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ESL forum >
Message board > Is anyone listening?
Is anyone listening?
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Zora
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Is anyone listening?
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Today, I have noticed this site is super busy... and that�s wonderful. But the topic that�s buzzing through everyone�s ears, isn�t. This "stolen" thing is really not a very good thing. We harp on and on about it but are we really listening to anything anyone has to say?? No, I think not... a person has been unjustly accused of stealing today and most members chose not to say anything... Oh, there is TONS to talk about when that person is accused but when, perhaps that person deserves a public apology?? Or maybe questioning the intentions of person who so rashly put up a "Stolen" post so the whole board could know just how terrible that person is without double checking the source??
I have been counting and this is the third member that I know of that has been falsely accused in the last month or two... obviously there are probably more.. Has any of them ever received a public apology by the person who so hastily put up a "warning thief" thread?? Probably not...
This is shameful behaviour, especially from people who consider themselves to be teachers! Are we unconsciously transmitting this behaviour to our students I often wonder... this pointing of fingers, this self-importance, this I can�t be wrong attitude... which is frankly quite deplorable...
We are here because we like to "SHARE" and generousity is at the core of sharing, so is humbleness and good will - not this pointing of fingers, complaining because somebody has more points than somebody else, etc...
One last thing... I will not be surprised if people answer this post regarding my third paragraph and not the first and second... which is a shame because again... we are hearing only what we want to hear and not listening to what is being said or what is important!
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8 Dec 2008
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urpillay
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I agree with you Zora. It is horrible to read the same all the time because it creates an uncomfortable atmosphere in this wonderful website.
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8 Dec 2008
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bigbang
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I couldn�t agree more. When this discussion began I asked people to take it easy and now that things have been clarified I do think an apology is really necessary. It�s a matter of values and we are educators, aren�t we? And I must be a dreamer, like Lennon, because I keep thinking that a group like this could be a place for ~sharing points of view, knowing other cultures, and contributing for inter communication and a more peaceful world. Sometimes I doubt. |
8 Dec 2008
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bigbang
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Come on Nurja, still no apologies? |
8 Dec 2008
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Hannie
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Hi Zora,
Something like that has happened to me as well.
I�ve worked my ass off (sorry for the expression) for more then 2 hours yesterday making a list of regular verbs with their meanings in portuguese and the way to pronunce them.. Then I received a comment saying something like this "this worksheet looks like mine what a coincidence".. well, mine was inspired on that one, yes, but I did it all from root to leaves. The verbs are not the same because the other member had mixed regular with irregular verbs...But still, she didn�t bother to read my worksheet. Just because it looked like hers she posted that comment.
Now I ask : Is it possible to make verb list look completly different?
And is it fair to post those kind of comments before reading and comparing the ws carefully??
Well, I felt my work was not recognized and I felt very "demotivated"
People should not act this way.. always looking for someone to stab a knife on!Of course there are unfair people, of course sometimes people do things wrong.. but is it right to judge before we consider that WE might be wrong ourselves??
I�ll leave the questions .. and hope that MY work is usefull to someone! |
8 Dec 2008
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Mariethe House
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I absolutely, totally, entirely agree with you Zora.....I wrote a message in the topic: "Stolen worksheet with 42
downloads...... to victor....." but there was no comment And I hope it�s because it was at the bottom of the message
board! Or was it the real reason?
I feel once I have sent a ws, somehow it is public property..... So, somehow, it doesn�t belong to me!
Lots of love to you all
Mariethe
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8 Dec 2008
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mena22
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Good evening to all of you! I couldn�t agree with you more on this Zora! And Hannie I can imagine how you feel! Not long ago I said on this forum that after reading so many accusations with "capital letters", I was terrified that some day I could be the next victim, so much so that I had to go through the whole worksheets again and again to make sure that I had made the necessary changes to those sentences in order to consider them mine, that I had written the source of a text, now the source of an image............. Until I said BASTA, ENOUGH!! So Hannie, just like Zora said, we are teachers, we are educators and we must behave as such... Humbleness is one of the most precious virtues of a teacher -- without it, no matter how many books we read, how many degrees we take, withou it we will never learn anything!!!
Best Regards,
mena |
8 Dec 2008
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GIOVANNI
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I am glad to see what you have written Zora, and am in total agreement with you. People�s feelings are being hurt. I am sad to say that what has gone on today is uncalled for. We are not the police, we are teachers. Must we fear of submitting something and being acccused? We must learn to respect one another�s feelings and make amends when they are due. Let�s make amends where necessary and turn the page. I hope tomorrow does not bring what today has brought. Joy and peace to everyone. |
8 Dec 2008
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Damielle
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I agree with you, dear. I have told many times that we have to be careful when writing on the forum and always show our good manners.
That�s not always possible but consider that in a face-to-face situation or telephone conversation you are able to change your tone of voice, to rephrase comments and to present body language that welcomes further communication and thus promotes understanding. But here you don�t have the benefit of these signals.
Besides the unfair situation of seeing worksheets stolen everywhere in this site may produce these kind of outbursts. Meanwhile, inocent people may be hurt.
My advice is to wait a few minutes (or hours or days) before straight accusing somebody. There are many ways of expressing the same without being so direct! I was taught that English is characterised by polite remarks. Doesn�t it exist anymore? |
8 Dec 2008
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w3hw3t
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Hey All friends,I am sorry but the arguments and even insulting with each other are not good behaviors.As we are English teachers,we need to make more constructive comments.As we all know there are lots of sites on the net in which people are trying to fool each other.So please now on let�s start to be more cooperative,and help each other more.thanks,,,,,Good words are worth much, and cost little...
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9 Dec 2008
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