Old and Tired
- 2007-05-21
Youve got to be kidding!
Ive been visiting this website on and off for more than three years now, and yes, its too bad that posters can often be so brutal to one another.
That being said, I think your post entitled Shame is, in its own way, far more preposterous and outrageous than many of the rude and downright hateful posts made by FTs past and present.
First of all, to make a post as a group of 12 people is rather laughable in and of itself. Not only is it lazy, it boasts some sort of false solidarity that I doubt would hold up for long if you were placed in many of the circumstances and conditions that many FTs face in China. There is also a high measure of moral superiority stirred into your collective admonishment of the rest of us. (Talk about Shame on you...)
If there is any real message consistently coming through this forum it is perhaps that we are all quite different. We (as you clump all prior posters into one global entity) represent the full spectrum of intellectual, educational, social, political, moral, and cultural backgrounds and perspectives.
Yes, it is shocking and maddening and disgusting (as well as illuminating and inspiring and refreshing) at times, but it is what it is (as some folks say): an open forum, warts and all.
I despise many of things people say and promote here, but what keeps me interested is the true openness of this place -- particularly while living in a country so full of all sorts of oppression.
As the often the wise and insightful Turnoi points out, labeling oneself an ESL teacher requires little or no qualification, and I doubt many of us here could even agree on a standard measurement or definition of an ESL teacher.
Please, in the future, speak for yourselves as individuals. Stop hiding behind 11 other people in order to shake a collective finger at the rest of us, because I doubt under a number of challenging situations and/or dilemmas that so many FTs face here, that your faux solidarity would last for very long.
I complain about the conditions of teaching in China from time-to-time here. What Ive not mentioned before now, is that ALL of my friends in China are Chinese. I dont have any active, on-going friendships with other foreign teachers here. I couldnt possibly dislike foreigners, as I also one, but in my journey here, I have yet to meet another foreign teacher (I use the term teacher loosely) who had much understanding of me or my own reasons for coming, or remaining in China.
Whatever connection I have with other foreigners in China comes mostly (but obviously, not completely) from exchanges in this, and other ESL forums.
If youve read any of my very recent postings, you know that I am American. In some places I have worked in China there were also a few other American ESL teachers. Some of these guys tried to screw as many Chinese girls as possible and had no genuine interest in teaching, before or after they came to China. Do I feel one ounce of solidarity with them? What do you think???
Whatever battles I have fought and won and lost with educational disorganizations in China (training centers, private and public universities) I did so for the sake of my students and my own professional, moral, financial, and most importantly, psychological, protection. No other FT joined in my standoffs (although a number of them gained a future benefit from my little wars), nor did I ask or expect them to. Among the countless, harsh realizations I have faced here is that there is no solidarity among FTs in China.
Is that sad? Yes. But is it so bad? Perhaps not.
China has something call open door policy (talk about a topic ripe for debate!). China opened the door, and guess what crossed the threshold: the messy world of clashing INDIVIDUALISM outside.
If you wish to offer future postings as individuals, I will read and consider them; but any future postings from 12 ESL grad students, I wont bother to open, read, or ponder in the future.
Talk about a waste/waiste of time!!!
We are a group of ESL grad students, mostly second year. Of the twelve of us, eleven have international teaching experience in eight countries and three continents, totaling 46 years, teaching anywhere from primary school to university, private schools and tutoring. Most of us continue to teach as volunteers at schools, community colleges and community centers in our spare time. We do it because we enjoy it.
We have been following some of the recent threads here in ESL Teachers Board, and all we can say is that we are ashamed of each of you. The cat fighting, the back stabbing, the multi-named posting, the abject lies, the name calling.....is all shameful. We are equally ashamed of the past regular posters that have been recently absent. You really did participate by being absent.
Few recent posts have had any content relative to ESL at all. You've ridiculed each others' educational background, you've created false wars of "it's our language, use it our way or not at all." (And a couple of the British have participated in that with the Americans as well.) Hey, you know what? It's everybody's language. If you can learn it, it's yours. But please be honest with yourself and others. If you cannot use it highly competently, don't pretend to be a teacher. A person who can only do arithmatic shouldn't try to be a high school math teacher.
Quit trying to win respect for yourselves by winning arguments. You are only making yourselves look foolish.