Language School's Blogger Fired For Writing A Post On Homophones; Director Fears Association With 'Gay Sex'
from the not-a-hoax dept
Let's say you're a company and you hired a social media expert to run your social media and blogging tasks. Now let's say you want to fire that person. You need a decent reason, right? Maybe your company is just going through layoffs and that job happens to fall under the ax (though, make sure you get control of your Twitter account before dropping the blade). Or maybe your "expert" ran a tweet/response campaign that backfired as badly as it possibly could. Those are good reasons to fire your social media and blogging guy.
What's a poor reason for firing that person? How about: Well, we thought the person's post about homophones for our language school's blog might make people think we're all gay and whatnot? Yeah, that pretty much covers it.
But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda. Tim Torkildson says after he wrote the blog on the website of his employer, Nomen Global Language Center, his boss and Nomen owner Clarke Woodger, called him into his office and told him he was fired.Now, I know what you're thinking: that didn't f#&$ing happen. Well, au contraire, bonjour, it sure as hell did happen. A school entirely built to teach the English language to non-English speaking immigrants in Utah fired a guy for blogging about homophones. And, just so we're clear, homophones are not telephones run by the homosexual-ati as a hotline designed to disrupt the traditional family values of 'Merica. No, homophones are words that sound alike but have different definitions, like "I" and "eye."
Torkildson's account includes some eyebrow-raising quotes of Woodger claiming not to know what homophones were, claiming that they don't teach that kind of "advanced" language study to their English language students, and worrying that the post would associate the school with homosexuality for reasons uknown to this writer. Woodger's account is different, but vaguely not so different.
Woodger says his reaction to Torkildson's blog has nothing to do with homosexuality but that Torkildson had caused him concern because he would "go off on tangents" in his blogs that would be confusing and sometimes could be considered offensive...Woodger says his school has taught 6,500 students from 58 countries during the past 15 years. Most of them, he says, are at basic levels of English and are not ready for the more complicated concepts such as homophones.Er, so yeah. It had nothing to do with homosexuality, except it has something to do with tangents and being offensive, and they don't teach the concept of homophones to English students because it's so advanced. I'd ask you to hazard a guess what the tangents and "offensive" stuff were in these damned language posts, but you've already probably guessed correctly.
Regardless, if homophones associate a language school with homosexuality, then I guess all of us Homo sapiens are at least a little gay. Right?
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Filed Under: clarke woodger, english, homophobia, homophones, language, tim torkildson
Companies: nomen global language center
Reader Comments
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Wait until Woodger realizes that Utah is not as homogenous as he probably thinks...
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What.
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Homophones
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Having said all that, our basic recognition, understanding teaching and description of language is flawed anyway...
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hell, our grandmonster going into 2nd grade has that listed as one of the goals on their learning for that year...
i guess 2nd grade qualifies as 'advanced' to this yabo...
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Should have stuck with homonyms
;>
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This guy needs serious physics lessons.
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Sooo, tell me about your Fasha.
Otherwise known as parapraxis, an error in speech, memory, physical action, or Human Resources policy, that I interpret as occurring due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish, or conflict guided by the ego.
Clearly Clarke Woodger is not able to acknolwedge and express his own repressed homo-sexual desires and urges and is lashing out due to his own inner tension, and possibly self hate.
That is my professional opinion.
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3 easy steps
Step 2) 100% of language becomes double entendre
Step 3) People make stupid mistakes confusing sex and language
Profit) React with indignation
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Ecch! Homo!
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(I know no way their tale be for real)
I mean homophones aren't basic English or anything!
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Re: homophones
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Hooked on homophonics?
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Reminds me of another absurd reaction
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Re: Reminds me of another absurd reaction
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Homo Sapiens
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That's unnatural and an abomination. Aye, that's what I think.
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Homo Sapiens
Don't know about you, but I'm happy it's Friday. Does that count?
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PC and stupidity
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Onion
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An interesting tidbit...
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Job well done!
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ET! Homophone!
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Double strike
But this guy takes it to the next level for summarily firing a teacher who actually has mastered the basic concepts of English -- rather than actually looking into the issue or at least asking the teacher about it first.
That director should be fired for gross incompetence.
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Re: Double strike
"his boss and Nomen owner Clarke Woodger..."
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HOMOPHONES
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HOMOPHONES
Click on a word and obtain its meaning.
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Fire the department chari, dean, and proctor/chancellor!
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What a PR campaign!
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Careful. I've got a vocabulary and I'll use it
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Homophones
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Teacher Fired Regarding Homophones
Woodger and his school owe Mr. Torkildson not only his job with full back pay and then some, but also an abject and *very* public apology. Woodger's actions, not to mention his self-admitted ignorance *and* homophobia, are making him and his school, community, and state worldwide laughingstocks.
Tell Clarke Woodger and his school what *you* think of this. Write your own comments on their blog at http://nomenglobaltoday.blogspot.com/2014/06/english-is-key-to-your-success.html?showComment=1407022 290898#c4056874921915073665.
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Um
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Homophones
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