THE SICK SIDE OF EFL -- PEDOPHILIA (Part Two)

THE SICK SIDE OF EFL – PEDOPHILIA (Part two)

Whew! My last weeks’s blog about pedophiles in EFL certainly triggered off a flurry of responses. Here’s a sample:

“Castrate the vermin!”

“Apart from the untold harm these animals do to their victims, they put all the rest of us English teachers under a cloud of suspicion.”

“The invariable side-effect of these convictions is that the countries involved tighten up their visa conditions, making the visa situation evermore difficult for those teachers left behind. A pox on the perverted bastards!”

“It is the duty of every teacher working with someone whose sexual preferences are suspect, to report their suspicions to the school management and authorities. Without delay. Don’t wait until the damage is done.”

“Castration is too good for these #@%&#s.”

“The invariable side-effect of these convictions is that the countries involved (I’m talking about Korea and Thailand here) tighten up their visa conditions, making it evermore difficult for teachers to get a job. A pox on the perverted bastards.”

Yes, my sentiments entirely.

In Indonesia, castration used to be the traditional punishment for pedophiles. It was carried out by the local villagers, without any anesthetic or even a nod at hygiene. This practice has, of course, been outlawed for many years, but Indonesian villagers are often slow to hear of laws passed down by the central government (or reluctant to heed them). Ten years or so ago in Jakarta, I was walking down the street towards a man possibly in his thirties or early forties. Even from afar I noticed he was behaving rather strangely. He was wearing a long, unbuttoned coat and muttering incessantly to himself. As he drew close his coat flipped open, and I saw that in the region of his genitals (or where his genitals had once been) there was instead a saucer-shaped open wound. Later, I was to reflect that this man had possibly been the victim of village justice for pedophilia. Right or wrong? Some people say that the old ways are best….

My advice to anyone who’s working with a male teacher who seems to be taking an unhealthy interest in his young students is to dial the child-sex hotline and report your suspicions. You’ll find the number on the internet. (How to spot a pedophile? The indicators are all to plain to see: the “hands-on” approach, the “Hello Sweetie/Darling/ Beautiful” syndrome, the dodgy comments to fellow staff: “Wow, that new kid Emma in my kids’ class is hot!”.

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My new book, EFL minus the B.S. (now available on Amazon) puts the English teaching game under the spotlight. From applying for a job, living overseas, work permits, management and mismanagement, classroom dynamics, teens’ and children’s classes, to sex and the single teacher.