I have a good boss: he leaves me alone

Abstract

As the ESL field has become increasingly concerned with professional development, managers in many of Thailand’s language institutes and schools have adopted mentorship and observation schemes to achieve this end. Teachers, however, often resent these “intrusions” into their classrooms, often seeing them as pointless or threatening. Are such schemes really suitable to all ESL settings? This presentation considers the question from the perspective of leadership theories that take into account the “maturity” of the teachers involved, and argues that a “onebest- way” approach to professional development may actually be counterproductive. At times it may well be best to “leave teachers alone”.