Chapter 14: Involvement in Leadership Roles in Professional Organizations

The first time I ran for a leadership position in an international professional association, I ran on an advocacy platform—as an outsider. The impetus for putting my name on the ballot was a sociopolitical concerns column I read in the association newsletter by Professor Robert Kaplan, one of the leaders in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Robert Kaplan wrote that he had always thought that TESOL (now known as TESOL International Association) was a professional association, not a political organization, but that he had been wrong. He argued that TESOL needed to be both a professional and a political association. What struck me about this article was the author’s honesty, and his courage to say publicly that he had been wrong. He wasn’t afraid of sharing his insights about why he had changed his position—and by so doing was even a stronger advocate for our profession, the students, and the communities we serve.Like Bob Kaplan, I felt strongly that TESOL needed to be an advocate for English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for immigrant communities. I had experienced first-hand teaching in a high school in which there were not enough classrooms for ESL students, and I taught some classes in a trailer, one class in the teacher’s lounge, and one class in the auditorium foyer. I was so inspired by this article that I decided that TESOL was the kind of organization I wanted to be more involved with, and I decided to become a candidate for election to the board of directors.