Lapses in the English Profession
By Shavkat
@Shavkat (140110)
Philippines
December 8, 2023 6:38pm CST
I started my day with a retired English teacher in Japan. She was overconfident that grammar flaws would come out of her voice. I tried to be polite and composed when teaching her. I am glad that I learned how to be patient in the field of teaching online. Along the course of the class, she dropped the call and did not let me summarize her performance. Well, the ugly truth cannot be concealed. If I do, I am not doing my job efficiently and effectively. Thus, rudeness will still prevail if we do not accept the ugly truth.
Do you sometimes feel bad when you tell the ugly truth to others?
Image Credit: mary-marshall.com
10 people like this
11 responses
@florelway (23286)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
9 Dec 23
It's hard to criticise people especially if they are engulfed with power. Some people believe they are right because they are powerful.
4 people like this
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
10 Dec 23
I can understand where it is coming from for those people who cannot provide constructive criticism. This is one of my reasons for resigning from a local government agency in my city. I cannot bear to work with an incompetent project manager.
2 people like this
@florelway (23286)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
14 Dec 23
@Shavkat It's very disgusting that local government hires incompetent people because the basis of hiring is always political in nature. Civil service is. not effective in dealing with this issue.
@allknowing (137605)
• India
11 Dec 23
@Shavkat If you are doing it politely she should take it
2 people like this
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
12 Dec 23
@allknowing I hope she will. I always do it in a professional way.
2 people like this
@crossbones27 (49703)
• Mojave, California
9 Dec 23
People have a hard time with constructive criticism, especially with so called professionals. You are doing your job right but maybe let them know up front how you are going to teach them and what you are doing is for their benefit. If not they can walk though life not understanding why they did not get that job and everything that comes after that.
3 people like this
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
9 Dec 23
You can tell how denial the student is during the class. I do not mind at all. At least, she was able to check her ability to use the second language, which is English. I hope she will take time to ponder what makes her incur such flaws in grammar.
3 people like this
@crossbones27 (49703)
• Mojave, California
9 Dec 23
@Shavkat A lot of people will pause or just need a break to truly think about things and then come back, you are right, but your job as a teacher is also not to push so hard and go lets give it a break and if you feel the same, here is a teacher that may work for you better. It works most of the times, because people know deep down what they need to do, they just need someone that kind of understands where they are coming from.
3 people like this
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
9 Dec 23
@crossbones27 I hope she can have all the ample time to realize this matter. It seems like she will not book my class next time. But, I do not mind if she didn't.
3 people like this
@aninditasen (16505)
• Raurkela, India
9 Dec 23
I have usually taught people who wanted to learn English grammar and they did make mistakes which I corrected but I haven't taught elderly people.
2 people like this
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
12 Dec 23
@aninditasen I agree. Recently, I had an old lady have a class with me. She asked so many questions and tried to meet all her demands. In the end, she is still not satisfied.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16505)
• Raurkela, India
11 Dec 23
@Shavkat Elderly people are usually difficult to convince and therefore they take time to learn.
1 person likes this
@zhangxueying (3339)
• China
12 Dec 23
English is too difficult for me, I gave up early. When I was in high school, my English exam score was 26 points, of course, the maximum score was 120 points
2 people like this
@Manasha (2819)
• Pondicherry, India
2h
I can imagine how challenging that must have been for you. It takes a lot of patience and professionalism to handle situations like that, especially when someone is resistant to feedback. Telling the ugly truth is never easy, but I believe it’s an important part of helping others grow. At the same time, it’s natural to feel bad about it sometimes—no one likes to make someone else uncomfortable. However, if the intention comes from a place of care and honesty, it’s worth it in the long run.
@RebeccasFarm (90294)
• Arvada, Colorado
9 Dec 23
No I do not feel bad. I feel relieved.
2 people like this
@cacay1 (83577)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
10 Dec 23
I met a rude student recently during our f2f class she got mad why the door was closed. She was 1 hour late and her classmate locked the door. She barked at me and lost my patience. She said sorry but I didn't answer. I shared it with it with my co teachers and they reported the student to OFFICE OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS for investigation.
2 people like this
@innertalks (22076)
• Australia
10 Dec 23
The ugly truth can be given with a bunch of flowers preceding it.
I usually try to find something to praise in someone first, and then I point out the areas where improvements are needed.
@Shavkat (140110)
• Philippines
12 Dec 23
@innertalks I agree. Well, I cannot do anything about it. Let her have the moments. Regardless, I am not expecting her to book my classes.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (22076)
• Australia
10 Dec 23
@Shavkat No, I was just stating my own way of doing things, as we all must come to our own best way of operating, while remaining open to possible changes, and improvements, from time to time too.
I believe that you did your best there, and the ball was in her court, but she just didn't want to play ball anymore, which is more her loss here.
