Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Meadowlark]

Hello again,

I'm here today because I hope what I have to say will make a difference. Whatever the outcome, I'll know I tried, and that is all any of us can do.

When I left this forum I expected to hear from a handful of students who wanted my help. I didn't expect the numerous letters from students and teachers who�ve shared their views and concerns about their experiences here. For each person who took the time to write to me there are undoubtedly many others who feel the same.

Although I appreciate the letters I've received from other teachers, what brings me here today is my concern for the students. This is their forum. I hope you will give serious consideration to what I�m about to say. I�m not asking you to listen to me. I�m asking you to listen to them.

What is the Help Center? It's a forum created for the benefit of students who need help with English.

What do the students who come to the Help Center have the right to expect? They have the right to expect a pleasant atmosphere where they can ask questions and receive friendly answers.

Does the Help Center serve any other purpose? Absolutely! Students come here with a respectful attitude. They've been taught to respect their teachers. The conduct of the teachers in this forum is as important, or perhaps even more important, than the answers given to the students� questions. Teachers here have an opportunity to teach much more than English. They have an opportunity to serve as role models. They have an opportunity to teach, through their own example, behaviors which exemplify the best of what it means to be men and women in today�s world. They have an opportunity to show young people that respect for others, good manners, tolerance, kindness and open-mindedness are traits worth emulating.

Unfortunately, there are some who don�t realize that by being allowed to volunteer to help students here they�ve been entrusted with more than English questions.

One student did such a good job of summarizing what the others had said that I asked if I could quote him anonymously. Here�s what he wrote: �Some teachers do not think about the students. They just think about their own pride. They correct other teacher�s answers and make rude remarks to them. This is not good because a student wants to look up to a teacher. When a teacher is not happy it makes the students feel uncomfortable. The bad behavior makes us lose faith with them. We think if they are real teachers they will not behave like this. If they are not real teachers they may give us wrong answers. This is a worry to us. Some students may not care about this, but many serious students leave and go to other websites or they ask questions in other places and come here only if they don�t get an answer.�

There's not much I can add to his letter other than to say that I decided to stop participating in this forum, not because I wasn�t up to defending myself, but because I didn�t want to stay in a place where �teacher� often means so little. Those who use students� forums for the gratification of their own egos are an embarrassment to the teaching profession. Most of you are caring, dedicated teachers who answer students� questions and quietly mind your own business, but when you stand by silently while others demean our profession you're letting the students down. Perhaps it's time all of us should ask ourselves what we should be teaching the students who come here to learn from us. They are, after all, the reason this place exists.

It's clear that the students want to know what the teachers think about this issue. Although I'll continue to check my messages for a while longer, if you'd like to reply to this post I hope you will do so publicly.

Best wishes to all,

Meadowlark

[advoca]

[Meadowlark]

Hi Advoca,

I'm perfectly calm.

I have no personal stake in what happens here and my letter was not an attempt to reopen a discussion about my own experience. As I said, I never expected to hear from so many students and teachers after I left, but as this seems to be important to many of them I thought it was worth sticking my neck out one more time to let their concerns be known. I'm not upset at all. I'm just doing what I believe is "the right thing to do".

Bluntly rejecting the validity of an answer that's been given with nothing but one's unsupported opinion is clearly wrong and I believe my objection to this has made a difference. However, habitually critiquing answers with a patronizingly superior attitude and using disrespectful language when addressing others is also inappropriate and the students and teachers who wrote to me consider this to be an on-going problem.

Advoca, I appreciate the time you've taken in your line-by-line response to my post, but I'm afraid you've missed the point. I can only ask that you keep in mind what I've said. Now that I've put this matter into your hands and into the hands of anyone else who may be interested, what happens from here on doesn't really concern me. I never intended to "stick around" this long, but every time I�ve thought I was done another letter has arrived.

I wish everyone here nothing but the best. As a friend commented recently, "Life is too short to take seriously."

Have fun! Be kind to each other!

Meadowlark