Job Discussion Forums

tudodude · Joined: 08 Mar 2007 Posts: 82

Over the years I have met some amazing odd balls in tefl-land.

Who is the one you remember most for being bonkers.
Over to you guys.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 7:20 pm Post subject:

Dear tudodude,

Hmm, tough choice - so many contenders. But I think I'll have to go with the guy who came into the copy room one day, lifted the cover on the copy machine, put a cassette tape down on the glass, and then pressed the copy button.

And being "technologically-challenged" wasn't his only lack.

Regards,
John

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Are we going to start this thread again? Happens every year or so.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

Gotta have updates on NEW looniness; there's always an innovator.

jpvanderwerf2001 · Joined: 02 Oct 2003 Posts: 1117 Location: New York

I once worked part-time in a university in Ukraine, and one of the local English teachers yelled at the students for answering...wait for it...IN ENGLISH.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

And the grand prize goes to......jpvanderwerf2001!!! I don't think anybody can top that.

sharter · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place

The US woman found eating grass, Gerry the mad boozer(vodka at work), the Welshman whose door got broken down by the medics, Graham the Smithkline guinea pig etc. Actually most of them deserved sympathy. The people I can't stand in EFL are the nasty, self-righteous, drop- you- in- the- shite types you find all over the Middle East.

guty · Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 365 Location: on holiday

Yes Sharter, I remember arriving one morning and it being about 5 minutes before realising that the scratchy noises were in fact Gerry who had either spent the night there or gone in really early to get blasted before classes began and had drunk himself under the table (literally). He had also cunningly disguised his actions by leaving the vodka bottle on the top of his bag, thus obscuring the orange juice he had smuggled in.

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

soooo many. Where does one start ?

One could go on.

Best
Basil Smile

Master Shake · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA

Having taught in Bangkok, Thailand, I've seen my fair share of odd-balls.

My fav was this American guy who started blatantly hitting on his Thai practice subjects during, no joke, a Cambridge oral examiner co-ordination session I was attending. He was supposed to be following this 'interlocutor frame' word for word and he started going on and on about how beautiful the women from Chiang Mai are. The room grew completely silent.

slaqdog · Joined: 29 Apr 2003 Posts: 211

Sharter; we all need the attention of the medics sometimes Very Happy

Remember the early morning garlic eating?

Thank you Basilrat for this: quote "The 'teacher' who used the expression "How the ### should I know ?" when asked a question by one of his students (I was observing). " We've ALL wished to reply thus especially first thing in the morning but few of us have the front to actually do it esp when being observed. Priceless.
Not the looniest ever but I did very much enjoy the a fellow teachers reply to my question while working alongside him in Qatar. I asked him if he knew which of his students were entering the exam. He replied " I don't carry that sort of s**t around in my head" He lasted a month.
Lastly when asking for salary info in Qatar and the answer being:
"M-------- keeps that sort of information in his head, and his head is attached to his body and his body got on a flight out first thing this morning"

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:53 pm Post subject:

Let's take a new angle on an old chestnut.

MOD EDIT - Let's not. Let's all stay on the topic set forth in the OP.

khmerhit · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:13 pm Post subject:

The teacher who locked his students in their classroom (they escaped by climbing out the window).

The teacher who attacked another teacher (over a woman, natch) by suckerpunching him from behind a hedge. He spent some time in the slammer.

The teacher fell asleep in class--well teacher plural--cause? heroin.

The teacher who wrote a lesson up on the board re tantric sex praxctices. (He died in jail aged 43 a few yrs back.)

The teacher (and my Dos) who adopted two girls and got run out of town by some ngos after a spell in jail--probably guilty but also framed....

The teacher who became a rising London journalist but died prematurely--heroin.

alas
one could go on, to quote the Basil...

C A M B O D IA
try it and see Cool

jdl · Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Posts: 632 Location: cyberspace

Judging from the nature of the posts, probably the oddest I have encountered are the many staff who:

*honoured their contracts
*arrived on time for work and class
*had no substance abuse issues or mental/emotional issues or at least stayed on their medication
*contributed to the positive environment of the school
*were well trained and worked hard
*smiled and made light of the day
*were coperative and went 'above and beyond'
*never wrote on 'Dave's'

johnslat · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:34 pm Post subject:

Dear jdl,

Darn - I thought was going to be included among your "oddest" until I came to the last qualification. Very Happy

Regards,
John