Job Discussion Forums

[buravirgil]

I'm reading Spiral's emphasis of EFL as a land of contrasts...

But I'm surprised to read an academic qualifying the words "standard" and "value" with "real"-- a distinction without a difference serving an assertion-- while using terms like "edutainment" and relying on the connotations of "charisma" and concern with appearances as though dress codes and personal politics were absent from institutions of higher learning.

And

[Sashadroogie]

[spiral78]

[johnslat]

I never pay attention to dress codes. Why, I don't even OWN a dress.

Regards,
John

[buravirgil]

[Sashadroogie]

Can't say I have seen too much dressing representative of professional status in any unis. Shirts and ties seem to be rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

[buravirgil]

[Sashadroogie]

Logic works fine for me, but thanks for the remarks.

Shirts and ties were present quite recently, true, but have been declining for longer than that. Perhaps this is not so in China, though.

Who are you to take Spiral to task, by the way? Spiral's language is just fine - which is more than can be said for yours. Beg a tedium, for example, or whichever incomprehensible contribution drew fire from other posters.

[buravirgil]

[spiral78]

[buravirgil]

I appreciate the response. I should not have used the term "dress code", but my experience is likely as varied as your own, if not more so, and of a greater length of time-- twenty five years.

In my experience, professors earn more and tend to dress "up", especially for events, and expectations for women are still asymmetric despite great advances. But it's a minor point to the topic and criticism of your post.

Asserting a standard, or a value, by qualifying it as "real" or "solid" is hopelessly relative and subjective and beneath an academic-- however their placement in ad copy is enormously valued.

Your response, its language, was merely emphatic, but not informative and I'm used to all your posts being informative. You spoil me.

[spiral78]

Standards, buravirgil, are extremely complex and varied things. The standards at my current university are similar in some ways and different in others to universities I have worked at previously. The standards that apply to different courses also involve some degrees of variance.

I can describe specific standards, but generalising a description of standards across a region, regions, school types, students (ages, levels, motivation, needs) justifies the use of general terms.

Further, many institutions don't in fact describe standards for EFL/ESL/EAP/other teachers in our category. This is in fact what I was getting at earlier. If the only described standard is popularity with students and/or their parents, or giving classes that students describe as 'fun,' I'd describe that as 'no standards,' meaning no standards related to the actual job of teaching. I'd describe the opposite situation, where there are standards related to teaching/learning, as 'real' or 'solid,' and then would have to know quite a lot about any individual context to be able to describe these more concretely.

On your other topic, the only time our professors dress up is when they are required to wear formal dress for a ceremonial purpose such as a dissertation defense. Women included. There are few double standards in Western/Central Europe in this respect.

[spiral78]

[buravirgil]

[spiral78]