Taking the art of English to the mountains

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
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This story in the TT today never mentions the FACT that these “teachers” are members of a weird Christian cult in the USA led by a strange cult leader. Why did the story not mention this even once, even as an aside? Totally irresposnible reporting and a blight on the entire TT reporting staff. I wonder if anyone there can tell us how this happened?

[url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/03/16/198238]Taking the art of English to the mountains

A group of young Americans are helping boost the English skills of children in some of Taiwan’s most remote schools and bringing a little bit of international flavor to these far-flung communities…[/url]


Michelle Reed, left, from Texas, and Juliana Johnson, right, from Pennsylvania,
sing and dance with students from the Yongle Elementary School in Zhongliao
Township, Nantou County.

PHOTO: CHANG YUN-PING, TAIPEI TIMES

billgothard.com/

This is the guy who runs this teacher thing. HE says:

What I Believe

  1. I believe in the one true and living God, Who, by His sovereign will and for His eternal glory, exists in three co-equal and co-eternal persons. (II Corinthians 13:14, I John 5:7, I Peter 1:2, Hebrews 11:6)

  2. I believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God and the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (Exodus 32:16, Jeremiah 30:2, II Timothy 3:16, Numbers 23:19, II Peter 1:16

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This story in the TT today never mentions the FACT that these “teachers” are members of a weird Christian cult in the USA led by a strange cult leader. Why did the story not mention this even once, even as an aside? Totally irresposnible reporting and a blight on the entire TT reporting staff. I wonder if LOL can tell us how this happened?

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taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … /16/198238

RE-Edited version below:

Taking the art of missionary work to the mountains

A group of young American missionaries led by a controversial cult leader are helping boost the English skills of children in some of Taiwan’s most remote schools and bringing a little bit of international flavor to these far-flung communities

the Taipei Times NOT:

Nineteen young American Christian cultists using the teaching of English in the remote counties of Nantou and Chiayi to further their own missionary goals are providing rural farming communities with a solid backbone of English language and cultural learning.

All 19 teachers belong to the controversial USA-based cult called the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and are taking part in the King Car Education Foundation-funded (KCEF) English Schweitzer program, which is named after the German doctor Albert Schweitzer who dedicated his life to serving the people of Africa.

It’s pioneering work for the American cultists who are brainwashed young people with no idea what the world is really all about, who are teaching in the remote Nantou and Chiayi counties just as the government is looking to import more native English-speaking teachers to boost the nation’s English ability.

The Nantou and Chiayi county governments have signed a six-month contract with the KCEF to take the teachers on board, and accommodation and living expenses have been paid for by both parties, although both govts are completely unaware that they are hiring Christian missionaries of the most controversial kind. These guys make Mormons look like Boy Scouts!

Many of them have previous experience teaching English in different countries, with some having taught in Russia, Mexico and South Africa and being proficient in at least two languages. All of them are dedicated cultists following their leader’s every word.

IBLP is a non-profit missionary organization committed to converting non-Christians all over the world. It also helps provide educational programs and community service.

All 19 American cultists will end their teaching in June and return to the US.

The KCEF, however, said the program will continue next semester as the foundation and the IBLP bring new teachers to Taiwan. O fuck!

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and the TT

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The IBLP Name

IBLP was first incorporated in 1961 under the name Campus Teams. As the Seminar ministry grew, the name Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts was adopted to provide a more descriptive title in 1974. With a continuing surge of growth and outreach beyond the arena of parent-teen conflicts, a new name was needed again. In 1989, the IBLP Board of Directors changed the name to what it is presently: Institute in Basic Life Principles.

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now class, altogether now: who what why when where…

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It has gotta be paid for.

And then there’s these gems:

“Children here don’t get to see so many foreigners, but in Taipei children meet a lot {sic} foreigners,” she said. "But they do watch the English channels on TV, and there are also cram schools here. "

“But for the students of lower levels, we do have to figure out a way to help them catch up. I will take them to the side and coach them individually so that they can catch up with the students who speak more English,” Zrinski said.

Got that? That person takes them to the side and coaches them individually. 'Cuz some of those students are from lower levels.

Where is the devil when we need him?

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hear hear flicka!

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Gothard tends to take uncompromising stands on issues where Christians often disagree. Consider these:

DIVORCE

All of Gothard

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Gothard appears to teach a system of extra-biblical guidance by

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GLOWING REPORTS TO VALIDATE TEACHING

Every religious sect and group has its amazing stories. Apparent miracles or successes might make a teaching sound more plausible, but don

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and just for blessed good measure, and then it’s off to blessed sleep, with my blessed gf, Mr. Gothard, …and no, we are not married…’’

DOGMATIC ASSERTIONS ON ARBITRARY MATTERS

At his Advanced Seminars in 1983, Gothard introduced sex regulations based upon Old Testament commands. Under the session titled

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Gothard

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In a telephone interview Wednesday night from his office in Oak Brook, Ill., Gothard said … his Institute in Basic Life Principles is a ‘‘service organization’’ with branches around the world established to deal with troubled youths. He called the allegations of abuse at his group’s Indianapolis center ``totally false.’’

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By the management concept of “caring for societies”, King Car Education Foundation was founded to organize and sponsor domestic and overseas recreational and learning activities to cultivate young generations with correct recreation ideas. Through various social welfare programs, King Car Education Foundation also contributes in guiding the general public to improve social customs and to promote conventional cultural value to create a more harmonious society.

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I know Lol won’t reply to this because he won’t put himself in a situation where he might be seen to publicly criticize the newspaper’s own reporters

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I can understand your frustration about this formosa, but considering the Chinese cults here I have to call this one relatively benign.

I personally liked the cult leader in Kaoshiung who used cheap computer graphics to put rays of light around his head. He has Frank Hsieh, the mayor of Kaoshiung, as a personal friend and cult member. The cult leader was sued for taking millions of NT. I think it was the gov’t said it was begotten fraudulently, but the judge said it was ok and people gave of their own choice.

Personally this Bill Gothard guy scares the piss out of me. The one redeeming light was when I asked my cousin, a youth minister involved with keeping an eye out for such things, He hadn’t heard of Bill Gothard. I just hope he’s a one trick pony and this thing all dies when he dies. I’ll be forwarding your post to him, so he can dig up some info on this guy.

CYA
Okami

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Thanks, Okami. Do.

Yeh, in the end, these kids aren’t harmful. What is harmful is that the newspaper didn’t reporter the background of the group that sponsors them. And maybe King Car doesn’t really know either.

I suspect nobody really cares, because at the end of the day, the Taiwanese don’t really care what weird cult one of from, eg, Mormoms, Cothard, etc, 7th Day Adventurists, etc, as long as they build nice hospitals, take care of the sick for free, teach English, etc.

Taiwanese are pretty tolerant people. More power to them.

BUT … did you notice one of the teachers in the Taipei Times article casually mentioned that in addition to teaching English, they are also teaching VALUES, “such as obedience, etc”

Obedience to what? Cothard, the Bible? Does a values clarififcation lesson belong in the ENglish classroom when missionary cultists are the teachers? Scary? And more scary that nobody cares here!

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Thanks, Mr Sanders.

In this case both LOL and the Scottish lad are excused.

BUT… the China Post, your competition, reported on this cult teaching mission here in Taiwan, TWICE, and both times the reporter mentioned in the last two graphs that the ILBG “is a controversial Christian cult in the USA.” THAT IS HOW THE REST OF US HERE FIRST HEARD ABOUT THIS CONTRO CULT. BFORE THE POST story, I had also never heard of this weirdo. So u be forgiven, too, except for not reading the Post. Chirp!

So sure, this story is hardly off your editors’ radars. Or maybe they never read the Post.

SMILE!

But they should have known this. If the Post says it’s true, it must be true.

But yes, the reporter is excused, too. NOW, let’s see the real followup, since the Times has been alerted…

Can you pass this on to the proper authorities…?

AND

Yeh, in the end, these kids aren’t harmful. What is harmful is that the newspaper didn’t reporter the background of the group that sponsors them. And maybe King Car doesn’t really know either.

I suspect nobody really cares, because at the end of the day, the Taiwanese don’t really care what weird cult one of from, eg, Mormoms, Cothard, etc, 7th Day Adventurists, etc, as long as they build nice hospitals, take care of the sick for free, teach English, etc.

Taiwanese are pretty tolerant people. More power to them.

BUT … did you notice one of the teachers in the Taipei Times article casually mentioned that in addition to teaching English, they are also teaching VALUES, “such as obedience, etc”

Obedience to what? Cothard, the Bible? Does a values clarififcation lesson belong in the ENglish classroom when missionary cultists are the teachers? Scary? And more scary that nobody cares here!

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FYI, the POST did its first story on the cult, with no photo, on the domestic news page, page 19 or 20, a few weeks ago. Then they did a second piece with photo of teachers on the Saturday Intl community page, real nice PR puff piece from King Car PR club, but it did mention in last 2 graphs that this was a controversial cult in the USA. Two weeks ago. And then CTS English language TV news did a major story on these teachers, too. So their PR has been phenomenal! We here thought that at least the TT would finally pull the cover off everyone’s eyes and tell the TRUTH about this cult and its overseas “missions.” Alas, not yet.

Ah, who cares? War is coming…

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good point, Mr Sanders. I agree here:

“You guys who think you are so smart you’re shocked, shocked that Yun-ping can’t smell out the charletenry of IBLP: Can you, using information only available in Chinese, tell the difference between a genuine Buddhist teacher and a saffron-robed snake oil salesman (of which Taiwan has many)? I’m very skeptical.”