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Tiny Flower Montesorri D7 Phu My Hung

 
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ohdiesel



Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:53 pm    Post subject: Tiny Flower Montesorri D7 Phu My Hung Reply with quote

Hello! I worked at Tiny Flower Montesorri in Vietnam for about 9 months and it was a horrible experience. This school is located in D7 across from Canadian International School.

I worked there on a tourist visa, so I guess they figured they could treat me any way they wanted.

At the school I witnessed:

1. Child abuse by TAs
2. Government officials being bribed by 'school officials'
3. They tried to short-change me on my pay
4 they changed working hours, added extra 2 hours to my schedule.
5 mistreatment of all foreign staff including philipinos
6 Mice, rat infestations

If parents knew how horrible this place is, they would avoid it.

Avoid this place like the plague
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skarper



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 477

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly not hard to believe.

TA child abuse? Are you talking physical punishment? Something more sinister?

As westerners we often recoil from any smacking or slapping of children. Here the kids and parents pretty much expect that. I don't condone it but you have to allow for the culture here.

Bribing officials? Well I'm shocked they let you witness it but not that they did it.

Rats/mice? Well, they are hard to keep out altogether here. I have had rats in every house I've lived in, sometimes they were able to come in and out at will due to the way houses are built. Other times one somehow sneaked in when the door or a window was open and we were able to chase them out.

I agree it's disgusting but you have to expect it and plan for it. Constantly check for signs and treat all surfaces as suspect.

You will often get verbal abuse, blatant lying, lack of respect from the school owners/admin/management. If you are not 100% legal then you will get a lot more since there is nothing you can do except leave.

As for parents avoiding the place, well swings and roundabouts. They know they will encounter the same issues round the corner at the next place they try.

Ideally they should have an internet site they can post reviews and warn other parents, thereby avoiding the worst places. Perhaps such things already exist. We try to do this on here and elsewhere but with limited success.

I hope you find a better job and can put your bad experience behind you. Thanks for posting your experience. It is helpful even though I queried some of your warnings.

I don't question your sincerity but I think some further clarifications would be helpful.
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TRH



Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii

PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you think that they are actually affiliated with Montessori or, as is common in Vietnam, just using the name? If they are actually affiliated you might have some recourse through contacting the parent organization that certifies the franchisees.
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ohdiesel



Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Child abuse by TA included waiting for the child to defecate/urinate on the toilet, and when the child would not finish fast enough (or start) the TA picked up the child and smashed her onto the toilet bowl; breaking something in the process.

Yes, officials were bribed when I was outside waiting for the "surprise inspection" by the dept of Ed.

They do have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tinyflowermontessori/?fref=ts

skarper wrote:
Sadly not hard to believe.

TA child abuse? Are you talking physical punishment? Something more sinister?

As westerners we often recoil from any smacking or slapping of children. Here the kids and parents pretty much expect that. I don't condone it but you have to allow for the culture here.

Bribing officials? Well I'm shocked they let you witness it but not that they did it.

Rats/mice? Well, they are hard to keep out altogether here. I have had rats in every house I've lived in, sometimes they were able to come in and out at will due to the way houses are built. Other times one somehow sneaked in when the door or a window was open and we were able to chase them out.

I agree it's disgusting but you have to expect it and plan for it. Constantly check for signs and treat all surfaces as suspect.

You will often get verbal abuse, blatant lying, lack of respect from the school owners/admin/management. If you are not 100% legal then you will get a lot more since there is nothing you can do except leave.

As for parents avoiding the place, well swings and roundabouts. They know they will encounter the same issues round the corner at the next place they try.

Ideally they should have an internet site they can post reviews and warn other parents, thereby avoiding the worst places. Perhaps such things already exist. We try to do this on here and elsewhere but with limited success.

I hope you find a better job and can put your bad experience behind you. Thanks for posting your experience. It is helpful even though I queried some of your warnings.

I don't question your sincerity but I think some further clarifications would be helpful.
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ExpatLuke



Joined: 11 Feb 2012
Posts: 744

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could probably get them stripped of their Montessori brand and all the resources and support that comes with it by reporting this to the right people.

Some random forum isn't going to give it the attention the situation deserves. Child abuse is pretty common in Vietnamese education systems, but no Western organization would ever want to be associated with it.
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skarper



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 477

PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Contact Montessori HQ - should be easy to find with some searching - and give them a chance to respond.

I strongly suspect the offending school has no affiliation and is just using the name - but maybe not.

Keep a low profile though if you mean to stay in Vietnam. These unscrupulous sorts could muddy the waters for future employment/visas etc. And it's limited what you can expect to accomplish. 'A hiding to nothing' springs to mind
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