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7atetan
Joined: 01 Jan 2010
Posts: 93
Location: Not in the Mediterranean Sea
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 Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:04 pm Post subject: Re: A storm in a teacup |
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| desert_traveller wrote: |
| [...]the first one is a classic neo-colonial style gross misconception by almost all western people in the ksa who arrogantly think that they are there to represent some sort of higher existence and bring up locals to their celestial standards[...] |
...except, they are not Western standards, but pretty much global standards. Even in the laid-back countries of South America and the grossly-corrupt states in Africa, there are such things as business etiquette and work ethic. These are far inferior, to the point of non-existence, in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in general.
Teaching is not just a job; it is a vocation, and it involves preparing the students for later academic, professional and social life. If you do not realize that, you should be digging canals and laying bricks instead. We would be unforgivably remiss if we pretended that laziness, dishonesty, lack of professionalism, nepotism, etc. were acceptable in the rest of the world, especially for aspiring businesspeople (and, as we know, most Gulf students' aspiration is "to be a businessman"... - manager, no less, of course!).
Relativising values and cultures, and rejecting objectively good practices just because they are Western serves nobody's interests, except those who seek to project themselves as uber-enlightened. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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Dear LCT,
OK - I can see that the OP probably means that she believes it's the "designers" of the PNU project that meant for the ESL teachers to be "role models" for Saudi girls . . . ."
Hence "trainers" would be more relevant to that end than EFL teachers.
However, if the designers" of the PNU project were Saudis or if the project had to be approved by Saudis, then there is, in my opinion, no way that Saudi males would design or approve such a goal.
In all my time in the Kingdom, I never met a Saudi male who would have wanted Saudi ladies to be "like" Western women in ANY respect.
Regards,
John |
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lazycomputerkids
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Tabuk
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear LCT,
OK - I can see that the OP probably... |
Stop right there. Demonstrably. Anything else is attitude. Clean your room. |
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lazycomputerkids
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Tabuk
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:02 pm Post subject: Re: A storm in a teacup |
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| 7atetan wrote: |
| except those who seek to project themselves as uber-enlightened. |
Yeah, I've got a degree in that, Mr. Vocation editorializing within addressed response. Grab on. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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Dear LCK,
"Stop right there. Demonstrably. Anything else is attitude. Clean your room."
Nope, I've got a 'tude. The sentence, as constructed, is ambiguous. My room's already clean - if you don't count the two dogs lying on the floor.
Regards,
John |
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lazycomputerkids
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Tabuk
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear LCK,
"Stop right there. Demonstrably. Anything else is attitude. Clean your room."
Nope, I've got a 'tude. The sentence, as constructed, is ambiguous. My room's already clean - if you don't count the two dogs lying on the floor.
Regards,
John |
Clearly, the dogs don't count. Let 'em lie. Unless they're sleeping. But dogs don't lie. They bury stuff, but they don't lie. Not like cats. A dog is probably smart enough to lie, and get away with it, but cats lie all the time and run away when caught. That's what's going on when you see a cat beating it around a corner-- deceit. A dog forever looks you in the eye. A cat, only to size up the next big lie.
The sentence IS ambiguous, the prevalent reading speaks to confirmation bias. Look into it. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Dear LCK,
My cat's in the room, too, but he's always clean and he's in his cat-bed, on the chair, not on the floor. But he never lies. I know because he told me so.
And he never lies. 
Regards,
John |
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lazycomputerkids
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 360
Location: Tabuk
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| Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
Dear LCK,
My cat's in the room, too, but he's always clean and he's in his cat-bed, on the chair, not on the floor. But he never lies. I know because he told me so.
And he never lies. :D
Regards,
John |
That was an important detail. Had I known a cat was in the room, I might have not have so crossed. |
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