What CHE Means To Me

Opinionated

Avril Sule

I come from a long line of teachers and promised myself that I would never join the profession - famous last words. After a brief stint as a ‘management trainee’, I was back at my Alma Mater to teach. This was not quite as easy as I thought. Being just a couple of years older than the students, I obviously did not fit the role of the experienced teacher either in age or physique.

I created charts, slides and video presentations on various topics and devised crosswords and word games, but my creativity was stifled after a while. Even the six month course in ‘teacher training’ and several changes in syllabus provided temporary respite, but did little to boost my enthusiasm.

It was then that I heard about CHE from K V Simon, regional vice-president, Educational Institute of Hotel and Lodging Association (EI-AH&LA). It seemed like a new approach and a better understanding of the teaching and learning process, but it also seemed like a lot of money. I hoped to be sponsored by the institute, but it was not to be. One of our senior faculty attended the CHE workshop and when he talked about it, I became even more determined that I should attend it.

Shortly afterwards, the CHE workshop was to be conducted in Mumbai. Call it fate, if you will, but a bad debt in my husband’s business was suddenly cleared around that time and the money recovered was, unbelievably, the cost of the programme. And so, finally, I received the workshop as a Christmas gift from my husband.

I was excited and apprehensive about attending the workshop. I diligently went through the pre-workshop material and exercises. In truth, I enjoyed every minute of the workshop, despite the sleepless nights preparing for the post-workshop examination. The participants were a mixed group varying widely in age and experience, so the sharing and interaction was a learning experience in itself. This coupled with the fact that we had two facilitators with contrasting styles who complemented each other so well, provided an excellent group interaction and a great learning experience. I discovered many new things; I realised many of my mistakes and conversely found out that a lot of what I was doing was correct.

The design of the workshop was well sequenced, leading the participants systematically from creating the syllabus through training tools and techniques to the final evaluation. Of all the knowledge gained, the Bloom’s Levels of learning and the Interactive Methods of teaching are two aspects which had and continue to have the greatest impact on my teaching style. As a frequent Master of Ceremonies, I have had to organise games. With a little innovation, I discovered that I could turn those games into learning experiences and ice-breakers. I was injected with a great deal of enthusiasm - you could say I received the much-required shot in the arm.

My teaching has never been quite the same again. Of course, in my position, there are many things that I cannot change, but I have set a standard for my teaching performance in the classroom which I maintain and improve - I owe this much to myself and to the CHE programme. As the only CHE in my organisation, I have developed a great deal of self-confidence. I now see myself as a ‘trainer’ and ‘educator’ first and then a ‘housekeeper’.

I strive to inspire my colleagues and subordinates and other trainers to join me in the quest for excellence in hospitality education. I regret that most teachers perceive teaching as dead serious business (the first adjective is more applicable in their case). What is even more amazing, is how lecturers actually strive to make their subject matter as uninteresting as possible.

CHE cannot make a good ‘hospitality educator’, but it can develop and spire an ‘hospitality educator’ to be the best. It now requires very little effort for me to arrange subject matter in a logical sequence and present it in the most appealing fashion and it means a great deal to me when students appreciate this. As a co-facilitator of the CHE programme, I continue to learn and spread the message of excellence in hospitality education nationwide.

Most people claim that three little words (I love you) changed their life. Well, so do I, except that the three words which changed my life as a teacher are not little and they stand attached to my name - Certified Hospitality Educator.

(The writer is housekeeping faculty at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCTAN), Dadar, Mumbai)