r/FebruaryHas30Days

‘IF YOU DON’T HAVE BRAIN, JUST F*CK, GO AWAY’

Daniel Stefan Robertsen, the proponent of the 50 megawatt hyperscale AI data center in Oton, Iloilo threatened members of the media after being approached for an interview following his walkout in an ongoing public consultation of his proposed data center. |

“If you don’t have brain, just f*ck, go away. Do you know [the] Filipino privacy law? You are not allowed to take pictures of me. If you do that, I will take you [to] the court of the judge." Rjay Zuriaga Castor

#DailyGuardian

I think there's a difference between giving constructive criticism and looking down on someone.

You can point out a teacher's pronunciation or grammar mistakes without treating her as inferior because she's a non-native English speaker.

Being a native speaker doesn't automatically make someone a better teacher, just as being Filipino doesn't make someone a worse one.

Maybe students choose her because she's bubbly, approachable, patient, and makes them comfortable.

Those qualities matter in teaching too.

And let's be honest about ESL rates.

The fact that a Filipino teacher is willing to teach for $2 an hour doesn't mean her skills are worth $2.

Non-native teachers often work in a market where rates are already heavily influenced by nationality and location. There's a difference between the value of someone's work and what the market is willing to pay them.

What bothered me most about the reaction wasn't the criticism itself.

It was the sense of superiority behind it.

You can be a native English speaker and still have a lot to learn about teaching, humility, and respecting other teachers.