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ccfan
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 6
Location: New York City
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 Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:02 pm Post subject: Individual English Tutoring |
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| I've looked through the posts and couldn't find anyone addressing tutoring. Does anyone on the board have experience making a living in Vietnam on tutoring alone? I'm coming to Vietnam in 6 weeks. I currently do one-on-one tutoring in NYC with Korean and Japanese students and it's nice to be able to give that kind of personal attention to a student. If anyone is doing it, please let me know basically how it's going, how long it took to get a good schedule of students, and if you'd recommend it. Thanks! |
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Snaff
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:50 am Post subject: Re: Individual English Tutoring |
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Last edited by Snaff on Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mr Wind-up Bird
Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 196
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:21 am Post subject: Re: Individual English Tutoring |
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| Snaff wrote: |
And don't put up flyers in apartment complexes.
When I see them, I nonchalantly walk by, casually rip them off of the wall, put them in my pocket, and later tear them up into pieces.
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What's so bad about putting up flyers, and what gives you the right to sabotage someone's attempts to make a living? |
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huxter
Joined: 08 Mar 2004
Posts: 41
Location: Hanoi
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Too right. What do you say Snaff? |
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Snaff
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: Individual English Tutoring |
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Last edited by Snaff on Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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PotKettleBlack
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 9
Location: Vietnam
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:23 am Post subject: Unbelievable |
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| Nothing more amusing than some out-of-touch lost soul perusing high-end apartments with an out-of-date tie, wrinkled shirt, and cheap shiny shoes trying to take my work away from me. |
Nobody is trying to take work away from you. There are many people in Saigon eager to get private tutoring. I was here on holiday and I got plenty of offers. This may be because I was staying with a fairly well-connected Vietnamese family; I had better access to the upper class families and I know that is not the case with everybody. I think in a city of this size there's enough work for everybody.
I don't see how the way you dress has anything to do with your ability to teach. You clearly hold your own presentation in high esteem and that's fine but the acceptable dress standard for work and interviews in Saigon is 'business-casual'. For the benefit of every hapless buffoon in the industry, please define an out-of-date tie.
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| These hapless buffoons try to undercut. Nobody gets near my little Kyung, Young-Joo, or San Young. Nobody. Especially not from some cotton-candy hallmark pin-up on a lobby bulletin board. They go down and they go down quick. |
If your reputation, presentation and abilities are as exemplary as they sound then you can suceed by virtue of your own merits, rather than needing to sabotage the efforts of others.
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The first time I see one I take it down. |
Scary.
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| The second time I see one I make a phone call: Bin Thanh, An Phu, Sedona Suites, Norfolk Mansion, and to some folks at the International schools. A couple calls with the drop of their name and they never get work in this town--ever. |
"Fear me. I am Snaff the well-connected elitist. I am the godfather of English Tutoring. I own this town. Defy me and you will never work in this town!"
If you are starting out here heed the above warning. I made the mistake of trying to undercut by putting up signs all over town. The next day every single sign was ripped down. I tried getting working at every school in Ho Chi Minh City but failed. Every time I went to an interview it seemed like I had almost got it - each time I was declined. I couldn't understand why this kept happening, but now it makes sense having read this thread. Each time, before offering me a contract, the director would pull out a huge paper scroll, blow the dust off it, look at it solemnly then inform me that they would not be hiring at this stage.
One time curiosity got the best of me and I wrestled it from their hands. At the top of the scroll was the heading 'Snaff's do-not-hire list' and sure enough my name was number 829 on the list. It didn't make sense at the time but now I understand how I stuffed up. I was astonished that every single school had a copy, even the smaller low-paying schools in the Tan Binh District had it. Truly remarkable. I asked a local "Who is this 'Snaff' I keep hearing of?'. Apparently he is some god-like figurehead of English Teaching and an exceptional judge of character. "Better iron that shirt buster" he said. "Snaff don't like wrinkly shirts".
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| You wanna take my privates you need to suck the right thumbs. |
This city is all about connections and sucking up. Locals have to bribe employers just to get a decent job ($100 a month). As a foreigner seeking work in Vietnam you should not have to expect this kind of treatment. If you have the experience, the skill and most importantly the look for the job you will get it. Ignore people like 'Snaff'.
My serious advice to all is disregard what Snaff has said. Saigon and Hanoi are huge cities with plenty of opportunities. I find it hard to believe that schools would really care who is advertising him/herself as a private teacher. I once worked with a guy who previously managed a McDonalds. For every car that came through the drive-through he discreetly checked their registration and warrant of fitness. Those that were expired were compiled into a list and given to the police. He was proud of this service to the community and, not surprisingly, was hated by every single person who ever met him.
Maybe you should stop trying to get others in trouble by reporting them to Mom and upgrade yourself from sub-human to the real deal. |
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Mr Wind-up Bird
Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 196
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:55 am Post subject: |
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| Wise words Pot. As for the "out of date tie" thing, I wasn't aware ties came with a sell-by date. Though having said that, it doesn't seem possible to buy any other type of tie in HCMC... |
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Snaff
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by Snaff on Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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PotKettleBlack
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 9
Location: Vietnam
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| Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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Though I have no doubt you know what you're talking about - certainly that kind of cynicism is often the negative byproduct of experience - I really don't think it will ring true for most teachers in Vietnam. Sure, it's always easier to get ahead in business by sucking up; that you will find in most western countries. What you will also find, though, are individuals with true character who don't take shortcuts.
$85 lunch? Oh dear. I assume that includes the massage with extras. Good advice for anybody coming to Vietnam would be to shed such gross and unnecessary spending habits. Yes, they are very superficial here and the locals will look up to you for being able to spend more on a meal than they make in a month but if you want a truly rewarding experience be a bit more subtle and you will get a more sincere kind of respect. I can't understand the mentality of people coming to a country as financially and culturally crippled as Vietnam and trying to live it up like they're on the Riviera.
Fake brandname clothes are, I admit, extremely cheesy and common in Vietnam but I'm more comfortable with people paying $5 for a fake L.V. handbag than people paying a few hundred for the real deal. Showing off money is one of the many ways the well-off show their lack of class. Real power is to use the money for more worthwhile causes - there are many orphanages in Saigon that are financed only by donations from locals. No government support whatsoever. $85 would go a long way at these places. At the last orphanage I visited the young boys who live there only eat rice. No vegetables, fruit or meat. Just plain old rice. It was interesting speaking to the monk who looked after the place. Most of the donations come from working class families. The rich normally just give once a year, around New Years to try to boost their families luck by performing this 'generous' deed.
Note: I am not trying to make anybody feel guilty or hedonostic, just remember that there are organisations in Vietnam that people like us can make a huge difference to for just a small percentage of our monthly wage. You won't see these places on T.V. They have too much pride to beg. They have dignity.
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| You want in, put three Benjamin Franklins in my pocket. Then....you get "introduced" to people. |
I sincerely hope that nobody has or ever will be seduced by this kind of career prostitution. |
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slada
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:49 am Post subject: Gecko |
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| I find it very interesting that someone would attempt to emulate a fictional character from a movie who eventually wound up in prison for his business practises. Good luck to you Snaff. I hope irony doesn't bite you in the butt. |
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H5N1
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 80
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:58 am Post subject: |
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I think this is hilarious!  |
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pants
Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:49 am Post subject: |
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:45 am Post subject: all that glitters
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Excuse me Snaff, but it sounds a little like you are a legend in your own lunch box. For all your Gordon Gekko aspirations and gold tie-band flaunting - you are an... English Teacher. An...english ...teacher. If it gets you off to fantasise that you are dwelling in some kind of cut-throat world where you, great puppet-master of the teaching underworld, pull strings, then knock yourself out. But I hope no one takes your threats seriously. As for your threads, I've nothing against dressing up, but PotKettleBlack did introduce some useful perspectives to this thread.
To quote you quoting Gordon, "if you want a friend, get a dog", I sure hope you know a lot of dogs...
But one thing is niggling at me...are you perhaps having a great big laugh at all us earnest forum readers' expense? If so keep it up, it's cracking me up.
and ohhh, gold is SO tacky |
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Snaff
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by Snaff on Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:05 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ccfan
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 6
Location: New York City
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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Snaff, if you're at all like the way you write on this forum and you're not just writing what you write in order to be provacative, then I feel sorry for you. I suppose you would be embarrassed to sit across from Gandhi (my idol - a real person) because he didn�t wear an Armani tie and he made his own clothes. Yet Gandhi held court with the most powerful people in the world because of the virtue of his character. Without integrity, ethics, and character everything else is worthless.
Now, fantasy world put aside, I have a question. It actually came to mind thanks to Snaff. Do you guys make a concerted effort to tailor your teaching in a culturally sensitive way? I'm sure most good teachers would do this but it's probably easier once you�ve been in the country a while and become educated in the local culture. It seems to me that by the virtue of being a westerner teaching English it would be hard not to be teaching western ideas and values at the same time. It�s probably transferred through language whether you try or not. But as someone who feels western (American mostly) culture takes a sledgehammer to everything it touches, I�d like to find out ways that teachers use Vietnamese culture/thinking in the classroom. |
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Snaff
Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 142
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 2:58 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by Snaff on Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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