Over the Wall of Silence

Introduction 5

Introduction

J ACK ’ S BAD DAY Ready and eager to teach, Jack bounds into his first-year English conversation classroom and begins firing questions off to the class in a booming voice. He wants to start the class on a positive note and get some interaction from the get-go. “Hey everybody! What did you do on the weekend?” Nothing. He tries again, this time a little louder. “Did you go anywhere?” “Anybody?” “Did...did you have a good time?” It’s happening again. Jack is met with a sheer wall of silence. Damn. In the idealised version Jack was imagining on the train on the way to school, he saw half the class shoot up their hands in response to his questions. Some students were even talking over each other to answer him. But here, in the stark light of day, it’s a completely different story. His collar is starting to feel a little sweaty. OK, Jack thinks, relax. You’re a professional. You can’t let it ruffle you. He tries to hide his disappointment as he quickly comes up with a Plan B. He decides to move on to an individual. Scanning the room, Jack finds a face that looks like it may respond to him. He zeroes in on her and asks the same question. “So, what did you do on the weekend?” She smiles. But again, silence. A bird outside the window starts to croak softly.