Archive for the ‘TEFL certificate’ Category

I should perhaps start by pointing out again that although most of the stuff on this blog is trivial at best and I am not very good at sticking at something until it gets done, I am totally serious this time about helping set up something that can help change TEFL everywhere, and I’m willing to put a fair bit of cash into whatever ideas do happen. So here goes with idea number two:

The TEFL Legal Fund

If investigative journalism isn’t going to sort out dodgy TEFL courses, false advertising, borderline criminal school owners etc, then the only thing that can possibly save us is the courts. And if we are going to take them to court, we are going to need cash. The cash could come from anyone who would donate- people who wish there had been such a fund when they were in trouble, schools who do things right and so have nothing to lose, TEFL teachers who have won their cases, lottery winners… A group of volunteers, preferably connected to an existing body like IATEL, would then decide where the money would go each year. There would be a set maximum number of cases they could donate to each year, and a set total percentage of the money they could spend each year and on each case. Criteria for choosing which cases to pursue would include:

- Teachers having already started the process on their own

- The chance to give an example to the whole industry

- Tackling habitual offenders

And lots of other things which I can’t think of at the moment.

So, any thoughts? Like this better than Idea One- the prize for TEFL journalism? Any other ideas for criteria for the cases chosen? Any other proposals that are more worthwhile? Want to pledge some money to the cause already? Press the comments button and let us know:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22is+a+certified+english+teacher%22

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I hope my lack of posts on the whole Paul Lowe saga hasn’t made anyone think I have either been silenced or am ungrateful for all the help I get. In fact, I am overwhelmed by the response my I Am Spartacus campaign appeal got, which has totally restored my faith in humanity and the TEFL world. Now that the rumours of Paul’s personal circumstances have cleared up and the continuation of his attacks have cleared away the sympathy those rumours stirred in me, it is time for me to give a big gushing thank you to all those who aided me in my quest to show that attempts to silence TEFL teachers have the opposite effect, a quest that I would say has been 66% successful so far: (more…)

“Harder than grad school, more nerve wracking than exam time, more warping than a CIA-experiment-gone-wrong.” (more…)

With my recent troubles with Mr Paul Lowe (see below), there were moments when I wondered who I or other troubled TEFLers could turn to for help. The UK government aren’t interested unless it touches on immigration, and the TEFL celebs seem to think a new warmer is more important than job security. It seems our only hope is investigative journalism. And it is being done, and being done well- by the EL Gazette. I don’t know how a trade journal became our last line of defense (I can’t imagine Double Glazing Monthly does many exposes), but I am very glad they have at least partly taken on that role.

Meanwhile, what has everyone’s favourite you-couldn’t-be-as-radical-as-us-if-you-tried left wing “quality paper” The Guardian been up to? (more…)

I would be grateful if you could help me and TEFLers everywhere by sparing ten minutes to read this and do one of the actions suggested below

Some background: 2 weeks ago a certain Paul Lowe of Windsor Schools/Windsor TEFL came out of nowhere and into my life by threatening to sue me and the owner of the site my blog,TEFLtastic, is on. Obviously boosted by the success this effortless method had in shutting down Sandy McManus’s TEFLtrade blog and Wally Windsor’s site, he didn’t even think it was worth spending a few minutes checking what TEFLtastic had to say about him before firing off a threatening email. I can say that with full confidence because before I reprinted his email mentioning legal action there was not one reference to Paul Lowe or Windsor Schools on my blog.

So, why should you care? (more…)

Thanks to all the people who have supported me in my fight (and the losing fights of Sandy McManus at TEFLtrade and Wally Windsor) against the vague threats and other bullying tactics of Mr Paul Lowe of Windsor Schools/ Windsor TEFL. The best way to tackle this man until he learns some basic manners seems to be to make sure that threatening legal action for no reason is the surest way to ensure that all the top Google searches for “Paul Lowe” and “Windsor Schools/Windsor TEFL” continue to be from victims of his unpleasant manner and worse. It will also make sure that the voices that are heard are those of his teachers, trainees and students rather than himself.

To achieve that I humbly ask anyone who has a blog- TEFL related or otherwise, even just your Facebook page, a specially started blog,or MSN profile- to give Paul Lowe and his school a mention. If you don’t have time to write an entry explaining your feelings about this person, copying and pasting this message will do the job just fine. Just pasting this into an email and sending it to everyone you know in TEFL would also be a great help.

If you know as little about his business as I do, a few words about him threatening to sue before there was any mention of him on TEFLtastic blog should suffice, and quoting his own words should show his personality better than our comments ever could (see Letter from a Reader post below for some prime examples). When he offers a full apology for his threats etc I will be more than happy to let him have his say on TEFLtastic.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer

Alex

You really do learn new stuff in TEFL all the time. Only a week ago I wrote an article on The Advantages and Disadvantages of Setting Up a TEFL Course  (something I did twice back when I was ambitious), and it never occured to me that one of the disadvantages might be having to spend hours on the internet every day defending your reputation until it drives you nuts (see recent comments on the right for an example).

Should that not have put you off, I have written another one on How to Set Up a TEFL Certificate Course as well.

“Hello Alex,
 
I am writing to find out who owns your balanced “forum” of ideas. You will know that the web is a place for all-comers to denigrate others without the need for any material explanation or proof- some it seems make this a sick life’s work.
 
As I say please let me know the owner or CEO as soon as possible so that my lawyers can write to him/her/them and initiate some dialogue or potentially some action.
 
If I do not hear I will advise my Law firm to use all methods to seek this information out.
 
You may also need to be called to give evidence in the matter I refer to, since you are clearly a “voice” in this sector.
 
You cam reach me on 01753-858995 or on the mail address.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Paul S Lowe
Windsor Schools

paul@windsorschools.eclipse.co.uk” (more…)

My usual desperate scratch around for some TEFL-relevant news has turned this month into a desperate attempt to deal with it all. If it carries on like this, our grandmothers might even get to be proud of what we do… (more…)