Job Discussion Forums

[Lildeski]

Has anybody ever heard of BSK/ Pacican in Shanghai? I read a few negative posts about them on a different site but it was from 2005. They seem like a legit company that takes care of their employees but you never know...

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[North China Laowei]

This is another well-discussed topic around here. Just do a search....look...

BSK Shanghai
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[Lildeski]

are those posts about BSK? I dont understand ur thread

[Song&Dance]

Use the search function

[Lildeski]

gotcha! thanks

[mgafunnell]

i work for BSK and they're fine. actually, they are likely a cut above most companies in Asia. They pay on time and will renew your contract if you meet their standards.

[birdie99]

Still seeking the skinny on BSK by other people than just the ones who've already said it was good, or more elaboration from the ones who didn't. Your input is appreciated.

Thanks!

[Digitize]

[Renegade_o_Funk]

I don't know anything about BSK other than what I have read here. It seems like a chain school, which usually means more hours, often your weekends are not free, you may or may not have a business casual dress code.

Those are the negatives - the positives..you will probably get paid a little better, I believe 10k+, and you will teach from their already developed curriculum so there is no need to spend hours brain storming idea's for your classes & surfing the net for teaching plans an hour before class when you are hungover.

[Epuri]

Recently, there have been a number of threads started on BSK Pacican English Shanghai with people wondering about the legitimacy of the company and its operations. Many of the threads started by others who have worked for BSK were made back in 2005 which don’t provide up to date information on the company. The usual replies to people’s threads along the lines like “do a search”, “bad, terrible, don’t work for them”, “great company, I love them” & “there has been lots of discussion on this already” (although FOUR years old info.) is a waste of people’s time.

As a previous employee of BSK, I hope to provide relevant and up to date information on the company as I was also once looking for recent reports but alas found little. I signed up for ESL Cafe ages ago but have only been reading the forum, so here is my first post!

Upon arriving in Shanghai to work for BSK, I was still unclear on what I was in for even though I was provided with wishy-washy information. Hopefully this can clarify things for people so as to make their decision to go or not to go with BSK easier.

THE PROGRAM
BSK is separated into three main teaching programs.

The first part is the General English Language Program where you teach in local government elementary/primary and junior high schools. Currently, you are provided a photocopied booklet of the expected topics you are supposed to teach. The booklet is terrible and only provides bland sentences and songs without the music to accompany it, although apparently there are plans in process to scrap this and introduce much improved textbooks. It also seems BSK are planning on downgrading this part to their program and extending on the next, which I’ll explain further in the next paragraph. You are not expected to work weekends when working for government schools.


The second part is the Pacican English learning program which is the parent paid part. The students will be grouped into smaller class sizes of which the parents have paid considerable sums of money to have their children taught by a foreigner. Expectations on the teacher are higher here as the students are also expected to make progress due to the monetary commitment made by the parents. You are provided with a glossy textbook with lots of colours, pictures etc which is “ok” but nothing to set the world on fire and a CD containing the songs found in the book.
When arriving in Shanghai to work for BSK, I was under the impression “some Saturday’s” were only required which was written on the website and reiterated to me in an interview. This was far from the case. Some Pacician schools run regular weekend programs and the teacher is expected to commit to it as part of their contract. The “some” refers to those teachers who are lucky enough to not have to work any Saturday’s but those that do are expected to teach “all” of them as it is part of their paid teaching schedule. If you do not want to work Saturday’s then ensure that you command this as something that should be written in to your contract. Clever wording by companies is how they can manipulate things. I wish I knew this information prior to the signing of my contract. In saying this, the benefit of BSK (to me anyway) is that you don’t have to work evenings unlike other companies.


The final part to the English program is Aracadia. BSK have a relationship with a university in Canada where teaching graduates are placed for a six month period in BSK to teach.

WORK CONDITIONS
Overall the conditions to work are quite ok for China .

• Don’t expect heated or air-conditioned classrooms as China is still a developing country.
• Expect big class sizes (45) in the government schools and smaller ones (20) more familiar to western nations in the Pacican program.
• Salaries are paid on time without any problems.
• Chances are you will be given your classes and program a day or two before you begin so if you haven’t taught before, this can be very overwhelming.
• The chances for extending your contract are high if you have performed a decent job.
• On occasions and it varies greatly between schools, you will sometimes have a Teacher Assistant (generally the students` English teacher) theoretically to assist you in class. Even if one is there, don’t assume they will do anything. This is partly due to cultural reasons as they feel it is rude to interrupt and take over your class, annoyed that one of their lessons has been taken away from them which they need to prepare students for exams and/or just general shyness. Keep these in mind.
• If you are prepared to commit to a year’s contract, chances are you will be shifted to a new school during the semester change over. Reasons are the logistics within BSK or the local schools shifting their program around which sometimes forces BSK to make changes in teacher’s schedules. Keep in mind that when you choose a place to live and it’s nice and close to your school(s) that you will be teaching at, be ready for BSK to change your schedule next semester and possibly place you in schools a long way away from your home where the regular commuting outstrips your monthly travel allowance. KEEP THIS IN MIND. Many teachers have been placed in this situation making a one-way 80 minute commute each day.
• You may teach at two schools, or like others I knew at three or four. You may be travelling a lot and you may only get one day off a week, however, are given a couple of afternoons off on other days. Don’t think this is a 5 day working week with two consecutive days off in a row. If you accept a job and are unsure and worried, then have these concerns voiced to your point of contact in the company and negotiate to have them placed in your contract.

OTHER POINTS
If this is your first full time job then you’ll probably be reasonably happy with it. If you have worked before you may find BSK lacking some professionalism in comparison to what we are used to back home. If you are a trained teacher you will probably be somewhat taken back by very “old school teaching methods and discipline” but then you already knew that as you are coming to China to teach!

Like with anyone in China, you must be explicit about your concerns, what you want/need and help required from BSK as don’t expect them to be pro-active. You always need to follow things up. This is just a general rule for doing business with the Chinese.

The BSK teaching employees are like any Asian ESL teaching company, a mixed bag of some professionals, others that take it seriously and some that here for the easy ride and to meet local girls and this job gives them the money and the chance with little interest in anything else (opinion!)

BSK is a company that I think is desperate to be seen as ‘professional’ and from reading about the company back in 2005 it seems it has made some progress, although it is still a long way from what I am used to. It is continuing to change and adapt and along the grapevine I have heard they are opening an international school soon. If you want a company that pays you about 10kRMB + and you get evenings off and maybe weekends (depends on your negotiation skills) then by all means, however, you can earn a lot more working for EF or Wall Street but you get evenings and weekends.

This write up is not meant to slag off BSK nor promote them. I have written this purely as an informative piece of writing (with the occasional stereotypical opinion, hehe) to provide up to date information on those wondering what BSK is like in 2009 from mine and others who have worked there recently.

I hope people find this post useful!

[Digitize]

Epuri, that was incredibly informative. Are they pretty flexible in negotiating contracts?

[Fred Smith]

the son of two teachers I worked with worked for this place and he said he had to do much traveling. Much UNPAID traveling just like the above poster said.

Some day he said he had to take the bus and subway for over an hour to teach 3 or 4 lessons and then hop to the other end of the city.

AND they don't provide housing and offer a small amount towards living - like 1000 rmb a month. that and a 150rmb a month travel allowance doesn't make it sound worth anything.

[Digitize]

Is anyone else working for BSK Shanghai this year? I'll be a newbie to the program and to teaching. Feel free to respond to this thread or message me if you have advice or just want to relate. I'm flying out on August 18th. Getting pretty pumped...