Last Saturday we finished the seven-week course on “How to be a great English teacher,” which, from my perspective, has brought about a number of positive developments. I will speak briefly on just a few.

First, the teachers were given the opportunity to teach mini-lessons on particular topics and get their teaching evaluated. I believe that peer evaluation is more valuable than any other type of evaluation for it allows more honest feedback and generates a sincere desire to help one another in the task of teaching.

Secondly, reading on a variety of subjects that deal with improving one’s quality of teaching has challenged everyone’s teaching style and forced us to think over how and why we do what we do and how we can be more successful in our work. We have covered a lot of ground speaking on seven major traits that a teacher should possess, but the list can be continued at any time.

Thirdly, watching the brilliant Kevin Kline in The Emperor’s Club has inspired most of us to strive for excellence in whatever we do and not to measure our success by a single victory or a single failure. Success comes with consistent work over a period of time, and not just overnight.

I would like to thank all of the teachers for their valuable contribution to our discussion, for their interaction and exchange of ideas. I am looking forward to more online training and forum ideas. Please, join our network and be a part of a life-long learning process.

Sincerely, Olena Osypchuk