Job Discussion Forums

[travelasia]

hi everyone has anyone ever worked for GEOS. or GEOS FOR CHILDREn..anything good or bad to say. just curious

[Glenski]

GEOS is one of the 4 biggest eikaiwas in Japan. Its reputation is that of an honest company (unlike a few shady ones), that offers a training program and the opportunity to move up (not all do).

You will probably be facing lots of paperwork every day after work, and the foreign managers seem to come and go with a higher turnover than the teachers.

Other than that, it's pretty much like most eikaiwas.

[capper]

And Mr. Glenski, just how long were you employed by GEOS to be able to make these tremendously inaccurate assessments?

[Glenski]

It's one of the Big Four. Accurate.

It has an honest reputation. (Meaning, it doesn't withhold salary like Interac. It doesn't falsify visas like GABA did. It doesn't have totally unscrupulous management like Shane.) Seems pretty accurate to me. Know otherwise?

It has a training program. Just read the web site. Accurate.

You have opportunities to move up. Again, read the web site. Accurate.

It's no secret that there is lots of paperwork (although my sources tell me it has decreased somewhat in the last couple of years). It includes progress reports on individual students, reports on what you planned for class vs. what you were able to accomplish that day, attendance,, etc. Accurate from people I know personally (who have worked there) and from those who have willingly contributed to forums.

Managers have a high turnover rate. Same sources as above (people who have worked there or who now work there). Accurate.

No, I have not worked for them, but I don't need to in order to provide this information. If you know otherwise, please explain what "tremendously inaccurate assessments" means.

[Sez]

The paperwork issue can be overhyped at times I think.
I was pretty worried about that side of the job before I began woking at Geos.
To be perfectly honest though, the paperwork you have to do is pretty minimal. I spend 30 mins PER WEEK doing it. The only problem, however, is that twice yearly you have to do a big paperwork assessment which is somewhat time consuming.

As Glenski said, Geos is one of the big 4. It isn`t a bad company, it isn`t great either. I`ve had no problems working for them but luckily I`m in a smaller area so I don`t receive as much contact with head office as teachers in Tokyo do. Overall though, Geos will pay you on time and sort out visa, apartment etc for you which saves a lot of worry.

Hope this info helps.

Sez

[Glenski]

Sez,
Thanks for contributing. People I know who have worked at GEOS say that there is about 30-45 minutes of paperwork that must be done every day at the end of your shift. It's the stuff I described. Whether a person can cut down on the time needed for this depends on the person, of course, and depends on how long one has worked there. Would you agree on the amount (or type) of paperwork that I'm talking about?

[Willy_In_Japan]

I worked at GEOS for a year recently. If this person is getting away with doing 30 mins a week in paper work, they must not be doing everything that is required.

The first thing you must do every day is the Daily Teaching Record, or DTR. You USED TO have to detail what you did in the class, but that is no longer required, and if you do it after every class it is a snap to do. You have to list the date/class/class time/ type of class ie Sprint or Active....the specific people in sprint, and number in active.....the absent student, and the homework assigned.

Every month, you have to maintain a renewal list. When the person is coming up for renewal, and who to approach.

Every month, you have to maintain a class scedule list. IE, what classes you have, what type, who the person is, when their contract ends etc. I really dont get this part, as they certainly have this computerized, but we had to keep it up to date and fax it every month.

Every DAY, you have to maintain your attendance sheet on each student. For someone who hasnt been trained on it, this is a confusing document. When I got to GEOS, they had seemingly dozens of different types of contracts, with "followups", "Makeups" not being the same thing, and depending on WHEN the contract was signed. It has been simplified now, and should be easier to keep track of.

Every so often, the manager will want you to create special lists for campaigns.....Active approaches Sprint appraoches (people you have to ask about renewing)...and if you think they will renew.

You have to maintain on the Attendance sheet, when the person has received or when they will recieve counselling. Couselling used to be done at one time of the year, but now it is dependent on when they sign up. You have to fill in the large form and it is large........counselling the student on their progress, and then submitting the counselling sheet with the DTR, and filing the other with the student. With the switch over, teachers were neglecting to counsel in a timely manner, and we had to go through all our records once and determine who needed counselling, submit the list and then do the counselling and fax back the progress. Just one example of miscellaneous paper work assignments that head office will have you do. The manager likes to hit you with making various lists too...........like who bought/uses Listening No Tatsujin etc.

There is also the monthly Extra payment sheet which you list renewals and extensions, also group bonuses, but they get you to count up the number of students in each of the areas, and divide that by the number of classes of a certain type and divide and come up with a ratio number. Eg 1.5 Active..........pretty silly and confusing for a newbie........all taking gobs of time to figure out if you can get your co workers to take the time to help you figure it out.

So, 30 mins a week..........maybe if you are in a laid back school where head office isnt chasing you about for submitting your paperwork. Maybe some areas of GEOS are more lax than others, who knows, but that was my experience.

Willy

[Willy_In_Japan]

One more thing I forgot to mention was the manager will get you (if your school was anything like mine) to do 'Study plans' for each of the renewals. They are an 'approach tool' as they refer to them in GEOS speak. Essentially, you tell them in a personalized sheet, how they have been progressing and where you think they should go. IE: You have been doing great in your Sprint 6 course, but I think you would really benefit by moving to a (insert desired contract) GROUPS lesson. Millennium B would be perfect for you. In Millennium B, you will do (List the kinds of things you do in Millennium B).....etc......then suggest 3 things you can do to improve your english........ie Asking more questions in Class........reading English Newspapers....etc.......trying to keep them fresh, so when the students compare it isnt word for word.

I was sometimes making 3 or 4 Study plans for the same student in the year I was there, cause unsucessful approaches are done with a new study plan a few months later.

And, yes, it was previously mentioned that you have a 'paperwork assessment' twice a year. You have to photo copy all of your attendance records and fax them in, plus they pull 3 random DTR's and then evaluate you on these ........depending on how you do affects your promotions.

Willy

[skarp]

Good grief...

What a monumental waste of time, effort and paper....

As if any of this actually makes a difference to anyone's enjoyment or benefit from the course.

Are all eikaiwa like this for nonsense paper work? I'm not against keeping meaningful records and giving students written feedback. That's OK. But the above is way beyond the ridiculous.

Skarp.

[Xerius]

[GaGaBooBoo]

Yep, I agree. I work for ECC too and all that BS is simply laughable. My neighbor works for Geos and he leaves for work before me and comes home after me. Everyime! He is happy with his job though. From what I can figure out, comparatively to ECC, Goes teachers earn a little more, work a lot more, and have less vacation time. What do you value most?

[Glenski]

[Hondo 2.0]

I worked for both GEOS and NOVA. GEOS paperwork was madness. NOVA was not so bad. We were encouraged to finish it up in class.
BTW, at NOVA they have a bell which ends class. I kept my watch well synchronised, and rarely left class more than a minute late. At the GEOS branch where I worked, many students expected classes to run at least five or ten minutes long.

[senorwaq]

I've just signed up for GEOS, and that list of paperwork scares the bejesus out of me. I'm not sure how long I could hack it if it's really that much. But I already had a fair idea that was the case.

I got the impression that GEOS is far less like babysitting and bullsh**ting your way through 50 mins, especially as a new teacher. The training is more than most (though i admit it's not exactly a CELTA). The real upside is having the same students every week and having your own classroom. Plus you don't have to do all that Voice stuff that NOVA make you do. I'm sure the paperwork is over the top, but if you want a stable environment in which to improve as a teacher it sounds like a good option. Doesn't it....?

I don't know about AEON, they weren't hiring at the time I wanted to apply, but I feel like these two are the best of the big four.

[go2guy]

I worked for GEOS for a year, 97-98. Back then there sure was a lot of ridiculous paperwork. They were saying at the time that everything would eventually be computerized and this would all no longer be necesary. It seems, in typical GEOS fashion, that even though they may have upgraded electronically they have found other ways to keep their teachers "enthralled". I think their whole "trip" is a bit cult-like in approach, from the training/indoctrination to the "opportunities" for advancement. I was once "invited" to attend one of the wannabe managers meetings. From top dog harangues about meeting performance targets (albeit with a "happy face" of course) to exhaltations to the leader (whatever his name was), company chants, etc. it was pretty scary s**t! If you want to subscribe to this crap there certainly are advancement opportunities, but to show your devotion you're expected to increase your work day to the 12-14 hour range and all for marginally better money. I could make a longer list of things I really disliked about this organization but for the sake of balance I will agree that they are helpful in providing good housing for you when you arrive, they never stiff you on pay, you have your own class space to develop and use generally as you wish, the students may be a bit more serious than at some other schools (because they pay more for their lessons) and the Japanese staff are very helpful. In summary, as a first job it's not bad for a year or so but I think there are a lot better opportunities out there.