1. Because Alex from TEFLtastic is REALLY good at disagreeing with a lot of other people on an impressively regular basis when it comes to TEFL matters, and to get to disagree with him (writer of quite possibly the world's best TEFL blog) from time to time feels a like a bit of a privilege.
2. Because it's good for your professional critical thinking. Alex is a seasoned debater, and to spar with him on some issues in our profession (he tends to call it - or at least has at some stage defended calling it - an occupation... there's something fresh to disagree about!) is a very healthy way to challenge your own beliefs and the way you make deductions based on your experience.
3. Because he is actually willing to adjust his views on certain issues, or at least agree to the possibility that he may not always be right in his interpretation of them.
4. Because it seems we only actually disagree on anything major very rarely - according to him, in fact, the tally stands at a grand total of two.
5. Because he can take it. You can disagree with Alex about something (and have him disagree with you) without it needing to become a flame war or an exhibition of monoliths battering moss off one another. In short, disagreeing with Alex Case can be a constructive, enlightening and civil affair that represents to me progressive discussion.
Goodness knows our profession needs more of number 5 with a lot more teachers taking part.
And I indicated five reasons when in fact at first I thought of six. I deliberately reduced it to five as part of my self-help program to stop thinking about things in sets of six, a result of the hypnotic effect from reading Lindsay Clandfield's blog too often.
Hang on, doesn't that last one make the tally into six after all?! "Crikey!" (as the legendary Steve Irwin would say) - looks like I'll have to restart my therapy all over again...
Oh, and no doubt Mr. Case will be over here at some point disagreeing with something I've said in a post about disagreeing with him.
:-)
