>>Then when shall they receive their education?
>Teach them, don't attack them. Do I berate you? But I do critize your
>views--I hope mostly respectlfully, if sharply.
>jks
Thank you very much, Justin. Beautifully put.
I should add that, as an ESL teacher, we are taught to be respectful of the embarrassment an adult, who normally feels fairly confident of his or her abilities, and who must "regress" to sounding like a child when learning a new language, unable to express him/herself with accustomed skill, feels when diving into a new mode of communication. If this embarrassment isn't acknowledged in the treatment the student receives, it can severely handicap his/her learning i.e. if the student gets no support, never mind jeers from teacher and other, more advanced students, he/she clams up and doesn't bother trying to learn any more.
As a relatively late newcomer to "The Left", I've felt an equivalent embarrassment at my attempts at communication early on. I left the list once as a result of something along those lines, but returned after missing the conversation and learning far too much. I've since gotten a bit of a thicker skin, but I wouldn't wish on any newcomer what I went through.
So, VIVA sharp, _respectful_, critique!
Todd
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