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ESL forum > Concerning worksheets > To MENA: on dowloading without leaving comments    

To MENA: on dowloading without leaving comments



BRAHIM S
France

To MENA: on dowloading without leaving comments
 
Dear Mena,
I really  appreciate both your worksheets and contributions to the forum
I mostly agree with what you said, because like you, and many other teachers, I usually look forward to having comments by members who download my worksheets... and Indeed I feel quite disappointed to see members downloading things without any reaction... Note however  that I said comments not necessarly thank you notes
In fact what I expect is generally feedback from users of my worksheets, things like I used your worksheet and my students liked it, it was successful, or simply it did not have much success...  What we should  also expect  is general suggestions  for improvements. After all nobody is perfect
To conclude the comments option should be excessively used to exchnage ideas, feedback etc, but not just to leave repetitive phrases like "thank you", "very useful"...
Good night everyone... it�s now time to have some sleep

9 Jan 2009      





Brainteaser
United Kingdom

Thanks BRAHIM S, I totally agree with you on that one! Some valuable feedback - that�s what we need and what we�re after as teachers. As for myself, I�m always open to suggestions and ideas. After all, there�s always room for improvement so let�s be proactive! Wink
 
Thanks to Everyone for great resources!!! Keep up the good work!!!
 
 

9 Jan 2009     



mena22
Portugal

Smile  Good morning Brahim�s and Braintease. Thank you so much for letting us know your opinions.
 
I absolutely agree with you. A constructive comment would be the best thing for the contributors because that is indeed what would make them improve  - and we all need that! However, as I have said before, that would be asking too much of us.
 
As a teacher trainer I�m used to reviewing worksheets, tasks, whatever, and that takes a huge amount of time. Sometimes I send a private message to one of the contributors giving some suggestions for improvement, particularly when I am asked to,  but I do not have the time , and I believe none of us has, to make those constructive comments on a regular basis.
 
As for the "thank you" note, I will have to insist  -  independently of any other constructive comments which are always welcome  -  I will have to insist  that it is a question of education, of good manners.  We take something, we say thank you. This is one of those things that for me will never change. And it makes me sad to see that it has become a rule rather than the exception.
 
A nice day to you all!
In the Azores it is 07:48 and I must get on my way to school.
 
mena

9 Jan 2009     



mena22
Portugal

Oooops -  "it makes me sad to see that taking without thanking has become the rule rather than the exception".  

9 Jan 2009     



alien boy
Japan

Dear mena,

I believe that if an individual has time to download, use &/or modify a worksheet then that person also has time to make a constructive comment after using a worksheet.

With regard to manners - this site is for teachers to share their ideas & work. By being an active member of this community (& unfortunately I am not active enough) you are already practicing some of the ideals that Victor envisioned.

I�m definitely with BRAHIM S & Brainteaser (& several others) on this count.

Also, if people would view comments before downloading a worksheet it may help reduce the amount of stolen work that gets downloaded. Many people may find the �thank you�, �thank you�...white noise (to most users) comments to be not worth reviewing before downloading.

Maybe quality is better than quantity.

ab

p.s. I won�t dispute that it�s good manners to say thank you for something you�re given BUT as we are all adults & international members of this community, I don�t believe that any one of us should be trying to impose our own cultural mores on others. Just continue with the behaviour that you consider to be correct. Again, quality is much better than quantity for comments.

I still believe a �thank you� counter would be the best way to say thanks & leave the comments for more constructive detail.

p.p.s when it comes down to encouraging new members or those with few downloads I try to leave at least a �thank you� if there are only maybe 1 or 2 comments. It takes me no more than 5 seconds to see if someone is new or not - right click their name & open in a new tab or window... look at points... close window. Again a �thank you� counter would leave comments for constructive info & also let everyone know their work is appreciated. For those who only have time to leave �thank you� & nothing constructive, well, I�ll just refer back to my opening statement in this post...

9 Jan 2009     



chorima
Spain

Dear Alien Boy,
No doubt the thank you counter would be an excellent idea.....Have you suggested it to Victor?. In the meantime, as we don�t have one, I agree with Mena, good manners matters or should matter. YES, WE ARE ADULTS, and that�s why we should behave as we teach our students to do.  Your comment on  any of us imposing our "own cultural mores on others" is  just out of the question. I don�t think anybody is trying that. It�s not a question of cultural differences. Manners is an International thing (or should be). Besides, nobody disagrees on the "quality is much better than quantity for comments" but, as Mena said, we don�t usually have the time to check the worksheets thoroughly, or we download it thinking that maybe in the future it could be useful.
Chorima

9 Jan 2009     



alien boy
Japan

Hi chorima

re Victor & suggestion - I thought I�d give him a chance to get a few other things seen to first before making the suggestion (e.g. �hot topics� link)

re international manners - you�ll find there are a great many differences across cultures as to what is considered good manners about even minor things.  As an Australian (we are notoriously casual & some more so than others) I am forever getting in trouble in Japan (mainly from my wife) for not being well mannered enough. Japanese culture would have to be the most polite culture I�ve ever come across - there are many layers of correct behaviour which are defined by the nature of the relationship between the people concerned, with at times very different language & behaviour involved.

Again, if you review the worksheet with intent to use it later what�s to stop you making a constructive comment at a later date (short of the contribution being removed)? It may even help those who download it later on.
Why does a comment have to be immediate, before you�ve even read through your download properly?

just a few thoughts...

9 Jan 2009