Job Discussion Forums

[Duffy]

Just a big THANK YOU to the Mods for removing that totally offensive thread about Sohar.

All the MoHE colleges have problems, but, unlike the OP of that thread, we do not air our problems in public, well not in the way that person did!!

It was just like a soap opera watching the posts unfold, but looking back on it - YUK!!!! not forum material.

Duffy

[eha]

Duffy: what exactly was more offensive about that posting, than all those sneering references in postings last year about Salalah U not exactly being a centre of educational excellence; or the present ones on the UAE forum about multinational franchises virtually selling qualifications? I'm not disagreeing with you: let's just say I'm confused. Why are such issues, which suggest corruption at very high levels, acceptable, while it's not acceptable to mention possible corruption at local levels?
Only asking.

[veiledsentiments]

I'm with Duffy on this one. Perhaps you missed some of the posts before it got pulled, eha.

It is one thing to point out the shortcomings of the educational system and management of our employers... quite another to make slanderous comments about individuals - and even naming names.

Unprofessional and inappropriate thread by any measure.

VS

[eha]

Yes, I guess I must have missed the post(s) where names were named.

But how can you miss the tone of desperation in the post? The point where a person is driven to take what may possibly be inappropriate action, because there's nowhere else to turn? Someone on this forum last year said that 'efl teaching is a very isolating profession'; while another post (can't recall where) mentioned the determined triviality of communication in the workplace as a means of avoiding and evading the real issues that are going on all around. This forum is really the only place where people who are aware of such issues (being aware of them doesn't make these people the perpetrators) can attempt to talk about them. Anyone who was really in touch with the environment wouldn't talk about reporting such things to the police; considering the amount of messenger-shooting that goes on in the workplace, God knows where you'd end up if you opened up THAT can of worms.

Ok; so this forum is to be kept clean. Where, then?

[veiledsentiments]

I read the posts he made and the links, and I would say that the teacher named had legitimate evidence to take legal proceedings against the OP of the previous thread if he had a capture of the public postings. And the person named would have also had cause for legal proceedings against this board if it had been allowed to stay. So, since the person named was so obviously innocent of the crimes the OP accused him of, that suggests that the accusations against the others were just as false.

Posters who have such extreme difficulty dealing with the eccentricities of the average TEFL department need to get out of the field and go home to get professional help. That isn't the job of this board when the moderators and board owners have to field threads like this.

There are people with legitimate problems and there are people with axes to grind because of their own personal demons. We are neither shrinks nor their mothers. JMHO, but I don't think this is the place for a thread like that.

VS

[Zajko]

[Stephen Jones]

Anybody got a copy of the post before it was pulled. Nothing like a bit of scandal to liven up the day. Pm me them!

[Aliskander]

Well to be fair to the priginal poster he / she was asked by some members to name names. Until that point he / she had just implied things. Maybe the people who asked for names to be made public should also be reprimanded.

[Hiawatha]

We're all different, and we all have a right to be here.

In my case, I would not mention personal names on this board, at the same time we do need a place to post topics and get advice, exchange ideas, become more aware of issues, etc.

[eha]

"Well to be fair to the priginal poster he / she was asked by some members to name names. Until that point he / she had just implied things. Maybe the people who asked for names to be made public should also be reprimanded."

So glad you pointed out this anomaly, Aliksander. Many of those who push for explicit naming of details are often the very ones who turn on the person who sticks his /her neck out.

Hiawatha: I personally wouldn't name names on a forum like this, either. But I do think we should be discussing the question of freedom of speech--- after all, it's an aspect of education, isn't it.

[omanized]

When is freedom taken too far ? That is another very important question. Should deliberately provocative things be protected under freedom of speech? What about speculative or misleading information?

My guess is there are far more axe-grinders than legitimate posters with an altruistic leaning to help others on this forum.

omzd

[denise]

[zaylahis]

As someone who was considering whether to accept an offer from Oman, I found reading posts negative or positive to be extremely useful. Surely teachers are mature enough to separate the chaff from the wheat (is that the right expression?). I must have missed something because other than naming the school, I did not notice any specific names being mentioned..only characterisation of members of staff. I just thought that the OP was being melodramatic...but I am relatively new to the forum.

[veiledsentiments]

I agree with Denise and Omanized. Most threads here cover the good and bad about various employers with little problem.

Trashing your colleagues with lies and innuendo does NOT constitute freedom of speech on a privately owned board, even if it is public membership. Even if asked, naming names here - especially when it proved that your comments were totally incorrect - shows very poor judgment on the part of the OP. And naturally suggested that all of his other allegations were just as overblown, if not outright lies. Once the thread progressed into specific name or names being attached to the innuendo, the thread disappeared as it should.

VS

[Archangel]

I totally stand by my accusations concerning Sohar College. Truth can never be slander. Anyone can send me a private mail and I will answer truthfully. I totally stand by what I wrote and challenge anyone to refute me.