This is not to sit in judgement upon anyone or talk from the pulpit but merely to share my perspective on the issue. One general point on this exchange is that in principle I completely agree with what David has pointed out. In fact in the not too distant past, on this listserv, I have seen posts from individuals (students and practicing OTs) asking for information and resources in a manner which made it self-evident that they simply sought help on ideas, topics etc. without stating anything they had already done before turning to the listserv. In those instances I would agree with David, because my thinking (upon seeing those posts) was the same as David's i.e. that they would get a more meaningful response if they showed some evidence of what they had already done on the issue they were asking about. Nothing in detail, but simply some indication. Because otherwise it looks like they are taking the path of least resistance....definitely a very substandard learning practice (if that even).
In Danielle's post I believe she outlined what she wanted and did give some indication of doing a literature search (I have reproduced it below), and then she turned to the list. While her question could have been worded better, one cannot divine listserv or listserv member expectations and standards.
On the issue of an apology with a qualification, I have learnt over the last 100 years or so :-))) of my own experience that if and when I have had differences with anyone (in person or otherwise) and I might have stated my case a little too strongly, that it helped to apologize for how I made the other person feel. But not on the principle in question. There is a major difference between apologizing for one's actions and for how one makes the other person feel. There is no qualified apology in such cases (what Jody objected to). Because this distinction focuses on what was said and how it was said. The former refers to the point being made, and the latter to how it was made. Thus one apologizes for how it was said, which is what resulted in the other person feeling the way they did!
In my opinion David's response could be characterized as being personal, without his intending it to be. And I honestly believe that David on his part tried to apologize to Danielle but when Jody (SadieMoon) took exception to apologies with a qualification (which can easily be seen as self-contradictory and even meaningless) it was re-stated without the underlying issue (of how David said what he had) in the initial post being addressed. Because my impression is that David's initial post has been taken as an admonishment rather as than as constructive criticism.
Again I believe that David is making a valid point, and I for one am fully appreciative of this perspective. In my opinion the point David makes is one of the cornerstones of learning for any age group but esp. for adults. At the same time I believe the point could have been made using language so that it was not perceived as being overly critical or personal.
I also think that when such issues are pointed out in direct response to someone's post, that some "behind the scenes" communications are very helpful and can be more productive as a learning experience.
Generally however, I believe that all of us need frequent reminders around good listserv practices and/or ground rules made generally, rather than directed at anyone in particular. For example one of my major beefs is the use of abbreviations without an explanation of what it means. Adults are sensitive when it comes to asking for explanations of abbreviations or what might seem to be common knowledge for a lot of others and they do not wish to appear as ignorant; and the same goes for the manner in which adults are corrected.
The point being that we need to explain what the abbreviation means when we state a question or make a point. And if we don't do that then we need to have standard abbreviations available to us on the OTList website or some other easily accessible website. The same goes for the ground rules, i.e. they could be very briefly stated either on the OTList website or some other accessible website. Or even at the time a person becomes a member they could be asked to read through the ground rules and netiquette and then click on a button confirming they have read it. After that the onus is on the individual to do what is expected. Though even that is not a license for beating someone over the head for not doing what is expected.
I don't know how others feel about this, but I believe knowing the ground rules would help and prevent any feedback or reactions from being misconstrued or being seen as personally directed. The majority of adults are sensitive to the manner in which a communication is made to them. And I believe we can pre-empt such situations with a statement of ground rules. The two I can think of I have already stated. Clearly, I don't want to suggest that we straitjacket listserv members and scotch out any interaction with an unwieldy set of rules and instructions, but some basic ones would certainly be helpful.
This listserv has grown amazingly and proved itself as more than useful over the last little over four years that I have been a member, and I would not want to suggest anything that would compromise the number of posts or members.
Feel free to shoot down any of my ideas,
Thanks,
Biraj
Subject: Re: [OTlist] teaching module
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 01:17:06 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hi everyone,
I, too, am preparing a teaching module for my OT. My target group is
adolescents who abuse inhalents. Any suggestions for intervention? Does
anyone have experience with adolescents and drug abuse? Any resources?
I found a bunch of journal articles so far. Thanks :-)
Danielle
"Lehman, David" wrote:
OK Danielle.... Lets see if this discussion initiates other responses about the professional and educational nature of the issue.....not get into emotions of a personal natureEmotions aside, what mistake did I make? I feel you still are not understanding the reasons for my post and are taking it personally because I had not written such a post to others who committed the same "crime". How can you expect someone to help when the person does not indicate what they already know and what references they got their information from? Can you expect busy professionals as well as teachers who expect a certain level of inquiry from their students to reply to an open ended request such as yours?I truly do want to know where you are coming from in your argument. Please explain your rationale. In the meantime, have you found any more information for your project? Respectfully AND Sincerely,David A. Lehman, PhD, PT
Associate Professor
Tennessee State University
Department of Physical Therapy
3500 John A. Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37209
615-963-5946
[EMAIL PROTECTED]-----Original Message-----you should feel sorry if you think you made a mistake or offended me, which I feel you did...but that is my opinion.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 10:24 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [OTlist] teaching module
Danielle
