5668 Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:24:03 -0500
From: "Alex Long" <alex@tangofuego.us>
Subject: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: <tango-L@mit.edu>
After reading the thread on teacher feedback, I thought about a blog as a
simple solution.
I've created a quick and dirty blog so people can leave anonymous comments
and feedback on teachers and DJ's.
I've got a pretty good start, but a long way to go, so please bear with me.
There is a post where you can leave teacher names (cities and websites, too)
that I've missed. I'll add them as quickly as I am able.
Anyway, here it is...and thanks in advance for putting the word out...add
links to your blogs and/or websites...maybe this will be a worthwhile
effort. Let me know if someone has already done this - I didn't even check
with Google to see if there is already something out there.
https://tangoteacherreviews.blogspot.com/
Here's my other blog, but you have to dig kinda deep to find anything about
tango anymore...
https://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/
Alex
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:28:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jack Dylan <jackdylan007@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu
> From: Alex Long <alex@tangofuego.us>
>
> I've created a quick and dirty blog so people can leave anonymous comments
> and feedback on teachers and DJ's.
>?
> https://tangoteacherreviews.blogspot.com/
>
Thanks Alex, this could prove to be very valuable to organisers and anyone
trying to decide whether to attend classes and workshops with a particular
teacher.
I, for one, was certainly shocked at the recent comments about Ezequiel
and Geraldine's classes.
Jack
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:48:39 +1000
From: Niki Papapetrou <niki.papapetrou@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: Alex Long <alex@tangofuego.us>
Cc: tango-l@mit.edu
<3eff99210906140048y734f6a90k985db2ecee38020b@mail.gmail.com>
hola alex,
sounds like it will be a great resource, as long as people respect the ethos
in which it was created, which is one of sharing direct knowledge and
experiences (i think XYZ is great/terrible as an instructor because...).
another point that i think will be important for users to remember is that
even though there are lots of good teachers out there, we, as individuals,
will not necessarily 'click' with every one of them. For example, while in
BsAs, my partner preferred instructors with a 'softly-softly' approach,
whereas i seemed to learn better with the 'don't do it that way, do it this
way instead' instructors. :)
suerte
On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 3:24 PM, Alex Long <alex@tangofuego.us> wrote:
> After reading the thread on teacher feedback, I thought about a blog as a
> simple solution.
>
> I've created a quick and dirty blog so people can leave anonymous comments
> and feedback on teachers and DJ's.
>
> I've got a pretty good start, but a long way to go, so please bear with me.
> There is a post where you can leave teacher names (cities and websites,
> too)
> that I've missed. I'll add them as quickly as I am able.
>
> Anyway, here it is...and thanks in advance for putting the word out...add
> links to your blogs and/or websites...maybe this will be a worthwhile
> effort. Let me know if someone has already done this - I didn't even check
> with Google to see if there is already something out there.
>
> https://tangoteacherreviews.blogspot.com/
>
> Here's my other blog, but you have to dig kinda deep to find anything about
> tango anymore...
>
> https://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/
>
> Alex
>
>
--
Yours in dance dementia,
Niki
( https://tangotrails.blogspot.com )
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:08:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu
Alex,
I appreciate your efforts, but I don't think that leaving comments anonymously is very fair to the instructors. If someone is going to post critically about someone, they should accept responsiblility for their words. They don't need to leave an email address, but perhaps a first name and city is fair. Heck, technically, they could even come up with a false name, but I think it would be wise to make them think about what they write.
Also, some guidelines would be good, such as being specific, not just "this person sucks". Otherwise, the site could just become a "_itch session".
Trini de Pittsburgh
--- On Sun, 6/14/09, Alex Long <alex@tangofuego.us> wrote:
> After reading the thread on teacher
> feedback, I thought about a blog as a
> simple solution.
>
> I've created a quick and dirty blog so people can leave
> anonymous comments
> and feedback on teachers and DJ's.
>
> I've got a pretty good start, but a long way to go, so
> please bear with me.
> There is a post where you can leave teacher names (cities
> and websites, too)
> that I've missed. I'll add them as quickly as I am able.
>
> Anyway, here it is...and thanks in advance for putting the
> word out...add
> links to your blogs and/or websites...maybe this will be a
> worthwhile
> effort. Let me know if someone has already done this - I
> didn't even check
> with Google to see if there is already something out
> there.
>
> https://tangoteacherreviews.blogspot.com/
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:12:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: NANCY <ningle_2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu, "Trini y Sean \(PATangoS\)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Alex made it quite clear on his new Blog that the same rules would apply as those of Tango-L. If you can create an alias then why not anonymous? Especially if one lives in the same community as the teacher( and who would know better about the quality of the teaching?), anonymity lends some protection to the critic. It is certainly not unknown that folks in a community talk about the instructors and their various strengths and weaknesses, but this helps out-of-towners decide if they want to pay expenses to have those teachers come to their towns for workshops or festivals. I have been contacted several times by festival organizers for my input on teachers before they were invited. I was candid and fair. Sometimes my advice was taken and sometimes it wasn't. But suppose Tallulah Tango in Oswego, Kansas wants to bring in an instructor to help a fledgling community. Where does she go to find out if she is paying for quality teaching or good
marketing? Anyone ever noticed how many 'Tango Championship' Winners there are in the tango world?
The first festival Pablo Veron did in the US taught him a lot about what we would put up with. His first class had 300 students. His second class had 30. The organizer also had a little chat with His Majesty. Two years later, at Santa Fe, he showed much more respect for the students. But 300 folks were out their costs of that first class.
Now.....if folks are going to use that list to attack someone for their PERSONAL habits or looks or relationships, then I hope it is stopped. And if nothing else, it has already given us a list of folks to watch.
--- On Sun, 6/14/09, Trini y Sean (PATangoS) <patangos@yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: Trini y Sean (PATangoS) <patangos@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
> To: tango-L@mit.edu
> Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 10:08 AM
>
> Alex,
>
> I appreciate your efforts, but I don't think that leaving
> comments anonymously is very fair to the instructors.?
> If someone is going to post critically about someone, they
> should accept responsiblility for their words.? They
> don't need to leave an email address, but perhaps a first
> name and city is fair.? Heck, technically, they could
> even come up with a false name, but I think it would be wise
> to make them think about what they write.
>
> Also, some guidelines would be good, such as being
> specific, not just "this person sucks".? Otherwise, the
> site could just become a "_itch session".
>
> Trini de Pittsburgh
>
>
> --- On Sun, 6/14/09, Alex Long <alex@tangofuego.us>
> wrote:
>
> > After reading the thread on teacher
> > feedback, I thought about a blog as a
> > simple solution.
> >
> > I've created a quick and dirty blog so people can
> leave
> > anonymous comments
> > and feedback on teachers and DJ's.
> >
> > I've got a pretty good start, but a long way to go,
> so
> > please bear with me.
> > There is a post where you can leave teacher names
> (cities
> > and websites, too)
> > that I've missed. I'll add them as quickly as I am
> able.
> >
> > Anyway, here it is...and thanks in advance for putting
> the
> > word out...add
> > links to your blogs and/or websites...maybe this will
> be a
> > worthwhile
> > effort. Let me know if someone has already done this -
> I
> > didn't even check
> > with Google to see if there is already something out
> > there.
> >
> > https://tangoteacherreviews.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
> ? ? ?
>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:07:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu
--- On Sun, 6/14/09, NANCY <ningle_2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Alex made it quite clear on his new Blog that the same
> rules would apply as those of Tango-L.?
It isn't clear. To some people, "they suck" is constructive criticism. Instead of information-laden, it's emotion-laden. The wording on Tango-L is much clearer.
If you can
> create an alias then why not anonymous??
Because other people in the community could call out people who don't even exist in their community. If someone signed herself Anastasha and I know that Anastasha doesn't exist in my community, then I think it's fair for me to let people know that and to bring Anastasha's post into question. What if the critic is a rival teacher? I think it would be fair to post that info, too.
The other side of this is wouldn't it be a good resource for teachers to learn what they're doing right or wrong? Who's gonna' take anonymous comments seriously? I wouldn't.
Especially if
> one lives in the same community as the teacher( and who
> would know better about the quality of the teaching?),
> anonymity lends some protection to the critic.?
If someone in my community doesn't like the way I teach, I have several options. I could try to find out more info from the critic to make my teaching better. Or I could ignore the critic. I could also criticize the critic's own dancing and figure out whether how much merit this person has. But everything is also transparent, so if I act badly toward this person, then everyone can say "well, Trini is just mad because Anastasha won't a bad review of her on Alex's blog". And what's to keep Anastasha from writing even worse things on the blog. The critic really doesn't need anymore protection.
The other way of evaluating teachers but allowing anonymity would be through standardized evalutions similar to what they use in college to rate teachers. Information is pooled. Some comments are shared.
Trini de Pittsburgh
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:16:55 -0400
From: Carol Shepherd <arborlaw@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu
Alex,
I think Trini has good suggestions. I think that the comments would trend to
the negative and several will be very personal and poisonous. If you require
people to register with a name, as opposed to leaving anonymous comments, at
least they will have to put a public persona on their dialogue. (That seems to
not inhibit anyone on here, so I would require it on a blog as well.) I would
also freely delete excessively negative comments that have no constructive
criticism in them -- but be aware that if you do act as a publisher and change
the wording in comments (other than to excise obscenity, etc) you run the risk
of losing your legal immunity against defamation (I'm sorry to get all legal on
you, and I'm certainly not your lawyer, nor trying to be your lawyer, but you
should read this article: https://bit.ly/c3Rd).
I have a couple of clients who have a lot of controversy associated with the
books they publish, and they have established a 'forum' in BBS style separate
from the blog, so the separation of what they will moderate and what they won't
is very clear. It's become an internet convention that on a BBS, anything goes.
That's true on many blogs, too, but I think that on a blog hosted by an
individual there is a presumption that the comment content is being at least
monitored, if not edited by the blog host (as opposed to a blog hosted by an
organization or a news media outlet like the NYT, where people assume the opposite.)
I think you have a fantastic idea and it could be a great resource, but I fear
you are going to have your hands full, particularly when you consider the stiff
winds that blow on this list.
My $0.02.
cs
Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote:
> Alex,
>
> I appreciate your efforts, but I don't think that leaving comments anonymously is very fair to the instructors. If someone is going to post critically about someone, they should accept responsiblility for their words. They don't need to leave an email address, but perhaps a first name and city is fair. Heck, technically, they could even come up with a false name, but I think it would be wise to make them think about what they write.
>
> Also, some guidelines would be good, such as being specific, not just "this person sucks". Otherwise, the site could just become a "_itch session".
>
> Trini de Pittsburgh
>
>
--
Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc. | https://loudfeed.com
Principal, Arborlaw PLC | https://arborlaw.biz
734.717.4646 v 734.786.1241 f
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:30:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: NANCY <ningle_2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Teacher & DJ Reviews :: New Blog
To: tango-L@mit.edu
Just to note: teachers can also post rave reviews about their own work. whether anonymously or under aliases.
And - many of the 'names' on Tango-L are aliases.
