This IASCO fiasco serves as a reminder to all other flight academies specializing in foreign student training that professionalism remains important even when nobody is (apparently) watching. In a professionally staffed and managed organization, standards of behavior and processes for addressing student or staff problems are strictly adhered to. This was an example of how NOT to handle a student with disciplinary or program advancement difficulties.
At the academy where I flight instruct, there is a multi-step process of incremental remedial measures employed to correct student deficiencies of a subject matter knowledge, flight proficiency or behavioral nature. Meeting ICAO English proficiency standards is a BIG part of it and great effort is applied toward achieving this goal by both school and students.
These steps are part of the contractual training agreement entered into with the sponsoring airline and must be adhered to under US contracts law. It is ultimately the decision of the sponsoring airline paying the bills as to whether or not to continue training with a problematic student. It's not a matter of simply becoming frustrated with a student and putting them on a plane home! The school conducts a review board and makes recommendations, which are then presented for review and approval by the sponsoring airline entity. The airlines also have contractual agreements with the cadets, which are governed by applicable laws in their home country.The bottom line is that it's an international business agreement. Professional standards and behavior are required at all times. Clearly this was not the case here!
On a personal note I'd like to add that I admire the effort and tenacity of the international students at our school. Almost all are remarkably motivated and studious young men. They come straight from university to a program in their home country where they receive initial training, assessment and are selected for acceptance. Then they come to the US for the next year plus to go from zero hours to commercial pilot, multi-engine land, instrument airplane plus complete a turbine and multi-crew transition course before returning home for their airline training (a further 6-12 months, but back home) before becoming a line first officer on B737 or A320 aircraft at their sponsor airline. Zero to hero F.O. in under 3 years! Remarkable that they accomplish all this in a foreign (to them) language.
I would also add that most of the flight skill deficiencies I find myself tasked with correcting are attributable to language barrier related issues. During the stress and challenge of flight training, language interpretation and understanding is one of the first things to go. Never has the saying "The airplane is a terrible classroom" been more true than when instructing Asian students. It's not their fault, but it is true nonetheless that this is the biggest challenge with the Asian flight student. However in my view, challenges should be met with innovation and increased effort rather than with anger and aggressive behavior. I hope IASCO makes an effort to do better. And it's a lesson for all flight academies to learn from.
About 700 hours dual given and several ground courses taught to Chinese students in the last year. I'm still learning plenty.