Londongirl
- 2014-09-17
You can't on one hand say that you do the minimum preparation possible for your classes, teaching 16 different classes from.one Mr Bean lesson plan, say the only thing your students deserve is do as they're told, be seen and heard and say being drunk when you turn up to teach so long as you have breath mints is acceptable AND expect any one to think you're a good teacher.
I never said you were uncaring or that you lacked compassion. Just that I don't think you should be teaching when you do it to fund your easy lifestyle, not because your students are your priority.
Concerned Teacher
- 2014-09-17
but you can't teach somebody to feel a sense of duty to their students.
[edited]
When I was in Sichuan, I helped with the earthquake relief (despite the chinese govt not wanting foreigners help!) that some of my students and their families suffered, as the road was damaged and many farmhouses and villages damaged. I also encouraged my students to send donation parcels to the poor kids in Qinghai, notebooks, pens and pencils, things that they in the south and east of China which are wealthier may take for granted but to those poor kids in Qinghai would bring a smile to their faces.
So don't you dare label me as an uncaring or uncompassionate human being or teacher. You don't know me or how long I had been in China, and how I was towards my students.
Londongirl
- 2014-09-16
It was kept between myself and the LTs that teach the classes. I kept the owner/DoS out of it for that reason. I'm still in touch with the LTs and an FT there I trust and it's still being used, along with some updates to material from.me, as was intended.The Chinese are known a bit for being world champions in copyright violation. I hope they haven't published your intellectual property and make money with what you have given them for free
I've used EnglishBanana before, but I have to confess to being somewhat picky when it comes to outside resources as I usually have a very clear picture of what I'm looking for, so I often end up creating material myself to fit to precisely where I am taking the lesson. My interactive animated ppts are loved by my classes though, and over the years I've built up a very reliable library of self-made materials covering everything from Starter level to CAE. If ever you would like to see some of them, you have my email.
The news about Kenya is wonderful. If it weren't for my huge intolerance to the heat, I would offer to donate some time myself, however in very hot countries I tend to be as effective as an underwater hair dryer! But I already have side projects here, I will be organising a donation drive amongst our students to donate toys and books which we will wrap and take to the local hospital Children's ward at Christmas for a carol service.
I would honestly like your input on how you can defend the skills or suitability to teach of someone like CT after his comments about teaching whilst drunk? How can you not find that as abhorrent as I do? In that situation I would rather an unqualified bus driver who has a genuine passion for teaching and cares about his students, than a qualified TEFL teacher who didn't prioritize his students. Please note, I'm asking this not to reignite our previous battle, but because I am genuinely interested in the answer.
Who is better to teach a class? Someone who wants to teach, cares about it but doesn't have what you and I consider to be minimum qualifications to teach -or- somebody qualified who doesn't care about his students to the point that teaching whilst drunk is acceptable to him?
Personally, I would choose the first option although this would not be my normal choice, normally I would take qualified over not any day, but if the qualified option held the opinions about his students that CT posted here, I would make an exception, I think. You can teach someone to be a teacher, but you can't teach somebody to feel a sense of duty to their students.