Job Discussion Forums

[no_exit]

First off vik, I never said I worked for EF for three years, so don't put words into my mouth. I worked at EF for one year, one contract. I've also worked for the biggest university in this province, for a school owned and run by a British guy and his wife, for a massive IELTS training school, and loads of kindergartens around the city (and have been a popular teacher with every school. Haven't been fired yet!).

There is nothing you say in regards to "methodologies" that I disagree with. In fact, we probably have fairly similar views regarding education (if you remember from the other thread, I was educated through Montessori and my entire family is involved with the Montessori movement), which is sad considering that you persist in demeaning me and everyone else who has been with EF, simply for having worked there and not found it to be a prison. I found that I had the most freedom in the classroom at EF out of any school I have worked for, are you saying that I'm a lier? A tool of the man? You think I like seeing young kids suffer? Do you seriously think that every class at EF is identical, and that it isn't possible that different teachers have different styles, and that some EF teachers actually care about children?

I am NOT saying that every EF is a freakin' heaven on Earth, but you persist in making huge generalizations about everyone who works there (does this include yourself, I often wonder, because you accepted a job with them afterall ...). Why not admit that some EFs might not be such bad places after all? Would that be like losing face or something? Because it just seems like you'll take any tack just to attack this school (or this type of school). When people spoke up for the working conditions at EF, you switched tacks and went after the methodology, and simply refuse to accept that there are creative and progressive teachers working at EF. Some kids enjoy learning language, whether it is hard or not, so are they going to be your next victims? Any kid who enjoys an EF class must be a brain-washed tool of the system, is that it?

To break it down for you:

1. I am not a backpacker and I take my teaching seriously.

2. I taught at EF and I found my employers to be fair and decent people.

3. I made my classes fun, creative, and gave them a positive learning environment, and they learned some English in the process.

4. My kids, for the most part, really liked class and many developed a true, and hopefully lifelong, interest in the language.

In those four sentences, what do you take issue with, besides the two letters EF?

[ColinA]

[vikdk]

jolly good no-exit - 25 or so lines there but onlya couple that realy focuses on the pedagogical merits of EF -

[vikdk]

[no_exit]

No, I won't vik, because this thread was never about me defending my teaching methods against your attacks, you're the one who turned this into "EF teachers methodologies vs. those of everyone else", which I think is a completely unnecessary topic, not even worthy of discussion. I don't have to justify myself to you. It was a thread about EF as a phenomenon, how it affects the job market, and its worthiness (or unworthiness) as an employer. I never read it as "hey, EF teachers(or ex teachers, as the case may be, which also includes yourelf Mr. Cast The First Stone, does it not? Or are you above reproach simply by default?), prove that you're not crap by writing a 200 word essay on your teaching methods for all of us to critique."

You didn't answer my question by the way. Do you disagree with any of my points, or is your argument against me based solely on the fact that I defended EF?

If you really want to discuss ideas and methodologies, start another thread, and I'll be happy to share what I know and where I learned it, but not here. If you don't understand why then you're really thicker than I ever imagined.

I will indulge you just a bit though, and tell you that your games, stories, crafts, artwork, etc. are all a major part of my teaching. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that little kids don't respond well to rote memorization, formulaic repetition, and mindless drilling. I don't know a single kindergarten teacher that doesn't incorporate your *radical* ideas into a typical lesson plan. How could you possibly teach kids and not try to make the lesson as enjoyable for them as possible? Isn't this pretty basic when we get right down to it?

[vikdk]

No-exit if you don't want to share your first hand EF experiences with us - and how the EF method allowed you to carry out the kind out practice that we associate with progressive style western kindies - well that's ashame - we could surely have learnt much about how EF in kunming seems to be a trail blazer in the field of Chinese pre-school education

By the way how is your hunt for an English text-book for kindy kids going

[englishgibson]

I cannot believe that you guys keep on going here. Some have actually come up with ideas of “I have worked for McEF before”. What a bull…. Providing a lot of words about a lot of cr*p will never give much to the ones contemplating about teaching at McEF in China. To you guys that have little clue to what McEF is about, it is rather shameful to confront those that share their McEF experiences here.
This thread has become a trolling example of some with their high egos and lonely lives.
Dear McEF interested ones, paying attention to those trollers-loners might prove to be a rather costly one in your future. So, please take your time and read on longer and carefully through all those junks of irrelevant info on, search for more EF English First threads on boards and focus on the EF relevant stuff more, before you make your decisions.

Peace to all
and
cheers and beers

[vikdk]

hey EG - EF is about teaching - why not talk about McCrapness of that - or is this thread just to do with your sacking

what about giving us an account of the pedagofical principles behind the EF teaching method - now that would be another way of judging if we were had a krap product wouldn't it - or is teaching ESL here just about work for FT's

[no_exit]

[Malsol]

If you would work for McEF, what makes you think you are any different than those who take the McCrap jobs at McDo?

Flippin burgers may be more McFun!

[KES]

[no_exit]

[evaforsure]