent questions . . . and yet, I don’t regret for a minute having been the chair of our caucus!
When I first became involved in our caucus in 2000, I asked myself, “How can this caucus help me complete my master’s degree and be a better teacher?” For a few years, I learned as much as I could about the caucus, its cause and goals, the people behind it, TESOL’s organization and mission, and conferences. After a while, however, I realized that listening to presentations and reading articles about NNESTs was no longer enough and that my learning would have to include teaching, sharing, giving, and helping. That is when I decided to get involved.
Books and articles about leadership will tell you that you need several qualities to be a good leader, and many people who responded to my calls for volunteers told me that they “would love to help if only they had the time!” Of course, it is true that some people are born leaders, that some are busier than others, and that I would have been a better chair had I had more time. It is not true, however, that not having enough time or that never having held such a position made me a bad leader. If I didn’t have the required qualities, I worked on acquiring them. If I didn’t have the time, I woke up 10 minutes earlier every day and found it. What allowed me to be a decent leader and to enjoy it was that I had a vision, a passion, and goals for my personal and professional lives.
Finding your passion in life is important. What do you want to become? How do you want people to know you? What principles do you want to bring to light and share with others? I, for example, wanted to become an assistant professor in applied linguistics one day, which meant that I needed to do research, present my findings at conferences, write articles, and become known as an expert in my field. I also strongly believed that discrimination against NNESTs is unfair and that much needs to be done in teacher education programs to prepare future NESTs and NNESTs better. These two goals, the personal one and the larger one, logically led me to become a caucus leader.
To be this leader, I had to make a few sacrifices, especially of my time. First, I had to find the right people to work with me and then, I had to be ready to make decisions and involve others in this process, which was not always easy. I also had to be sensitive to other people’s needs and opinions, to be flexible, to use good judgment, to learn about my strengths and weaknesses, and to ask for help whenever I was in doubt. Then, I had to solve problems, raise issues, and start discussions.
More important, and this was not a sacrifice but a real pleasure, I had to (or at least I tried to) inspire, encourage, and enable others to participate, to become involved, to find their niche. It was an amazing feeling to see new leaders emerge, people become involved, and great things take place, and to hear from some that I had been a good example. And the most exciting part of all was when I could reward efforts and see efforts rewarded (through proposal acceptances, awards, and so much more).
Yes, being a caucus chair was not always fun (and it would have been easier to watch a movie or play with my cats, at times). But it was always exciting, and I learned more than I ever thought I would that year! It also enabled me to learn self-discipline, to gain a greater self-esteem, to overcome my terrible shyness, and to meet wonderful people. Above all, being a leader allowed me to work toward my goals: I became a little more known and respected as a scholar, I found a wonderful job as assistant professor in applied linguistics, and I made a small difference for English teachers around the world.
NNEST Newsletter May 2006 Volume 8 Number 1: Table of Contents
