---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brandon Fike
Date: 2008/4/26
Subject: FW: hmmm
To: boshim6@gmail.com
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:48:51 +0700
A dog told me you had sex with it! Here is a quote:
Bark bark bark bark Brandon bark bark bark.
It must be true. I think I will post this on a blog or a website. Brandon like to have sex with animals! I just proved it!
Man, it must suck to be you. Honestly. You have nothing better to do?
Anyway, I do. So good luck. I will not be replying further.
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 11:39 PM
To: Bruce A. Veldhuisen
Subject: RE: hmmm
Prove it.
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:43:41 +0700
And you have talked to HOW MANY PEOPLE? Your classmates on the course said you were an idiot. It must be true?
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 6:38 PM
To: Bruce A. Veldhuisen
Subject: RE: hmmm
Do you know how to spell?
The vast majority people I've talked to think it's worthless.
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:05:00 +0700
Yreah the coruse sucks but it gets rated very highly by the vast majority. THAT makessense….
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 11:17 AM
To: Bruce A. Veldhuisen
Subject: RE: hmmm
"Even some people who pass are not happy—maybe they are just jerks"
Yeah, or maybe it's the course that sucks and "teachers" like Mike who do nothing but lose peoples' work.....even after you claim to have received that same work....Mike has contradicted himself so many times in his e-mails that I really can't believe anything that either one of you say.
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:01:29 +0700
I could tell you EXACTLY why. We got him fired from his job for taking pics of girls panties under the table with his phone camera. For the past 3 years he has sent fake applications to schools all over Thailand calling our Academic Director and his wife lots of unpleasant things and claiming to have found my secret porn stash.
We fail about 5 percent of the people who take the course. Do the math. 2,700 students x 5 percent. A lot of potential hatred there. It comes with the territory. I do not worry about it. Our course feedback is excellent. Even some people who pass are not happy—maybe they are just jerks. Lots of them around. Today, just sitting in a café in Ban Phe, 5 grads came by and said hello from 2 to 5 years back. The vast majority of our trainees loved the course. That is just a fact backed up by empirical evidence. Some people do not. That's life.
The guy has been claiming for years that he hacked our school computer system and found "Bruce's porn stash". Here's the problem with his claim—at the time he made the claim I did not have a computer at the school. I usually work from home and always on my notebook which is not connected to any network. In fact, since the school opened, I never had a computer that was hooked to the network.
Did he find porn on the school network? Maybe. There were four computers that were basically for internet access by trainees. I know one of our Thai staff has been said to download porn. The fact is hundreds, if not thousands of people had access to the network. We had a ladyboy take our course a few years back andhe/she had al kinds of interesting pics of him/herself. Saying it was mine was just a lie.
You may think that people who have extra marital affairs are unethical. That's a valid opinion. But, like it or not, the world is filled with people who have had extra marital affairs. Its not illegal in most countries. And, when you start judging, some people think that pre marital sex is immoral and unethical. In fact, Mormons do! Just curious—are you a virgin? If not, would you like to be branded as unethical?
In summary, we have a person who has made wild and unsubstantiated accusations before now making… more wild and unsubstantiated claims. Is there ONE PERSON who has come forward to confirm I have met them for sex? Its my private Email account, right? Should be pretty easy. Email them and ask them. Oh, all we have is one freak making baseless claims? Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
I just find it fascinating how much time and effort this guy (and a few others) put into this utter nonsense.
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 11:21 PM
To: Bruce A. Veldhuisen
Subject: RE: hmmm
Well, if you say so.
I agree that men are as interesting as chairs but someone who is married and makes sexual advances with both men and women doesn't strike me as someone with much integrity.
Sure, people can be bi or gay and that're their business, but, call me old-fashioned, I believe married people should be loyal to their spouses.
I know mormonism has a history of polygamy and maybe that's the way you were raised but it still strikes me as primitive and unethical.
I just can't imagine why people (who passed the TEFL course, i.e. didn't quit like me) would just make this kind of thing up for no reason at all.
I'm not talking about or referring to anything I've found on the internet either. I'm talking about what people have been sending me about you....people who have met you in person, passed the course in Ban Phe (not long-distance) accessed the computers there and are describing their experiences and impressions of you and your company.
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:03:03 +0700
Anyone who knows me, including my wife and my many gay friends, know that I am not gay or bisexual. Not even any tendencies towards this. My wife has kicked me for looking a little too long at an attractive girl. Never at a guy. Just not me. Again, I have gay friends. We have had long discussions about homosexuality. Its their choice what they do between consenting adults. For me, men are as interesting as chairs—and that is exactly what I tell my gay friends.
Just goes to show you how much utterly ridiculous crap you can find on the internet.
But if you get your kicks by believing it is true, heck, go ahead! It really makes absolutely no difference to me. In fact, if I were bisexual, would it even be your business? Unless I was doing something illegal it would not be. Last time I checked, a LOT of people are Gay and quite a few are bi. So?
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 7:26 PM
To: Bruce A. Veldhuisen
Subject: RE: hmmm
Where there's smoke there's fire and there's a whole lot of smoke comin' outta Ban Phe!!
I thought Mormons weren't allowed to be gay/bisexual.
How do you reconcile the two? I'm genuinely curious.
You'd make a great case study :)
From: brucev@teflintl.com
To: brandon_fike@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: hmmm
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:24:12 +0700
And its all true! Haha wanker!
From: Brandon Fike [mailto:brandon_fike@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 11:48 AM
To: brucev@teflintl.com
Subject: hmmm
Who is Milliband David?
And what's this I hear about IRS Investigations and child pornography on your computer?
I'm also hearing about you being a mormon and being bisexual.
How interesting!
Are you still "enjoying your laugh"?
It won't take long for you to be exposed, moreso, for what a piece of crap person you are.
Brandon
2 comments:
Will you print our side of the story?
TEFL International
I find that perhaps some people looking for honest information on TESOL courses are mislead by a few people that post quite a lot because they have their own personal grudges rather than an honest objective viewpoint.
I’d like to reply to the post by Fike2308 regarding the quality of our programs. Fike2308 has a personal grudge against TEFL International and has presented misinformation on us on a variety of forums and personal blogsites, which he posts prolifically. Before anyone reads and accepts his posts, I think you should read the history he has with TEFL International.
Below you will see why Fike2308 posts, and why most of what he writes, is untruthful and misleading. He has vowed to post until he receives an administrative refund which he is not entitled to as you can see from the conversations we had.
Fike2308 is a constant complainer who could not learn communicative teaching and has been blackmailing TEFL International, saying that if we did not return his administrative fee – he would do all possible to destroy our reputation by posting all over the website.
I was one of four trainers that oversaw Fike2308’s training. He refused to try communicative teaching methodologies and despite the offer for additional help and resolutions for more assistance, he consistently refused. In the end, he got very insulting and we almost filed harassment charges against him. He is still angry that he wasn’t just given his certificate, despite being incapable of communicative teaching, and he posts on numerous sites against TEFL International.
However, how could we just give this guy a certificate, to shut him up, if he can’t meet international standards such as our certificate claims? To do so, would be to devalue all of our graduates that work hard and earn their qualifications.
If you still doubt the quality of the program, I can give you close to 250 past grads of the program that will tell you it wasn’t a scam, but one of the best opportunities of their life. You could also read the full page article on the program on the front page of the June 3, 2008 Bangkok Post Education Supplement.
Documented Overview of Fike2308 vs. TEFL International
Fike2308 enrolled in our Special Thai Program in Nov. 2007. The program requires participants to undertake about four weeks of training with experienced trainers and four months of teaching practicum. As there were placements remaining on the program two weeks before the placements began, we allowed a small group to participate by having one week of on-site essential training with a highly qualified trainer, picking up the remainder non-essential course details through self-study of our course books, and continuous four-month correspondence via distance learning with an experienced trainer. This is generally the layout for our very successful PELT Program which has been working since 2004.
Fike2308 refused to try communicative methodology and for that reason we could not certify him as a TEFL International graduate. He submitted a written work via distance learning, such as his teaching portfolio, three times (post and email) and it was reviewed by four trainers at TEFL International in Ban Phe, Thailand, after daily guidance on how to proceed.
”Ok, so I will re-send you this set for the third time...the exact same set I sent you on Jan. 29th and then a second time on after going over the textbook and your e-mails, and try to fix-up/redo the lessons that aren't up to par.” (Fike2308, Feb. 8/08)
After the third attempt, his trainer replied:
“Thank you for re-submitting new lesson plans and a new Teaching Practice
Portfolio (through separate emails). I appreciate you doing this and can see you are determined to learn. However, these lesson plans are not passable either. You can see the reasons why the lessons are not passable in the attached summary of the lesson plans you sent. I note that nearly every one of your activities involves you writing words or sentences on the board and students just repeating them or writing them down. These are certainly not communicative classes …. You are also very limited in what you can postulate on potential problems, objectives, etc. The fact that you state you cannot do a TEFL International Basic Model lesson in Thailand with your students tells me you are not yet prepared to be certified by us. Thousands of teachers over the last ten years have successfully been able to do Basic Model classes in Thailand -- so it is not the model itself or the students, but you not able to comprehend how these classes can work”. (STP Trainer, Feb. 8/08)
None of three trainers reviewing his work could pass him. He sent in one, rather than two DVDs of his teaching practice and the one was cracked. He said we had lost the discs but he had other copies (“I do have an extra copy of the first one I sent, I'm pretty sure I was clear about that in my e-mails” Fike2308 Feb. 8/08).
However reviewing the lesson plans for these classes (the first portfolio sent in), they would not have passed anyhow as the teacher was simply drilling words off the blackboard for every activity and every lesson (“Yes, I usually write words and/or phrases on the board and have students repeat after me because, if I write a sentence like, "What's your favorite food?" I find that 50 - 100% of the class can't say the words.” Fike2308, Feb 8/08). Therefore, viewing them wouldn’t have mattered.
The two other trainers that reviewed his work said:
“As ’s initial course trainer, I also reviewed his course work assignments , and it was clear that he had very little understanding of the principles behind language teaching, and further more had put very little effort into completing the tasks or learn what we were trying to teach him”.
(Course Director for TEFL Int’l Vietnam & STP initial trainer).
“I recall being asked to review ’s portfolio as it was submitted and re-submitted multiple times. It was nowhere near any TEFL standards. No communicative teaching involved at all.”
(Ban Phe regular trainer)
The coursework was shown to the TEFL International Academic Director and under his instructions, we had to fail him.
“Mike, is a prime example of someone who should not get our certificate because he clearly shows he hasn't learned anything. This description of his 'rationale' such as it is, shows that he doesn't know how to teach by setting context, modeling language, and directing controlled practice activities. It's sort of like, ... if they don't know what to say then how can I get them to say it? Yes. That is exactly the point and what is missing in the lessons - i.e. how to teach”. (TEFL Int’l Academic Director, Feb. 09/08)
“Hi Mike, Check previous email. You have done more than enough. He should fail on the following counts: hasn't produced evidence that he can teach using the steps we provide in our training; is not open to new learning experiences; hasn't produced the documentation required; doesn't take feedback in a positive and constructive way; If he spent half as much time learning how to teach as he has spent emailing you he would be spectacular”. (TEFL Int’l Academic Director, Feb. 10/08)
Asked why he refuses to attempt to even try communicative teaching methodology, Fike2308 replied:
“This won't be of any use to me at all in China or the next year (probably longer) because I will be working with University students who are English majors as I have in the past.
If I was to continue working with kids at this school or going to teach primary students in China that program might have something to offer me. But the fact that I am working with University students means that a program on how to teach English to kids who don't speak any English will just be a waste of time for me. In fact, I imagine I'll be working with Chinese University the next few years because it will provide me with enough leisure time to study for the Mandarin Proficiency Exam in Beijing and any courses I take in China will be realted to reading, writing and speaking Mandarin. No desire to work with young speakers who speak no english at all. I'm not taking this course because I really want to.” (Fike2308, Feb. 11/08)
To which his trainer replied:
“It's not a case of whether it is of use to you in your upcoming teaching position. We do not certify teachers because they can teach only one age / language level and not any other. You have to show us you have learned theories and techniques from our program that allow you to plan for teaching in many situations - even teen Thai learners that you say watch pornographic movies in your class. Again, your reluctance to learn what we are teaching because of an external excuse indicates you are not ready to accept training through distance learning and be certified by us. What we are teaching you in our program with these Thai students should not be accrued as "simply a waste of time for me". (STP Trainer, Feb. 11/08)
Believing that this particular trainee needed to see the methodology in action, we offered him two other chances to gain the training. First, we suggested a week or few days extra on-site training at any of our offices in Thailand (to see how our methodology does work in action). Fike2308 refused, stating he had to return to China after his teaching placement.
We then also offered him to take a little more hands-on free-of-charge training in China at either of our two locations, at a schedule convenient for him to attend.
”Mike, what you have outlined sounds fair. Our next course in Zhuhai kicks off on Monday Feb. 18. lf wants to take up the option you have offered him, he is more than welcome to come, observe and in turn we can include him in the TP roster, if necessary.
The ball is now in his court. We could also discuss observing TP in other future courses as well if he wishes. Cheers”.
(Course Director for TEFL Int’l China, Feb. 11/08)
Again he refused, saying:
“Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it but if I'm in China I definetly won't need any help.
Chiense students are grewat to teach. If they want to send me a DVD or something I can watch it but I just want to finish this thing up BEFORE I leave (Thailand). Let's either finish this up or just send me a refund and call it a day. Either one will work for me.” (Fike2308, Feb. 11/08)
When we informed him again that we could not pass him if he couldn’t teach communicatively, Fike2308 began to immediately send numerous very insulting emails on a daily basis to the company founder and his two main trainers. Here are a few for example:
“Then why the ‘beep’ did your monkey-ass ask me to send you the same thing (teaching portfolio) three times? Are you retarded or what? I swear to Buddha you are the biggest IDIOT I have ever met in my life. Do you even have a degree from a real University? I doubt it. I should be the one teaching you. Seriously, pull your head out of your ‘beep’ and get it together you ‘beeping’ moron”. (Fike2308, Feb 12/08)
“If you guys don't work with me then I'll have no choice but to post a few dozen blogs on various esl websites notifying teachers of this scam you guys are running because this feels like a scam more than anything. So, if you people continue to work against me rather than with me then I'll have to what I think it right and warn people about your company”. (Fike2308, Feb. 12/08)
“Hasn't either one of you ‘beeps’ wondered why no one has anything good
to say about you? You people behave a lot like Scientologists and that's just sad. If I were to guess I'd say that Mike is either Canadian and/or has no ‘beep’. It's the only explanation. I'm sure he doesn't have a degree from a real University and I can't wait for more people to send their complaints about this little show you people are running to the American Embassy, FBI, BBB and anyone else who can end this criminal activity of yours. Enjoy your future lives in prisoin where you all belong”. (Fike2308, Feb. 13/08)
“The jig is up Bruce, it's time to get my money back. So, now I see that you're just a petty criminal. I expect to receive a FULL refund before the end of next week or I am turning you into the FBI, the BBB, and the authorities in Oregon. I want my money back and I want it now”. (Fike2308, Feb 14/08)
Fike2308 did not pay full course fees as he was on our subsidized Special Thai Program. He was looking for just the administrative fee back. He threatened he would continue to send harassing emails, post misinformation on the Internet, and inform authorities of his case – until he receives his course admin fee back.
With these emails continuing, dozens by the day, we decided he had now crossed the professional behavior required on international standardized TESOL courses. The founder requested that staff no longer communicate with Fike2308 and we replied to him as follows:
“(STP Trainer), you have tried diligently to help this “gentleman”. I say we now officially call him a fail. Please contact the BBB (and the FBI). Good luck with your future endeavors. You might try TEFLWatch or esl judge. I have cc’ed both admin for the sites. I do not know the info for FBI. BBB is http://welcome.bbb.org/. TEFL International is based in Oregon. If I receive any more Emails from you, I will consider it harassment and immediately contact the police both locally and in Kalasin”. (TEFL Int’l Founder, Feb 14/08)
“Fike2308, some of your emails are VERY insulting, and disappointing after I have spent weeks and weeks - every day -- trying to help you learn what we are teaching on our program. As Bruce has instructed me, I will no longer correspond with you and am blocking your email address so as not to receive further harassment. From your current emails, I can add unprofessional behaviour to your seeming incompetence as a teacher. I am retaining all of your emails in a file and I wish you luck with your legal action in trying to obtain anything further from TEFL International”. (STP Trainer, Feb. 14/08)
Fike2308 did not cease to communicate with us and sent more emails, even weeks later, he was still emailing, unable to accept the fact that his failure was due to his lack of ability to try.
“(Fellow trainee) passes because she works for a recruiting agency TEFL is affiliated with while the native speakers from America and England need "more training" in spite of the fact that we all speak English better than her." (Fike2308)
Again another untruth. The program graduate he discusses here worked very hard and when work was not up to standard, she took the trainer’s advice, reviewed and re-submitted her work. She earned her qualifications by meeting the standards, unlike Fike2308.
Months later, TEFL International was still receiving emails from Fike2308 demanding a refund. For example,:
“Hi Mike, still waiting on that refund! I am currently enjoying my new job in China where no TEFL Certificate is required at all. In fact, TEFL Certificates are kind of considered a joke here. I've had a few people send me a link which indicates you are now looking for a new job.....how interesting! Anyway, when you are ready to refund my money let me know.
”
(Fike2308, April 14/08)
“I'm not demanding a Certificate from you guys because it's totally worthless as we both more. You guys are about as legit as a degree mill so I really do not want anything with the "TEFL International" name on it. I'll "give up" when I get my money back”.
(Fike2308, April 14/08)
He was instructed again on the reasons we could not pass him, - his inability to try communicative teaching, his work below standard and his unprofessional conduct. It was also reiterated that we made numerous generous attempts to help him, by providing more one-to-one assistance of trainer to trainee then anyone else on his program, and with generous offers for more on-site training. He replied with:
“I didn't fail.....I resigned from the course and asked for a refund after I read all the dirt about you guys on-line. It's like me quitting a job and then the boss trying to fire me after I quit to make it seem like I was a bad worker. It's obvious you were only trying to swindle me out of more cash by sending me to another branch and then collect some kind of kickback. You aren't fooling anyway "buddy" so drop the act”. (Fike2308, April 14/08)
So he was then told after the above email:
“FYI - since you have admitted to withdrawing from our program, let me remind you of the terms you agreed to before entering the program:
> > SPECIAL THAI PROJECT
> Terms & Conditions
> 3. After successful application, you will be asked to pay for the non-refundable administration fee of US$500 to confirm your place in the project.
> 4. If for any reason you wish to subsequently cancel your place on the course after your fees have been paid, TEFL International cannot provide any refund except for exceptional circumstances. The project organizer’s decision is final. In any case, the payment is non-refundable. The reason for this is that the staffing for the course and accommodation have fixed costs which have to be paid for in advance and based on a specific number of course members in the group. The college cannot guarantee to replace course members who subsequently drop out.”
(STP Trainer, April 14/08)
At which point Fike2308 replied:
“TEFL International cannot provide any refund except for exceptional circumstances". I'd say my circumstances are rather "exceptional". Wouldn't you?”
( Fike2308, April 14/08)
We could not find a solution to help this disgruntled and incapable trainee. Although he continued to email our founder as of end of April and is still posting as of two weeks ago.
On one site, he quoted one of his colleagues on the program as saying the trainers were incompetent and the program was terrible. When we contacted that colleague to address her complaint, as is TEFL International policy on complaints, here is what she said:
”Dear (STP Trainer), GOOD GOD NO I did not post anything on his website. In fact, I did quite the opposite--I told him that despite its kinks, I really enjoyed our program and wouldn't trade it for anything. I also asked him to leave me out of whatever he was trying to do. I suppose I could try to dig up the emails that were exchanged between us but would rather not waste the time or …..I am actually angry that he involved me (and clearly misquoted me) after I asked him to leave me alone and leave me out of whatever he was trying to do...I am sorry that my name is involved in something negative against you as I specifically tried to avoid this whole thing. Good luck ...and at least for whatever he has quoted from me, you can trust it's bulls ‘beep’. I had a great time in Ban Phe and I know plenty of others that did as well” (anonymous colleague, May 5/08)
This colleague was directed to the misquote and then sought out legal action to the misinformation that Fike2308 posts on the Internet.
“Dear (STP Trainer), What I had tried to express to Fike32308 was that IF wrongs had been committed then surely they should be made right, but that overall I (we) enjoyed the course and wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I know several other TEFLers echoed those thoughts in emails to . (Of course, he fails to quote any of the positives that we all mentioned!). At the advice of a coworker, I tried to contact Fike2308 to ask him to either remove the quote or remove my name. This coworker told me that it is illegal to post someone's quote without permission and that I should tell Fike2308 that if he did not heed my request, I could take legal action. Do you know about any of the legalities of quoting someone on a blog??! Do you guys have a lawyer working on this at all?
's response to my email was : "I'm pretty sure I don't need permission to publicize things people e-mail to me....and you can quote me on that." Followed by "Do I need your permission to forward this e-mail to my friends and lawyer? Oops, too late!" Do you know if there is anything I can do? Anyway to report him to his ISP??”
(anonymous colleague, May 29/08)
Here are what some of his other colleagues and staff have said about Fike2308 on the program:
“Well, was quite a difficult teacher, a whiner to a point but still grateful if he's being attended to. He was a problem teacher to some point and hard to please.
He was made to attend the tefl course because of Chula project... he didn't last with Chula because he had problems with the Thai teachers and his landlord.”
(Anonymous Media Kids admin staff that helped Fike2308)
“Because 's a native speaker he thinks he can do no wrong, but he's a boring teacher. I observed him in class when we did evaluations on our teachers.... with his monotonous voice .... it was a boring class and the students only got interested in a video he put on. This is one typical angry man who thinks he's ever knowing and can please everyone. He couldn’t accept his failure in the end and that's prompting him to do this...(post lies on the Internet).
(Anonymous colleague who took the Special Thai Program with Fike2308)
Fike2308 is a good example of how uncertified teachers, who are hired, are painting the TESOL industry with a bad name. Fike2308 could not hold down his teaching job in Korea for more then five months, nor was he able to handle his next two teaching jobs in China for more than a semester or 6 months either (in Hebei and then in Wuhan). He could use with learning “how to teach”, but instead tries to discredit methodology because he’s unable to learn it.
In conclusion, you can see how one trainee can become a nightmare for trainers and administrators, despite the hard work they put in. But that’s our job. All I ask now, is to disregard his posts (or question them seriously) if they come from this source. He posts as “anonymous”, “Fike2308”, “Fike, “”, “BAF” and I believe “Patricia Armstrong” and “Soney Boshim”.
I’m happy to respond to any requests for further information on this case or other complaints. I have a lot of integrity as those that know me will attest. I would not work for TEFL International in PR or in the academic end, if I didn’t feel it was a good thing doing good for others.
Best,
Mike FitzGerald (STP Trainer)
Director of Public Relations / Lead Trainer
TEFL International
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