From the JFK Library – John W. Bing, Afghanistan 1964-67

John W. Bing served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan from 1964 to 1967 as an English teacher. Afterwards he worked on the Peace Corps staff in Afghanistan (1967), and at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Regional Training Officer for the Middle East (1967-1968). Bing was part of the Afghanistan III group. During his first year of service, he taught English at the University of Kabul. In the second year, he taught English at an agricultural middle school in Baghlan. In both places he used the oral aural-oral method of instruction plus textbooks developed by Columbia University specifically for Afghanistan. Much of the interview is focused on Bing’s views on and activities to promote cross-cultural understanding. Bing was a co-author of the first draft of the Peace Corps’ first cross-cultural training manual. In addition, he has worked in the field of international education and cross-cultural training in numerous positions during his post-Peace Corps career. He ends the interview by discussing a project of the Friends of Afghanistan RPCV group, funded by Afghan RPCVs and Afghan-Americans, that supports weavers in Bamayan, Afghanistan. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, November 5, 2018

Find this interview and more at the JFK Online Library: www.jfklibrary.org.

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