Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Thus far, I have had the chance to attend some pedagogical meetings and sessions ranging from MATE (Moroccan Association of Teachers of English) to the sessions organized at university. I must admit that I learnt so many things from them and have somewhat developed my teaching skills just because of them. When I was a student, I also learnt many things from the meetings held at school. However, to my dismay, I have found out that most of these meetings have one attribute in common. The latter is that birds of a feather flock together.

To begin with, I remember once attending a conference on translation at university. Thanks to it, I learnt some basics about this field. As soon as the conference came to an end, discussion began. Here, I noticed that most of those who posed questions were simply colleagues and friends of the presenters. And when a colleague of mine raised his hand to pose a question, no one paid attention to him. I believe it was simply because he was not a bird of the same feather.

The fact that when the coffee break came and the presenters and those who posed questions sat around the same table confirmed that they were really among the birds in question. Frankly, I do not see any point in sitting with those one already knows. Sitting with others from different universities and places helps us broaden our knowledge. Also, how can one share and exchange with others if we do not make others’ acquaintance and try to share the same table but with different members?

The same problem brings me back to last year when I attended a Mate meeting. I liked everything about it except the fact that birds of a feather flock together there too. Before the conference started, we were all asked to get membership cards, the thing we did. Afterwards, we were each offered a pen and a notepad to write on. One of my colleagues came late that day and got into the conference room and asked me for a pen. I had to give it to him, and I used a pencil instead.

When the coffee break came, I went to ask for another pen. It was here when the one in charge of pens and notepads went angry at me. I explained everything to him, but he refused to give me another one. Here, I thought that had I been one of the eminent members of that association, I would have got as many as pens as I wanted. I then understood that I was a simple teacher whom no one knew there. I was also understanding, for that person might even have mistaken me for a student. For him, students are birds who have a different feather.

Most of those present chose to have lunch with those they know and with those who have the same tastes. And if you happen to sit with them, no one talked to you or seemed to share with you his teaching experiences. The same thing is the case when the time of taking photos comes. Some group photos include only the members and no outsiders.Broaching on this doesn’t mean uttering complaints. It rather means describing them as mere birds that flock together because of the feather they have in common.

As a teacher trainee, I could not stand some of the trainers just because of this. They do not listen to their trainees’ viewpoints. Unfortunately, some of them behave so, for they think that trainees are merely trainees. The latter’s voice is not something special and is not worth being considered.

At last, I have come to the conclusion that the meetings where people are expected to make new acquaintances, exchange experiences, and stand together against the problems their field faces have turned out to be the melting point where only birds that have the same feather have to come to the fore.