Cross-cultural paradoxes in a profession of values

This article addresses the theme of the 1995 TESOL Convention: Building Our Futures Together. It takes building to bean activity that, like effective communication, prefers common ground and solid foundations. The common ground proposed is a view of TESOL as an undertaking that provides, for its long-term practitioners, a professional vehicle for self-development. An interdependence of the personal and professional arises from the underlying values that inform our actions in the various cultures and subcultures in which we live. This is where foundations must be laid. We face paradoxes, or dilemmas, when clashes develop between different sets of values: for example, the professional values we espouse as people-who-teach, the political values that dominate the societies in which we work, and the cultural values that predominate in societies with which we interact. The article examines three such paradoxes from a perspective that emphasizes our daily need not only to act, but to act in ways consonant with the values we profess. Finally, in an avowedly personal statement, the article sketches a preferred vision of partnership in futures building for TESOL.