Job Discussion Forums

[itslatedoors]

How about North American TEFL bores.com? People are way too serious about themselves on this site.Just face it you/we are (relative) slackers.Working in a coal mine is hard.Working on a trading floor is hard.Being a doctor is hard.Teaching the present simple to a class of students ,who generally think you're great, is not hard (and nor is all the other stuff we have to do as teachers).Teachers seem to be obsessed with words like 'ethics' , 'professionalism'and'career' and 'backpacker vs teacher' confrontations.Didn't you all get into this to have a job that you enjoyed,to have some fun,travel a bit and have adventures?If your answer to that question is 'yes',then try to focus on the good things that ELT gives you and don't waste your time pondering the imponderables.So what if Jon is a backpacker,Jane doesn't have an M.A.,Dwight(American) thinks that adjectival phrases are important and bnix has no humour.At the end of the day,choosing to leave your homeland and saying 'adios' to everyone, is a pretty selfish thing to do. So lighten up ,continue worrying about yourselves and celebrate the adventures you have.Don't piss other people off by bothering them in the work place and criticising them,just because they think differently, do things differentlyor don't conform to your set of value judgements.There seems to be a complete lack of humour,irony or sarcasm on this website.... just angst and insecurity.

[leeroy]

Generally, I think you're right in that there's not much light-heartedness going around, but recently Kent & Johnslat have been making an effort!

Actually, everyone's bored of the whole "degree" thing, and we did "dating students" to death too. I think the end conclusion on the "professionalism" thing did OK - in short, there's not much more for the Dave's ESL people to row about.

But I'm sure someone out there can prove me wrong!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Dear itslatedoors:

Actually, I agree with much of what you've said, although I do think there is quite a bit of good humour on this forum already.

You are also correct that we shouldn't take ourselves or our posts on Dave's all too seriously. As Teecher eloquently pointed out yesterday on a different thread, "What difference will it all make in a hundred years?"

Having said that, I feel I also need to say this: With all due respect, it seems to me that the majority of your 68 posts on this forum are rather antagonistic and mean-spirited in nature.

Why should you be telling us to lighten up? I don't get it. I'm so "light" I'm floating over my chair as I write this little ditty.

Regards,
kENt

[Guest]

Maybe we could call it Dave's Mutual Appreciation Society and we would just focus on agreeing, encouraging, backing people up and general admiration.

[M.]

well I agree with most of what is written. But why do some people in here think you need a Masters degree to teach English? Selfish for leaving my country? Most people everywhere are selfish. Could some one pass me a margarita.
M.

[johnyarrington]

I posted one on SPELING AND GRAMMER, complaining about the lack of careful editing. Most people didn't get it, and one writer "corrected" me.

But sometimes I think about stuff for a couple months, before I respond to a subject. Takes awhile. I think we should go back to ANY discussion, that's EVER been raised.

Have a good day, all!

[johnslat]

Dear keNt et al,
That word you used - " meanspirited " - sums it up nicely, I think. Not knowing any of the other posters on this board personally, I can't comment on them. But the meanspirited people I have known personally have shared some characteristics: 1. they were unhappy people, unhappy, first, with themselves and then with almost all others; 2. they were consistently negative, always looking for and joyfully finding the worst and never seeing the good; 3. they seemed to delight in tearing down others, perhaps thinking that in doing so they were building themselves up; 4. they appeared to have very high opinions of themselves, but underneath all their bluster, they were very insecure people, afraid of so much. They used to make me angry, but not any more - now the only emotion I feel for them is commiseration. Poor devils - they have to live with themselves.
Regards,
John

[richard ame]

Hello fellow teflers

I think the orginal post had a point but telling each other our shortcomings in what sounded like an aggressive manner is not going to change anything if anything it will make it worse . Having said that too many people take them selves a little bit too seriously myself included but maybe thats a good thing we are after all in a serious business and at the same time we are Ambassadors of our pwn country and culture is that something to be flippant about or does that sound too---serious?
I think that the spirit of the first post was to suggest we need to lighten up and try and see things on the bright side I thought the thread about dating went on for a bit but it changed the usual stuffy tone of some recent posts at the end of the day Dave's is something that should be well used and is by lots of different people for different reasons I get a lot of private replies to my posts and if I can help people who are looking to my location as a place to live/work then Dave's site has played a major part in that process,if people want to use the site to slag off others and generally be negative about most things ,thats their choice .

[scot47]

I am surprised that anyone takes anything posted here seriously. It is all (I hope) a pose, a pretense. I do it because 35 years is an efl long time.
That is how long I have been at this "Great Game". If I had taken my job half as seriously as some of the posters take this forum, I would have gone stark staring mad by now.

Excuse me, I have just noted a piece of the office carpet that I have not yet had a chew at.