If Bruce cannot answer, then Ti and he are permanently in the Hall of Shame!

Everyone agree?

Regarding the person who I believe cheated me–that issue will be resolved in court. Several criminal cases remain in the hands of the police. People who are inaccurately claiming that my police reports were ignored by the police will find that they are very much mistaken.

Vekter, If you have any evidence I strongly suggest you keep it handy. The wheels of justice move slowly in Thailand but the are moving.

And for the 5,000th time, I continue to offer Happy the following:

1. Full payment of all money he believes he is owed
2. Payment of all legal fees for binding arbitration

He gains everything. He loses nothing. All he needs to is publicly admit the findings and apologize if he was wrong.

[EDITED- along with all the other posts below that were basically about TEFLWatch. All comments that include proof for and against what Bruce said in the interview will stay, if in edited form. All other comments will be deleted at my discretion. I think we can all agree that we don't want TEFLtastic to turn into another TEFLWatch, or at least that we don't want it to have its final fate, so this is my attempt to ensure that]

http://www.sebi.gov.in/dp/everonn.pdf

pages 85/86/87 of the document not the pdf numbers

Now I know Bruce will have time to think of some very good reasons why he never mentioned these and may even say they were set up as a charity or maybe he forgot them, well he could, but I also have the franchise agreement he used which makes no mention of a charity!I was reliably informed that he opened 60 of these, maybe more

Bruce has lived his life telling lies and I think now is the time I let the truth come out……this is the start!

You have privately asked for forgiveness and I have forgiven you. I do not know why you insisted on bringing the issues up time and time again. I am sorry, but you are not able to take back apology or is that what you are asking for?

I have never said that I am certain that you got me fired. But I do know the threats you made publicly on TW against me and others. I do know that you obtained information on my real name and where I worked. Within mere days of your obtaining this information, I felt compelled to leave my job.

I accepted you at your word that it didn’t happen and I accepted your apologies for making me think it did.

My point on these comments is why you felt the need to rehash things against me and TW several months on. I think everyone here knows that this was put all to rest last December. Why did you feel the need to bring this all up again?

You do what you want to do in the way of sworn affidavits. The truth(and the Caravan) marches on and isn’t stopped just because you throw a lot of paper at it.

Contention is of the devil. You are contending with everyone, but you seem to be unwilling to take up the sword and shield of the truth…and put your faith in it.

I guess it is for you to keep contending. Maybe you think this is something that you can win because you know how to carry on and on and can bloviate with the best of them.

I love you, Bro. Veldhuisen and I ask that you learn from your mistakes and move forward.

First of all, thank you for forgiving me. I am certain that I have done things in the past that have offended you and possibly harmed you. I am a human being and I make mistakes. However, I simply cannot accept your forgiveness for contacting your school and having you fired. Nor can I accept your forgiveness for trying to throw you in jail. These things never happened and so they are things that i cannot be forgiven for.

I would be happy to go to NST tomorrow and get sworn statements from your former school administrators and Geordie. Is that really what it would take to get you to drop the wild accusations?

I am happy to admit, publicly, that TEFL International is an organization run by people and that people do make mistakes, myself included. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be perfect. We do our best, we keep the vast majority of our customers satisfied, some are unhappy. Luckily that is a very small number (percentage wise).

Now, on to Happy. I forgive the guy. And he needs my forgiveness. He has continually accused me of something that I never did. Looking back, I should have just paid the guy, even though I did not owe him a dime. But that doesn’t mean that I was wrong IN THAT CASE. I don’t believe I was, but I am happy to allow courts and lawyers decide. Unfortunately, Happy refuses to participate.

So, TW, I have no idea what you expect of me. I cannot change the truth. I did not get you fired. I did not attempt to get you arrested. I did not (and do not) owe Happy any money. I cannot change that any more than I can go back in time and make the karaoke bars be quiet and the songtaew to make less smoke for Vince.

The course in question was troublesome. Most of it was due to those stupid karaoke bars that opened next to us. One thing likethat can raise the stress level of people participating to a point where things that might otherwise seem inconsequential suddenly become really important–everything starts to bug them.

On that particular course I believe we did have the trainees observe the video themselves and, for whatever reason, it did not seem to help them much, so we abandoned it.

Our SongTaew company got fired because they kept sending us crappy old vehicles.

Vince, some of what you say is just wrong, like the Nike internship. It was an INTERNSHIP and the pay was not great. Why you would claim otherwise is beyond me. But I have no idea why you were ignored. I can tell you we do continue to correspond. Try it out today–email admin and ask for help getting a job in…. China, Costa Rica, etc.

And, lets face it, you made your time in Ban Phe seem as terrible as possible. Other than one TP that was only on video, and the 50-minute classes (a very standard practice around the world) what else was wrong with your COURSE? I am in constant contact with some people on your course today and, despite the fact that there were a few imperfections they enjoyed their experience very much.

I can see theoretically how interviewing many people would help, and I would certainly do that if I was going to write a real article for the EL Gazette, but

- I have already put too much time and effort into this subject, and it is beginning to bore me (I’m sure you of all people understand my feelings on this)

- As the one thing people seem to agree on is that you can’t learn the truth from what info is out there, a new approach is obviously needed.

- As blogging is an unpaid hobby (if there is any income from the Google ads, it goes to the owner of TEFL.net), if I don’t follow my own ideas and interests, it doesn’t get done…

So, that is the way it is going to be. I will put the questions to Bruce, he will answer, and then you can post any proof you have that his answers are wrong afterwards.

Two more days, if anyone else wants to send me questions to ask him.

Every time you mention my other post you prove my point, which is that you have not, or perhaps even cannot, understand what I was trying to say because we are speaking two different languages. Still, let me make one last try:

- Just about every time you post a comment on a TEFL forum or a blog like this, you write something that has the effect for the kinds of people who read and write there of making them more antagonistic towards you and makes the image of yourself and your organisation worse. As the PR man, surely you know that getting the right message to the right people is the important thing, and even if the facts you use are right (quite often there is no way of us to know that one way or another) that is certainly not generally the effect of your messages.

For one example, re-read your message above and tell me if one person reading this blog is going to be more impressed by your new transport than they are going to be perturbed that a top manager from the organisation is online arguing about such trivia. If you don’t believe me, you are seriously misjudging your audience.

I have posted a truthful account of what happened when I took the course. You may have a shiny new vehicle today but everything I wrote about the pick-ups we rode in is true.

Have you been there during a “double class” session? It wasn’t what I signed up for. There were major probs and general discontent. Frequent arguments and one major fight. Just too many rats in the cage.

Oh you have a SIGN saying no drinking? That will do it. Sure sure. Please stop calling me a liar. The events I have described are true. You are asking people to believe that there has NEVER been a beer drunk, a joint smoked, or a discouraging word at TEFL Int., Ban Pae, EVER? Now who sounds like the are living in a fantasy world? How would you know? You have only been there three years out of what? 12?

I still have the paperwork showing my 5 observed TP lessons were only 50 minutes long. That’s 4 hours and a few minutes. Plus one 50 minute video tape. Maybe you do things differently now but that was my experience.

When I took the course, other courses were half the price. The extras were a big reason why I chose TI. At the time, there were no disclaimers about them being optional. The phrase used was “Plus you get…”

I never wrote any emails about my visit or not being helped.

If Bruce says his wife never observed a lesson, OK, I believe it. She just came along for a ride in the country. Seriously.

I know for sure one of the observers was a trainee just like us who had taken the same course a few months earlier and had stayed on to work in the office. Had done some private tutoring but no real classroom teaching.

Just look at the logistics of it: there were only two qualified teacher trainers. Dave and Steve. Because it was a double session, one of them had to stay behind to teach. There was a guy named Doug who had been through the course earlier and had taught a couple years in Japan. I don’t think he was qualified. Who were the other two qualified observers? No one knew where they came from. Guys Bruce keeps on the payroll just to work 3 days a month? Really?

I was just trying to point out that the course I took was not worth the aggravation. Everyone could see that money grubbing was the reason 32 people were crammed into the building, There was a lot of things that weren’t completely thought out, right down to not having enough cassette players on hand. About six of us complained long and loud all through month so I was not alone.

Put all this together with finding out that the IATS???, the supposed organization that moderated our high dollar course, was the invention of TEFL Int’s owner and its sole client, well, you might say the bloom was off the rose.

Gotta go,
V.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time. When you run a worldwide business that is McTEFL for all intent and purposes, you are going to upset the educational purists. You’re also going to upset competitors. You need a thick skin for that.

I know you talked about going on your mission and then getting into fist fights with locals. I know that you have been referred to as attack Mormon by your Army buddies. I know you hold strong opinions and then you really lash out when people don’t agree.

Open the June issue of Liahona, if you are active, you’ll have a copy of it. If not, you can go online to get it. Here is what Elder M. Russell Ballard has said about sharing things online:

As you participate in this conversation and utilize the tools of New Media, remember who you are—you are Latter-day Saints. Remember as the Proverb states that “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). And remember that “contention is of the devil.” There is no need to argue or contend with others regarding our beliefs. There is no need to become defensive or belligerent. Our position is solid; the Church is true.

While this may be talking about sharing the Gospel online, I think that Elder Ballard would agree that it is appropriate for all discussion online. When the truth is on your side, there is no need to be defensive or belligerent.

I am not going to respond to the things that you have said about me. I am not going to go on and on about how you tried to get me fired. I already accepted your apology for your actions. Remember? I remember we both apologized to each other for the actions we did to each other.

I don’t have to worry about anything I have said or posted, Bruce. It’s the truth and no amount of posting or jumping up and down will change the truth. Truth is the truth no matter if 1 person believes it or everyone believes it. You know what I am talking about.

You need to move forward, Bruce. You need to talk about how you have taken people’s valid concerns to heart and are making positive changes for the future.

Wouldn’t it be much better to deal with someone like Freedom Fighter or Vince or Whoever by saying “We have listened to their concerns and have attempted to make things better. We are always focused on providing a quality experience for our students.” (Is this a soft word????)

That seems a lot easier than visiting every website and calling people a liar. (Are these greivous words??)

You have recently been on Ajarn trying to defend your religion. Maybe this is the time right here and right now where you can show to everyone that you are heeding the words of one of your prophets.

Happy claims that I was his employer and that I did not pay him. I contend that I was never his employer (because I bought a business that did not employ him although I planned to buy a school which did, but the sale fell through).

Sounds complicated? it is. And I was willing to discuss this issue with him but he claimed he was going to sue me (which I welcomed because at least then the issue would be resolved).

Happy never did sue me. he made up a lot of excuses why he could not.

So here is what I offered Happy several months ago. I offered to hire a lawyer for him, and together with my lawyer, find a third. These three lawyers would then decide who was right and who was wrong.

I offered to pay Happy what he believed he was owed regardless of the outcome. However, if the lawyers decided I was right then he had to publicly admit he was wrong and apologize. Happy has never accepted my offer. I hope I am not the only one who feels this is a complee vindication of my position.

TW claims, without any proof or justification, that I got him fired from his job and that he fled Thailand in fear. Right in this thread we have apparent evidence that this claim is completely untrue. I can also state that I never got him fired (in fact I never even contacted his school) and never attempted to have him arrested. There are ongoing legal proceedings against a former business associate of mine, but these issues have nothing to do with TW. And while TW may believe whatever he wishes to believe, he should have at least some evidence before he goes making wild accusations. unfortunately he seems to have a habit of making wild accusations on a regular basis against any number of people. The list is quite long. if they disagree with TW they must be either a pedophile, or threatening his children, or trying to get him thrown in jail.

FreedomFighter just simply asks and asks and asks. He never acknowledges a question as being answered. It ends up being pointless.

These three and what caused the closing of the TEFLWatch site–a moderator realized these attacks were unsubstantiated and circular. When he brogutht this up with TW he was kicked off–and began a campaign against TEFLWatch and its owner. Lots of people can confirm this is being true

The problem has never been that Bruce hasn’t had a chance to answer questions. He has had plenty of time, but Bruce wants to control the answers. He doesn’t want anyone else to comment on the answers and he doesn’t want anyone else to have their say.

So either allow yourself to be used as a shill or interview Freedom Fighter, Happy, Me, and others. Let others have an equal footing. It is the truth that you want to get at, right?

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=62460

Vince above, is another example of how angry people can post misinformation which readers may accept without questioning the validity of the opinions. Let me show how Vince’s remarks are untruthful to the public by addressing his “legitmate complaints”.

Teaching Practice:
(1) “Trainees are video-taped and watch themselves”. Not true, if there are more trainees then we have available observers, trainees take a turn being video-taped and are given feedback with an experienced trainer (who also sees the video) later in the same day.
(2) “Not 6 hours because classes are 50 minutes”. Again, wrong, Classes here are 60 minutes and 6-8 TPs. I can send any of our monthly TP schedules on request. They are indeed 60 minute classes. An exception is our Special Thai Program, where the number of participants is so high we don’t have enough time or students. This program is 4 TPs of around 45 minutes per class for trainees to gain the basic of classroom teaching. This is because participants must do an additional 300-400 hours of TP on placement.
(3) “Trainees start TP only 10 days into the course”. As Alex has mentioned, trainers differ on opinion as to when trainees should start TP. But the majority (including me) say the sooner the better. Because very good training has you putting into practice what you learn in class. This is best done in weekly intervals rather than in blocks at the end of a program.
(4) “The owner’s wife and an office girl were used as observers”. What are you nuts with this statement? Please provide proof of this, because I’ve never seen it in my three years at the office here in Ban Phe. All TEFL International observers have been trained up to provide solid feedback

Job Placement:
(1) Vince questions our “Lifetime Job Placement Assistance. We do provide all of our graduates with lifetime job guidance. Any TEFL International graduate can write our admin center, give their name and certificate number and upon confirmation as a graduate will be directed to the course administrator at any of our 25 locations worldwide for job search assistance. Our centers have job notice boards and our grad alumni site has the school addresses of 50,000 employers worldwide. Even our non-admin staff help graduates. Last week I know of two managers here in Ban Phe that personally helped three grads find work: a short-term job in Issan, and contact info for Spain and Korea for two other graduates. Would you like their emails? The Nike job placement was a reality for our Oregon Institute of International Education Program, which was a co-op placement program we began a few years back. We DID have placements at Nike – I know, I worked on the program.

Ban Phe, Thailand premises:
(1) “Thee were no touted extras.” Please read the print on the website regarding the “extra activities”, Vince. PADI Scuba, Thai cooking classes, meditation classes and survival Thai are “optional”. We don’t run them on a regular basis because often there is no demand. This is reiterated on our trainee notice board with more information on these activities. It also says anyone that wishes these activities, simply needs to ask any of our admin staff and they will set up them up. On the course before last we ran the Thai cooking classes as that group wanted them. Trainees also get survival Thai in their foreign language classes on the course.
(2) All courses include a free day out and boat trip to Ko Samet Island the first weekend, and a night market shopping trip in week one. All graduates also get a free graduation dinner, and with most we do a free welcome dinner.
(3) “Drunken fights and pot-smoking on the premises.’ Another blatant lie. We have signs throughout the school that state alcohol is not allowed on-site , and those found with drugs on-site will be prosecuted. We have a security service that works 24 hours, 7 days a week. There has never been an illegal or dangerous incident at this center in the three years I have been present.
(4) “There are only four broken computers”. I just did a count, Vince. We actually have 10 stable PCs and most of the staff have laptops they use. Two of those computers were just sent in to be updated with the most recent Windows application. Three of these computers are strictly for trainees only.
(6) “The transport is rusted out, broken down pick up truck with no reverse. I’m not making this up!” Yes, Vince you are making this up like a lot of yoru rant. TEFL International Ban Phe owns a 16-seat, air-con 2005 Toyota Commuter minivan which is used for all clients. The owner often uses both of his vehicles to transport customers. As a back up, we also have a 16-seater seangteaw which is the common type of group transportation in Thailand.

(5) “I stopped in to check it out. I pretended to be “interested in taking the course”. (wink wink) Of course no one recognized me.” Vince, how much ful of crap are you here? I was here ion the office when you walked in and walked around the center. I was sitting in the office by the stair well, remember? You walked in and didn’t even approach the administrative staff, nor myself. When you wrote earlier emails saying you weren’t helped on a visit here, and we had a staff meeting – no one could figure out why some strange guy walked into the school, walked around, didn’t really talk to anyone, and then walked out.

Multi-million dollar operation, that will cost you $2,000 by the end:
(1) First of all, our courses are some of the lowest on the planet if you do your research. Thailand is not an expensive country and you can ask our grads how much they spend after their course fees have been paid. But I’m sure it’s not as much as you postulate, considering food costs between $1-$2 a meal in Ban Phe.
(2) Anyone who has been involved in teacher training programs at the financial level will tell you that after overhead has been deducted, you only make a profit on courses that have 8 trainees or more. Factor into the fact that TEFL International has many more great expenses such as international marketing, innovative websites for grads, center visits, trainer-in-training costs, etc. You can well imagine that it is not the high-life you well imagine. You can also take into account that TEFL Int’l puts money into non-profit events like free teacher conferences, community relations like “clean-the-beach” and even ESL Judge.

Speaking of ESL Judge, yes, TEFL International has provided financial backing to help set up the site. So what? ESL Judge has helped a few teachers in Korea and China who were ripped off by their employers and had no where to turn. Professional arbitrators with years of experience and some legal backgrounds have been brought together to help these teachers – which I believe is what many of the websites you post on were originally supposed to do (and now are simply arenas for sour people to rant on). Write the person that moderates ESL Judge and ask her to show you what help the site has done, and what influence TEFL Int’l has – which is sponsorship.

I really believe if you have a legitimate complaint it shoud be addressed to te organization to be solved. If you feel they have not done the utmost to resolve the complaint, then post or seek other channals (liek ESL Judge or legal proceedings). I have never seen a TEFL Internaitonal complaint that the company has done it’s best to resolve.

However, I have seen a few angry and aggressive personalities post many times (sometimes under different names) to bash a company and program / product to get attention, revenge or as an attempt to be creative. Some of those postings are outrageous lies in an attempt to misinofrm. I reiterate: Readers – check your sources in what you read, and find evidence that backs up opinions on the internet.

Please email me mikef@teflintl.com should anyone have questions regarding posted complaints.

If there are any questions you would like me to ask him, please email them to me in the next two or three days (see the Contact Me link on the main blog page). Please write everything you want to know as a question (not a statement of a fact as you know it), and please try to do so in as nice and even-sounding a way as you can. I have saved the three most recently submitted comments to be used in this way.

As you will see from my recent posts, I’m not too confident about the truth coming out of the internet or even of us speaking the same language as each other, but as the TEFL forum genre has obviously failed in both of those I thought another approach might be worth a try.

Here is my deal to you–send your questions to Alex. he has no association with me and is on the fence. He can then deem what questions are legitimate, ask me and I will respond.

Then we are done, forever. Deal?

Because it’s the only legitimate complaint or because it’s the only one you can palm off?

Try answering my questions without making bestiality claims or resorting to threats. Can you do that? I’m betting you either ignore them or do your usual trick of claiming you’ve already answered them.

People can see what is typed and can judge for themselves who’s avoiding difficult questions; let’s see what you type.

FYI, I am in no way connected to the TEFL Industry, I just watched how you shafted a friend, who worked hard for you and thought I’d help him fight back. The thing is Bruce, the more I uncovered about you the more I realized what type of person you are. I loath conmen and bullies… so does US law.

FF.