Roski

Joined

• started 6 topics
• posted 240 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Roski

• 
  43

  Hypocrisy 101 - Watchtower has Payed for College/College Courses for Bethelites!

  by Crisis of Conscience in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  no you did not read the title wrong.

  i was out to eat this weekend with two bethelites.

  one gave a talk in my hall and i was invited out to dinner with them by another family in my hall.. as the conversation always turns to "spiritual" things, the subject of education was brought up.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  Interesting to google vincent toole's name - it comes up with a doc re the org's " inquiry into the definition of a charity in Australia".
• 
  51

  Help: Re: Letter to elders NOT to disfellowship otherwise legal action will be taken

  by LouBelle in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello there everyone.

  i remember reading a while back about someone on here ( i think) that wrote a letter to the body of elders & headoffice that they should not take any action to disfellowship them as they would be distancing them from friends and relatives and would proceed to take legal action if the body of elders went ahead.. if anyone has that link or can point me in the right direction i'd appreciate that..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  Band - I recently saw a lawyer (solicitor) re the situation I have now. Wihout going back over your posts - he said some of the same things you have said, even though a different country. Your experience and knowledge is valuable.
• 
  14

  Update on brothers in flood areas of Australia - follow carefully the directions of the FDS

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this came from an email circulated a couple of weeks ago.

  i highlighted the paragraph at the end about the fds, we can get in trouble if we don't follow their directions--carefully.

  at this moment, friday morning, australian time, all our brothers and sisters are safe and accounted for.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  I couldn't help but think about the JW spin doctors during the post flood clean up.The generosity of the general public - to date - in helping with the clean up and the general assistance people gave to others, as well as the very quick and well organised responses of both local government, charity organisations, individuals and businesses, must surely make the spin doctors edit their own rhetoric. The girl I work with spent one day helping people who live in a beautiful home overlooking the river and lamenting about all the beautiful things they lost. I've not heard any comments about who can afford to pay for help or who can't - from what I see everyone was treated equally. Makes me think back to when I bought the nonsense about how the witnesses did it better. In reality though - no doubt there have been lots of JW's who help out their neighbours, especially in more remote areas. It is a little more dificult to ignore your neighbours inthose areas.
• 
  37

  If The Watchtower discourages Greek language study, why did they publish the KIT?

  by VM44 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if the watchtower discourages the study of biblical languages, then why did they publish twice, in 1969 and 1985. the kingdom interlinear translation of the greek scriptures?.

  would this not actually encourage the study of the greek language?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  I have recently been thinking about the writer of the Awake article mentioned here - it made quite an impact on me as a younger and less informed JW. Since learning the truth about the truth I have wondered how this person thought the 'organisation' had the truth. It will be interesting to read his webpage. Thanks for the links.
• 
  12

  I feel like I found me again

  by gubberningbody in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sure others have had the same experience, but it's a bit odd to me now as i see how all the business of jw-land and the constant social proddings can keep a person from leaving for quite some time.. if it hadn't been for the inquisition i might not have left.. .

  i'm glad they felt my wife and i were important enough to hound, because that helped immensely.. now for the past two years now i've finally gotten back to being the book-consuming, thinking-machine i was in the past.. .

  i feel like i woke up, came home and found myself sitting in a chair reading some odd sort of esoterica and the me that was there said:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  nolongerwaiting - that is a very valid point, but I think we each have a core personality and if we can quieten the "noise" and try to tune into that which is essentially 'us' we may get there. A long process but worth trying. I try to look at it as a journey of discovery (except on not-so-good days when I blame them for lots of things).
• 
  126

  Bethel have just DENIED Jehovah's Witnesses shun ex members!!!

  by Amelia Ashton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can't believe it.

  probably haven't been out long enough to know they lie like this.

  now i just heard it with my own ears.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  Mad Sweeney ; that is so correct that it is a valid reason for their behaviour.

  When the elder of my mother's congregation admitted (after I found out from the bank) that they had reversed my Enduring Power of Attorney for her his reason was - my father didn't trust my husband. My father had never said that to me (or any other person I know), and would have had absolutely no reason to do so - quite the reverse in fact. But, the elder said it as if it was a quite normal way of thinking/response to the situation. It is quite astounding really.
• 
  101

  Special Assembly: CO admits the grip is tightning.....

  by yourmomma in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what im about to post is the exact words from the co during the last talk of the most recent special assembly day.

  even though im out i still try to keep up with what is being said just cause i find it interesting, and alot of stuff i find funny, but this stuff is starting to get scary, and i fear for my friends who are still in.

  here are the exact words:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  Teaching English overseas is now quite popular for young uni graduates. Taking a job outside of their country is not because their education is useless but rather due to the economic situation of the home country. Often this (language) is not their major but the degree allows them to get a position anyway. If sensible, they are able to save quite a bit of money, travel and get some life experience - but usually only with a degree.
• 
  28

  Why Chinese Mothers are Superior

  by skeeter1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  below is a wall street journal article on oriental parenting.

  see similarities to jw parenting?

  be in a school play.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  fulltimestudent: - I haven' read A Confucian - Daoist Millenium and I'm not familiar with Reg Little. I'm also not sure that being a diplomat would make him as knowledgeable as your average classroom teacher who deals with the fallout of the education system on a daily basis. Rote learning is not all bad - it is necessary, but when it is the only learning skill - then it becomes a problem. Rote learning itself is also not the whole problem but it does encourage a certain type of thinking strategy at a young age which continues as one grows to adulthood, and there is where it's limits are most noticeable. The title of the article in question is probably a good example of that.

  The whole passive student/active teacher thing can be a cop-out as well. While it seems nice that Asian students show a high degree of respect for their teachers (or used to) they also lay it on the teacher if they fail. It may be true that in some cases Western kids have become 'wussies', but the kind of mother mentioned in the article is not really a remedy for that. I remember some time ago on 60 minutes there was a comparison made of Western v's Asian students with the Asian kids looking all switched on and getting all the maths correct etc. The responses were as you mentioned - audience took it at face value and figured the Western ed. system was lacking whatever it was they have in China. It's easy to make that look real in such a setting. I believe Obama made a similar kind of comment about a year ago with reference to South Korean kids - there's a lot about that system he isn't aware of!!

  On the other hand (and in the mother's defense) she is only doing what she knows and has had handed down to her. The West has had years of a very different type of growth which has molded the thinking in terms of individual rights, the importance of self esteem etc, whereas in most Asian countries it has been a very different history. I guess one of their main survival mechanisms was thinking they are the best - and that's not just a Western/Asian thing; it is very much an Asian/Asian thing too.
• 
  28

  Why Chinese Mothers are Superior

  by skeeter1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  below is a wall street journal article on oriental parenting.

  see similarities to jw parenting?

  be in a school play.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  fulltimestudent: you are correct of course - one should not generalise too much, however, this is not just a Chinese issue - it is an Asian issue.

  One of the major differences is the need for consensus (quite understandable given the history) which leads to conformity of behaviour and thought. Asian students are taught mainly by rote memorisation - for the test....and therefore are often very good at test-taking, if they are a serious student. This learning style doesn't encourage critical thinking though. There is also a passive student/active teacher dynamic that is the crux of the classroom which also (while in some ways positive) encourages 'learning to the test' - and the resulting 'score' is the main focus for most mothers.

  I think a mixture of both Western and Asian(?) learning/teaching styles is productive, but quite difficult to implement. Obviously, there are people who operate outside of this stereotype and they are very intelligent people and often leaders in their field. Some take very well to different learning styles - others do not and they are the ones that go home and continue as before.

  The sleeping/looking tired isn't always indicative of study - quite the reverse. Many Asian students are not good at time management and are just used to spending lots of 'time' at the desk but the quality of the study is lacking. Long periods of study actually involve lots of social interaction and other stuff maybe slightly (or not at all) connected with study. Confucian thinking definitely focuses on the time spent studying rather than the knowledge - connected to the process of rote memorisation which begins from a very young age, and hence the mother's driving "do it again" mentality.

  In my opinion the most unfortunate outcome of this style of teaching/learning is the importance of the 'arrival' not the 'journey' - but I'm not Asian.
• 
  28

  Why Chinese Mothers are Superior

  by skeeter1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  below is a wall street journal article on oriental parenting.

  see similarities to jw parenting?

  be in a school play.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Roski

  There are a lot of suicides but they are not often acknowledged (or in just a limited way). While one of my friends was teaching in a university in Sth Korea two young people fell past the window to their deaths - nothing was mentioned among the students or the staff.