sense you're reading him too narrowly when you assert that: *"There
is nothing", you'd agree means there is none in existence. How can "no
such person/thing" not mean "there is nothing like"?* As I read that
assertion of yours, Tourism Australia's recent advertising campaign
flitted through my mind; it runs along the lines of "There's nothing
like this island. There's nothing like this country. There's nothing
like this continent. There's nothing like Australia.."
There's nothing like English, I guess ...
Best, Kayode
On Dec 2, 3:39 pm, Foday Morris <fod...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry folks, I accidentally sent out my unedited comments.
>
> Hi Toyin,
>
> I was hopping that after Teacher IJK's comments, you would have agreed with
> him. Whether you had used the word "good" as an adjective, noun,
> interjection or adverb, I do not see how you can claim you were
> misunderstood.
>
> you wrote:
>
> "I see that you have misunderstood me.When I wrote that "There is nothing
> like a good teacher" I did not mean that good teachers do not exist.If I
> meant to state that,I would have written "There is no such person/thing as
> a good teacher".
>
> "There is nothing", you'd agree means there is none in existence. How can
> "no such person/thing" not mean "there is nothing like"?.
>
> You argued further thus:
> "What I meant was that a good teacher is incomparable. Being incomparable
> implies that the value of a good teacher is so high it transcends all
> indices of comparison. Therefore,that value stands alone in relation to
> other values."
>
> I am a bit confused by your above quoted statement. Comparatively speaking,
> the value of a good teacher, or to determine they are good teachers, they
> must be compared to other teachers who may not be so good. How can a value
> stand alone in relation to other values? If the British Pound is the most
> valuable currency, its purchasing power must have been compared to other
> world currencies.
>
> The err is human bro! What good will it do if we do not compare teachers in
> efforts to reward the good ones even with simple gratitude? If we agree that
> there are no good teachers, then we must also agree that there are not bad
> teachers. And we cannot measure the effectiveness of teachers period.
>
> I see you went on and on to clarify and qualify your position and stand by
> your statements. I must commend you for confirming yet again that we
> Africans are extremely smart. We would attempt to argue our way out of our
> most obvious errors.
>
> Best regards,
> Foday
> Not a Teacher.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 9:36 AM, Foday Morris <fod...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi Toyin,
>
> > I was hopping that after Teacher IJK's comments, you would agreed with
> > him. Whether you had used the word "good" as an adjective, noun,
> > interjection or adverb, I do not see you can claim you were misunderstood.
>
> > you wrote:
> > "I see that you have misunderstood me.When I wrote that "There is nothing
> > like a good teacher" I did not mean that good teachers do not exist.If I
> > meant to state that,I would have written "There is no such person/thing as
> > a good teacher".
>
> > "There is nothing", you'd agree means there is none in existence. How can
> > "no such person/thing" not mean "there is nothing like"?.
>
> > You argued further thus:
> > "What I meant was that a good teacher is incomparable. Being incomparable
> > implies that the value of a good teacher is so high it transcends all
> > indices of comparison. Therefore,that value stands alone in relation to
> > other values."
>
> > I am a bit confused by your above quoted statement. Comparatively
> > speaking, the value of a good teacher, or to determine they are good
> > teachers, they must be compared to other teachers who may not be so good.
> > How can a value stand alone in relation to other values? If the British
> > Pound is the most valuable currency its purchasing power must have been
> > compared to other world currencies.
>
> > The err is human bro! What good will it do if we do not compare teachers in
> > efforts to reward the good ones even with simple gratitude? If we agree that
> > there are no good teachers, then we must
>
> > I see you went on and on to clarify and qualify your position and stand by
> > your statements. I must commend you for confirming yet again that we
> > Africans are extremely smart. We would attempt to argue our way out of our
> > most obvious errors.
>
> > Best regards,
> > Foday
> > Not a Teacher.
>
> > On Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 8:48 AM, toyin adepoju <
> > toyin.adep...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> >> Iorhemen,
>
> >> I see that you have misunderstood me.When I wrote that "There is nothing
> >> like a good teacher" I did not mean that good teachers do not exist.If I
> >> meant to state that,I would have written "There is no such person/thing as
> >> a good teacher".
>
> >> What I meant was that a good teacher is incomparable. Being incomparable
> >> implies that the value of a good teacher is so high it transcends all
> >> indices of comparison. Therefore,that value stands alone in relation to
> >> other values.
>
> >> I believe my English is correct in my correlation of meaning and grammar.
>
> >> The use of "like" in my expression "There is nothing like a good teacher"
> >> indicates that I am comparing the idea of a good teacher with something
> >> else,something inferred or stated in the sentence. What is that something?
> >> It is referred to by the word "nothing".That implies that nothing exists
> >> with which one can compare a good teacher.
>
> >> I am happy to have pointed out to me any reason why my sentence is not
> >> grammatically correct in terms of the meaning I ascribe to it. Perhaps the
> >> sentence can be interpreted in the terms you thought,but the meaning I
> >> ascribe to it is certainly one possibility and it is the one I have in mind.
>
> >> If you read an exchange I had some time ago on this forum,this month
> >> perhaps,with Ikhide,on the Nigerian ASUU crisis,I think,I had cause to
> >> comment on some of my teachers. Those comments support the point I am making
> >> about my meaning in my sentence.I also mentioned that I used to be a
> >> teacher.
>
> >> Thanks for the article.
>
> >> toyin
>
> >> On 2 December 2010 06:18, Iorhemen Kyeleve <kyele...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >>> Toyin,
>
> >>> I needed to understand your experience and perspective on your one-liner
> >>> assertion; thus my question.
>
> >>> You asked: Must I be a teacher to be qualified to express such an
> >>> opinion on the significance of a good teacher?
> >>> Answer: You do not have to be a teacher to express your opinion but you
> >>> need to be well informed and your one-liner (there is nothing like a good
> >>> teacher) does suggest you are not well informed on the issue.
>
> >>> You asked: Can one not make a valid assessment from the perspective of a
> >>> student?
> >>> Answer: Yes you can, assuming that you had being sufficiently exposed to
> >>> different teachers with varying levels of capabilities and effectiveness;
> >>> and how such teachers are produced, supported, rewarded and retained in the
> >>> system.
>
> >>> Can one not make an accurate judgement from the position of an
> >>> observer,rather than from that of a student or teacher?
> >>> Answer: You must have been a terrible observer for you to make such a
> >>> horrible inaccurate judgement that: "there is nothing like a good teacher"
> >>> in the first instance.
>
> >>> Can one not make a truthful evaluation from the point of view of a
> >>> parent,a guardian or simply an observer of the experience and effects of
> >>> teaching and being taught?
> >>> Answer: What is truthful about you evaluation that: "there is nothing
> >>> like a good teacher"? Is it because you never observed nor experienced a
> >>> good teacher in your life nor that of your children nor wards- so there is
> >>> nothing like a good teacher? When you have not experienced something, then
> >>> it means such a thing does not exists?
>
> >>> Meanwhile, find attached an article (pretty long though) that may help
> >>> educate you on how those societies that understand the role of producing
> >>> great teachers work to produce, reward, motivate, support, respect and
> >>> retain them to grow their societies, and as of now USA is certainly not one
> >>> of them.
>
> >>> Regards,
>
> >>> Teacher IJK
>
> >>> ------------------------------
> >>> *From:* toyin adepoju <toyin.adep...@googlemail.com>
> >>> *To:* usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> >>> *Sent:* Thu, December 2, 2010 3:24:43 AM
>
> >>> *Subject:* Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - What Makes a Great Teacher?
> >>> Part I
>
> >>> Interesting questions,IJK.
> >>> Also interesting is the rationale of the questions and their mode of
> >>> presentation.
>
> >>> Must I be a teacher to be qualified to express such an opinion on the
> >>> significance of a good teacher?
> >>> Can one not make a valid assessment from the perspective of a student?
> >>> Can one not make an accurate judgement from the position of an
> >>> observer,rather than from that of a student or teacher?
> >>> Can one not make a truthful evaluation from the point of view of a
> >>> parent,a guardian or simply an observer of the experience and effects of
> >>> teaching and being taught?
>
> >>> I am curious about the motivation and logic of your approach to my
> >>> perspective on the significance of a good teacher,although I realize that
> >>> the meaning of my cryptic one liner could usefully be elaborated upon.
>
> >>> Thanks
> >>> Toyin
>
> >>> On 1 December 2010 12:57, Iorhemen Kyeleve <kyele...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >>>> Toyin,
>
> >>>> Are you a teacher? If you are, what type of teacher do you think you
> >>>> are? If you are not, what qualify you to claim that there is nothing like a
> >>>> good teacher?
>
> >>>> Regards,
>
> >>>> IJK
>
> >>>> ------------------------------
> >>>> *From:* toyin adepoju <toyin.adep...@googlemail.com>
> >>>> *To:* usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> >>>> *Cc:* Cafeafricana <cafeafrica...@aol.com>
> >>>> *Sent:* Wed, December 1, 2010 1:39:46 AM
> >>>> *Subject:* Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - What Makes a Great Teacher?
> >>>> Part I
>
> >>>> There is nothing like a good teacher.
> >>>> toyin
>
> >>>> On 30 November 2010 19:11, Funmi Tofowomo Okelola <
> >>>> cafeafrica...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> >>>>> *What Makes a Great Teacher?*
>
> >>>>> *For years, the secrets to great teaching have seemed more like
> >>>>> alchemy than science, a mix of motivational mumbo jumbo and misty-eyed tales
> >>>>> of inspiration and dedication. But for more than a decade, one organization
> >>>>> has been tracking hundreds of thousands of kids, and looking at why some
> >>>>> teachers can move them three grade levels ahead in a year and others can't.
>
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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