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Firstly I am a little gobsmacked. Zailda is 100% correct in what she wrote and anyone who has been here a while recognises these types of examples. She makes a very good point in a tongue in cheek way. I am sorry that you seem to have taken offence Tatiana but once you have been here a while you too will recognise what Zailda was talking about.
I dont download much any more as I have what I need and I teach to a very prescribed course that does not allow me to use outside materials BUT I hang out here anyway and moderate and help where I can and also learn from others in various threads etc. AND when I do download then the description is important to me.Often I look using the search function not through the daily downloads for anything I need from older printables. If it describes what I am looking for I will have a closer look. If it is badly written with many grammar or spelling errors then I do not look at the worksheet because it will most likely be more of the same... if it is random letters then in my experience it usually is stolen or copied from somewhere.
A huge argument here for what? If it wasn �t Christmas and many members doing things away from the computer there would have been many more long term members who would have added to this discussion. I only saw it this morning and as I have said I agree with Zailda 100+% on this one.
Thank you for your comment. But did you ever hear from me that I am against of descriptions? I guess not. This is not what I was talking about in my comments.
What would you feel if the person you were talking to said that you for some reason (which is clear only to Zailda, not me, as I have nothing against her) dislike her? How can such an idea come to a person �s mind? Why should I say "I �m sorry" for the things I didn �t do? Can �t we simply express our ideas? Besides, I can not say that the way she �d been addressing me can be called amiable and respectful. Could you, please tell me what could have made Zailda so angry? What words upset her so deeply? And what can justify Zailda �s behavior towards the person she �s never met?
"I am sorry that you seem to have taken offense Tatiana..." It is you who are sorry, not Zailda. She should learn to admit her mistakes.......
And what really disappoints me is that you even do not try to understand what I tried to say and that so many people support the idea of useless mocking. The only thing teachers said is that Zailda helps all the members. Not in this thread, of course....... But is that what I wanted to know? Definitely not.
But actually I would like to stop talking on the matter as I won�t be
able to say anything new except the things I�ve said. And I know what I
am going to hear in return. Best regards.
Well, cheezles, nobody was against the thing that description is a very important part of a ws. Tatiana just tried to say that some Zailda �s jokes could be understood as offensive ones by some peoples (natonalities). Remember the site is international!
And I don �t think this sentence
". If you don �t have senseof humor, please calm down and read it again. "
is a polite way of expressing ideas.
I think it �s a matter of emotions.
I suppose we should make peace now and make conclusions of this uneasy situation.
Merry Christmas to all! And thank you for your useful work!
Tatiana quoted the passages that could be considered as offensive ones. And I absolutely agree with her! Maybe it �s a slavonic set of mind. But! There are a lot of Russians, Serbians, Belorussians, Ukranians etc. here! And they may think the same! Surely, I can �t say for every person. Maybe some of them will just smile and laugh as you did.
Let �s be tolerant to each other and try to think over our posts before sending them so that not to offense anybody!
I adore this site and I don �t want to quarrel with anybody! Let �s be good friends who are ready to help each other and take care of each other �s feelings! We have a very hard job and let �s not make it harder by misunderstanding and negative emotions! Be happy and healthy in 2010!
Neither do I Natalia want to quarrel. As I �ve already said I am grateful to all the members of the site for their hard but very useful work. The authors inspire me, give me new ideas and I really appreciate it. I think it �s a perfect moment to stop and think about something more pleasant. Best wishes, Tatiana
When I write something I use English and as a Brazilian, I use the standard behavior accepted in my country. It �s not possible to write something that will fit all the cultures and ways of thinking we have here. When a person reads my thread and sees the flag I proudly represent here, he will be aware that a Brazilian is the author.
If he reads in a tolerant way and understands that this is my way of thinking and writing, the person will - maybe - understand my point. The Brazilian humorous approach is recognized all ove the world and even in a site where I can meet peoople from all over I won �t - either for a second - change my personality or abandon my Brazilian pattern. I �m not sorry of being a Brazilian and won �t ever apologize for that.
As a teacher, when a student comes with a question or has a different behavior, I analize what is going on according to this particular student previous pattern or behavior and will judge or help according to what I know about him.
When you read my thread you need to understand that it is about a Brazilian �s writing and toughts. If my Brazilian culture differs too much from yours and my behavior is unnacceptable for you, I sincerely appologize, but - sorry - won �t erase any of my words, because I do believe in each one I have written here.
If you disagree with my thoughts here expressed or if you don �t like my approach and feel offended - I �m really sorry - but it may happen sometimes. And I �m sure the people who this thread can help didn �t participate in it, but I sincerely hope they will think about what I said and try to improve their descriptions.
Reading the thread again, I see that I mentioned: "they come to the forum complaining "why did I get only 2 downloads?" and you asked me if I have done it. No, I never did and never will. I �m not here for points, I only want to help and improve my work (and this way, help my students). If I was only concerned on points I wouldn �t "waste" (see the "") my time on the forum, I would spend it only creating work to post here and get points.
I wouldn �t stay here until late at night answering questions the newbies post on the forum - as we don �t get points, medals or rewards for useful answers. I work hard every day, not only to make ends meet, but also to help my students and colleagues, and to enhance my skills as well.
I �m a serious professional, don �t let the humorous taste of my thread lead you to a mistaken conclusion. And as an individual, if you knew me, you would be aware that I �m not concerned if some disagree on what I say and because of that I �m always prepared to hear bad or good things about it, but if I have something to say I wiil, and it doesn �t matter the price I �ll have to pay for doing it. If I feel that it would be useful for some to hear what I have to say, I �ll speak it up, and won �t go backwards because I do support my beliefs.
I agree that a discussion about ideas is useful, but a discussion about approaches or kinds of humor is senseless. If you hear a joke you may like, dislike or simply don �t get the point. And you have the right to express it, and your message was sent, among the others who agred or not, or didn �t get the point at all. But if the people who I wanted to address this thread to (and I don �t expect they come here to defend their position on misusing the description) read and if they only think about what I wrote, I feel I got where I wanted to.
If you don �t feel the necessity of this thread - great! It only shows I was not addressing to you. And I �m not being aggressive, only objective. If you understand it, it �s OK. If you don �t, I can �t do anything about it.
That �s it. If you feel it �s useful for you, think about. If you don �t like, OK. If you disagree, it �s OK for me as well. If you have something to say, go ahead. If you don �t get the point, read the thread again. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them by PM. If you think the post is offensive, report it to Victor. If you don �t agree with my approach, open another thread the way you think this one should be. I �m glad the way it is now.
If I offended you, I �m sorry, it wasn �t my intention. If you think I �m aggressive, angry or impolite, I have to disagree with you, I �m not.
After all, whether you like it or not, I won �t subtract anything from it, or I �ll risk being insincere. That �s me. This post is the way I wanted to write it, and if I changed anything it wouldn �t be the expression of my thoughts. Each one has the right to express what goes on his mind. If you don �t like what goes on mine, I �m sorry but this won �t change anything.
As long as you can�t
stop thinking about me, (and I am really honored by this fact), let me tell you
the following. Or�.. I�d better start with quotations.
Zailda : �If
you think I �m aggressive, angry or impolite, I have to disagree with you, I
�m not.� (How about this,
Zailda?)
1.If
you don �t have sense of humor, please calm down and read it again.
2.If
you want to discuss a topic, the first advice I �ll give you (and this one
is free of charge) is to avoid being too sensitive. (I�M SURE YOU�D LIKE TO SELL YOUR PRECIOUS ADVICE)
3.S/he
doesn�t like me... snif, snif... now it becomes too personal for my taste. And
if you don�t like me, at least lean my name:
Z - A - I - L - D - A. Is it clear enough or do I have to draw it for you? (I like this part most) ;)
4.Tatiana,
I �ve got your number. You �re not here to make things better, just to try making
me angry. You �ve got the opportunity and failed. You �re not having any
more responses from me.
5.it seems some people don �t need much time to show who
they are.
Isn�t that enough,
dear Zailda?
You say �The aim of
this thread is to help teachers think on a better way to describe their ws. This
thread is an advice�. I�S NOT ADVICE. IT�S MOCKING! ADVICE IS NEVER GIVEN IN SUCH A WAY.WHAT IS MORE, YOU FIND PEOPLE�S MISPRINTS FUNNY. OR SHOULD I ALSO CALL IT �YOUR PERSONAL SENSE OF HUMOR?�
�Today I have
reported several wss because they were copies.� You know what I think about all this? I DO NOT want to invent sth in the
language which is not my native one! I am NOT a native speaker. English and
Russian have a DIFFERENT language structure. I do NOT want to think that I know
the language better than people who are NS! What is more, I find it ridiculous.
If I change words in a sentence, does it make it MY ws? I have quite a rich library at home. Are you sure all teachers can boast of this? I am not. But despite the fact that the book is perfectly done, I still make changes and choose the material I need. And I am sure that it�s HARD work to combine material from maaaany books and
present it here in the form of a ppt presentation or a ws. People who are not
NS ALWAYS make mistakes, whether they want it or not.
�As a teacher, when a student comes with a question or
has a different behavior, I analize what is going on according to this
particular student previous pattern or behavior and will judge or help
according to what I know about him�. (We are not at school and I am NOT your
student. How can you analize MY behavior if you don�t know me? What kind of
pattern you are talking about? Don�t say that you are not talking about me
giving this example, otherwise I will think that all your words here are
useless. You can NOT admit your mistakes, you can NOT stay calm when it�s
needed.
�I want to ask
again: is there a rule against expressing what goes on your mind?� Could I ask
you the same question, dear Zailda?
Yes, I know that
what I am saying right now sounds not very polite. But I am tired of reading
how good you are. I NEVER meant you are bad! I do not want to know what kind of
teacher you are. I do NOT need your help, especially now. I am NOT interested
in points, nor in your approval. And I am tired of the policy of double standards.
I enjoy being a member of the site. I like reading Techniques and methods in
Language Teaching.
But there is one
thing I can agree with you upon.
Each one has the right to express what goes on his
mind. If you don �t like what goes on mine, I �m sorry but this won �t change
anything.
If you had apologized
earlier, I wouldn�t have said what I�ve said. It took you tooooooo much time to say "I am sorry". I am against hypocrisy. Sorry for
being rude but I am tired of this useless talk.
Could I ask you to stop discussing it? It looks ridiculous. I do not want to take part in a show "Praise my hard work, my contribution and my sense of humor"
