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In Arabic, the word for the indispensably precious stuff of life that is water is, ´Mayiy.´ It´s a homonym, `May ..?` As everyone is a slave to water, so the teacher is perceived not as a water bearer quenching the thirst for knowledge, but as a type of the figure of Jesus, who needs to be given vinegar, while he`s being crucified in the classroom in order to keep him awake; up on his feet during the torture of sleep deprivation: ´May I talk to you teacher?´ Resurrected and filled full of vinegar by the summoning spell, the teacher´s tormented existence is prolonged yet one more sunset until another dawn: ´Eat and drink until the black line can be fully distinguished by you from the white line due to dawn´s redness.´ Koran, Surah 2, Al Baqara (´The Cow´), 187. Many of the articles collected here are to be found in Humanizing Language Teaching online http://www.hltmag.co.uk

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Bright, Robin
Dr Robin Aaron Bright has taught English language since ´94 - Hungary, Poland, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Oman, Libya, China, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Azerbaijan. ´Rab´ began writing for U.K. Pilgrims´ Humanizing Language Teaching in 2008, and is also a contributor to Poland´s The Teacher magazine.

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