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misterkodak · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 1:40 pm Post subject:

I think I graduated from the "Sergeant Slaughter School of Classroom Management". I've had several of my Turkish colleagues tell me it's ok to slap my middle school kids around when they misbehave. NOT! After the military, I can bring them to tears without laying a hand on them. Peer Pressure is a great motivator. "The next time Hasan comes to class without homework and doesn't have the proper materials, I will not punish him.. I will punish YOU ALL for failing to motivate him!". I kept them all in for 10 minutes into their lunchbreak once and let Hasan go. Our parting words were "Be sure to thank Mr. Hasan." I'm sure they cleaned his clock on the playground.The kid had his stuff together from that day on.
Turkish boys tend to be rather chauvenistic in their outlook on life. In a discussion with one of my Lise classes, I had them tell me "Girls can't be soldiers, girls can be nurses, teachers and mothers ...." I then proceded to tell them about the last Red Flag exercise I participated in during my AF time. Pilots from all over the place came to Nevada to participate. Anyhow, 3 Turkish f-16s were "shot down" by an American pilot. Oh yeah.. the pilot happened to be a woman. It got really quiet in class after that. It also blew their mind that my MTI(Military Training Instructor) during AF basic at Lackland was a woman. "A woman Astsubay(NCO)?! "
At Ft. Knox last year, there were guys whose English Comprehension consisted of"Get on down ....PUSH!" and whose speaking capacity consisted solely of "Yes Drill Sergeant, No Drill Sergeant". We had soldiers in the Company from Nigeria, Egypt Ukraine, Poland,Mexico, Cuba, and other countries It was bizarre. I had to translate directions for the Cuban guy's medication because his English wasn't good enough to understand them. We had guys with the mentality "If I gotta go to war with these clowns I'll shoot them first!" Our Nigerian colleague got an Article 15 for firing 3 round bursts on the range instead of single shot during qualification day. "I didn't understand what you wanted, Drill Sergeant" was his excuse. How can we go to war when half the people in the Company can't understand the leadership?!

woza17 · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 602 Location: china

Hi Gimp
Why? He had the most difficult age group, to my mind and he did a brilliant job. It was a Summer camp and the main thing was for the children to have fun and he gave it to them. I liked his style.
Cheers Cai Hong

Micro67 · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 297 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

Being the veteran of two oraganizations that offer travel at government expense I have to wonder why there aren't more former military or Peace Corps types TEFLing. It seems a perfect fit; better pay (generally), more freedom and all of the perks of travel. Even though some people didn't like their 'travel experience' there have to be some out there that did, but I have met very few.

Micro67 · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 297 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

Anybody here ever noticed the look some of our TEFLing brothers and sisters get when they learn you were military? Sometimes I think I can actually see the little man in their brain putting the lable on.

Peter · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 161

I was in the Dutch airforce when the Cuban missile crisis was on. We were sure to die, as the base was near The Hague, the government centre.
We threw dice for the right to knock off some badass NCOs, but Krutchev backed off.

A total of 24 months wasted, washing dishes, frying egg s and cleaning
hundreds of Garand rifles and 9mm automatics.......I was in the militairy too! I had an Uzi and never fired it.

I learned my beer and booze limit and how to deal with doubtful women, useful skills here.

Micro67 · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 297 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

Why is it that amongst Ex-Pats it seems that those of us with military backgrounds are required to even take a position on political matters? I am generally apolitical. As previously stated - I vote, boycott and occassionally write a letter. I don't generally like to discuss politics. If W., Colin, Condy or Rumsy cross paths with me I'd love to have the chance to persuade them to drop off the edge of the earth, but trying to convince some drunk in a bar to adopt my personal ideologies seems a bit pointless.

I've noticed that whereas when most people are allowed to defer, I am often not. Very recently I was chided and pressed so ferverently that I excused myself from a party I was enjoying so as to avoid clashing with a drunk (a person whom I think would not have accepted anything anyone put out there).

So what is the deal? I remember one of Mike Tyson's lucid moments when he said, 'What does it matter what I think about politics? I'm a boxer'.

Kai6854 · Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 53 Location: USA

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

Micro,

I've never served in the military, but I have been in that other Corps, three years in China TEFLing. I agree. Finding someone else to pay your way to travel (particularly the US government which throws around mad cash like no one's business) is the way to go. I've been doing it for nearly ten years now.

TEFLing can indeed be a sweet gig.

I wonder, how would Sergeant Hartman be in the TEFL classroom?

"Did your parents have any children that lived?"