Beware of Ian Clark (Kansai)

[brian miller]

I would like to warn employers about Ian Clark, who is someone with a Masters Degree, but no values.

Ian Clark, quit my conversation school (The New Village in Kobe) without 2 weeks notice as stated in his employment contract and required by law.

Several days later, he offended a student in the class, by using inappropriate sexual language. The student does not, for obvious reasons, want the details of the incident to become public, so I will not offer them here. However, The Japanese Labour Board, on the other hand is aware of the details.

Clark has been paid outstanding wages for hours worked and simply wants to get more money, which he didn't earn. He argues that I was wrong to send him home the day I learned of the inappropriate behaviour and complained the the Labour Board.

I just returned from a Labour Board Enquiry into the matter and they do not find that unlawful dismissal took place. Interestingly, Clark did not see fit to attend the meeting himself, though he was requested to do so by the Board.

As anyone who reads the posts and threads by Clark (although he never uses his own name, but prefers to hide behind pseudonyms or pretend to be organizations) can easily see, his objective is simply to attempt to discredit my company, which has, as he mentioned, been in operation for over 6 years and has employed numerous teachers without incident. The Japanese Labour Board obviously sees through him and dismisses his accusations, as anyone who reads his lenghty slanders ought.

Regarding the comments about my school’s appearance, system and student numbers I should say that Clark never took the time to learn the system and disregarded much of the training manual that was given to him at the beginning of his employment. His description of the school is patently false as anyone who would like to visit will discover. The New Village

The student numbers hover between 110-130, depending on the month. Not the less than 100 that he states. It is a small school, I confess, but everyone who has ever worked here (with one obvious exception) will attest that we like it that way and we are not verging on bankruptcy as Clark libelously claims.

The flexible system is a popular one with working adults, and it is not, as Clark characterizes, a case of students barging into lessons already underway. The 15 minutes grace period is supposed to be taken up with warm-up activities to allow students to ease into speaking English. Clark seemed unable to do this though, as his character is not one that tolerates ‘idle chit-chat’ as he sees it.

The periods of inactivity he secribes were simply a result of students not opting to take his lessons, confirming his inadequacy as a conversation teacher. He may be capable in institutional settings, where everything is decided in advance and little planning is involved, but his rigid style was not popular with our adult students. Incidentally, the first item on the list of things to do, in the event that one doesn’t have a lesson, is in fact lesson planning. So, here again was another falsification by Clark to support his rambling argument.

The occasion when he observed me jumping from a chair onto the floor, was quite a mundane case of me teaching prepositions of location.

I admit being impressed by Clark’s eloquence and education in the interview But, as should be obvious, Clark was, and is, predisposed against small English conversation schools prior to accepting the position. He thought it would be a quick way to earn some extra cash without having to exert much effort. His inability to work without a text simply demonstrates his lack of creativity in the classroom, even though he was full of it in his posts. One might ask why Clark who has a Masters degree and is working towards a PhD (as he claims) would not be teaching in a University setting. The answer is that he doesn’t want to work that hard. I did achieve distinction on my Masters (as Clark grudgingly notes) and I also tutor other graduate students now, and got my university position through over 9 years of diligent effort at every level in Japan, not solely through connections as Clark states.

In another of Clark’s outrageous efforts to discredit me and my school, Clark e-mailed The University of Birmingham, where I am a tutor in good standing, and pretended to be a prospective Masters candidate. He actually mentioned me by name in his second e-mail and then in subsequent e-mails suggested that I was a shady character and ought to be investigated. Naturally, the U of B, saw through this sham as easily as the Japanese Labor Board did and ignored these messages and assured me that my reputation was untarnished as far as they were concerned. But, it just goes to show you how desperate Clark is and how petty he is willing to be to further his vendetta

The fact that anyone could take his rant seriously worries me and I hope hearing the other side of this matter will help explain the situation. I hope this in some way helps in restoring my school’s good name and suggest that anyone reading messages of this nature in forums such as these exercise caution. Unless you get both sides to a story, you run the risk of being taken in by someone with an axe to grind.

Hire this fellow at your own risk!

Sincerely,

Brian Miller
Director

Kobe, Japan
www.thewnewvillage.co.jp

[rajat.pay]

Hi Brian thanks for letting us know about Ian Clark, I am sure after reading about him with your help, he will not be taken by any school. Wonder why was he that way?