Job Discussion Forums

mtheta · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

if you have come across this add and are considering applying, DON'T.

Or message me for more info first.

Morinokodomo International English School in Sendai. Miyagi is seeking a female English Teacher for children from 2007 January. Sponsorship and long-term available. Salary 260,000yen/month. Furnished house rental fee of 70,000yen/month. 5 days a week (Mon, Tue Thu, Fri, Sat) from 10:30a.m.to 6:30p.m. Conduct classes of 3-to12-year-old children using a fixes curriculum, no lesson planning required, all materials are provided. Previous teaching experience is desirable, but not necessary. Must be a native speaker of English. Email resume with a picture to: info

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

mtheta · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

Actually I am working in Japan. Thanks. I did say you could PM me if you have questions.

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

mtheta · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

I don't want to air dirty laundryin an open forum, so if someone is seriously thinking about applying then they can PM me, if not then this really means nothing to you. I thought twice about posting this because I didn't want to further advertise the position, but I know that when I was looking at positions I looked to this site for advice.
Anyone seriously thinking of takeing this position should get all of the details, good and bad.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:53 am Post subject:

Canuck has a point here in that you have publicly told anyone viewing the forum not to apply to a job but haven't stated any reasons why not. This means that anyone who has no user name cannot find out any more infomation and whatever problems there are at this company the company has no right of reply.

If a company were to say "Don't employ (insert your real name)" and gave no reasons but only an invitation to PM them for more information I think you wouldn't be too happy with it and would (should) at the very least request the moderators to delete the thread.

bshabu · Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 200 Location: Kumagaya

I think its a great job and mtheta want the job all to him/herself without all that dirty compition. Laughing

fluffyhamster · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:46 am Post subject:

If the job is being advertised here on Dave's (and I'm assuming it is) then there's obviously going to be a conflict of interests (between Dave needing to make a living from advertisers, versus providing these chat forums for people to exchange information and ideas). In the past this has lead to threads that "named and shamed" being pulled.

Now, some would criticize Dave for doing this, arguing that we have a right to know, especially if the school had appeared to be a "persistent offender" according to more than a few posters. My own view is that the man has done and is still doing more than enough, above and beyond the call of duty, to help teachers as it is, and that we can't ultimately expect this to become a "schoolwatch" sort of site operating some blacklist.

I'm not sure what the policy is when a school isn't an advertiser here, but personally I'd still be wary of saying "too much"...

When I found myself in a bad job, very much at odds with the contract I'd signed, I didn't name the school but instead outlined the situation and asked if anyone else had ever experienced anything quite like it; judging by the responses, nobody had.* Since I "quit" that job I've occassionally bumped into former colleagues who've updated me on the situation there, and it now sounds as if that private high school has "cleaned up its act" a bit and finally hired the extra foreign teachers that it previously didn't seem to "realize" it had sorely needed (that being said, I still wouldn't want to work there again even with the substantially reduced workloads - it just wasn't a very cheery place). So, whilst I might initially have been justified in naming it, given time, that school actually became "tolerable" (that is, tolerable enough that some teachers would want to renew their contracts).

Anyway, my point is that regardless of the merits or not of one's complaints against whatever school, it is not always easy to convince readers here, who have to take whatever one says at face value in the (usual) absence of "corroborating testimony" (at least as regards the specific details of one's individual case), and things may well change for the better at a school (assuming it is not run by some single lone immortal dictatorial hellfiend). But if you really think the school is THAT bad, then let's "have it" (the details) - even if the thread gets pulled, the regulars here will probably remember something about it whenever anyone next asks about this 'Morinokodomo International English School' in Sendai.

By the way, the name of the thread where I wrote about my school is 'Was I a whinger?' (do a search for 'whinger' LOL).

*This didn't however prevent some people from weighing in with so-called "advice", almost as if they hadn't really read what I'd written.

mtheta · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

Pull it then. I was going to post details and not the name, but this seemed more straight forward. I am not going to publically slander a school with details. It was not posted on Daves. These are subjective opinions. The school is run by one sole person.

Maybe I should have been more tactfill and said something like "If you are thinking of applying to this job and want some first hand information then PM me".

fluffyhamster · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:04 am Post subject:

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

mtheta,
All you have done is raise a wee bit of suspicion about the job. It doesn't matter if they are paid advertisers here. If your inside information is accurate, post it. The employer can only try to deny it when asked (or if he decides to post here himself). Posting the truth won't give cause to sue Dave.

If you continue to hide the details, I hope your mailbox overflows for weeks.

fluffyhamster · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:40 am Post subject:

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

fluffyhamster,
Yes, I believe posts have been deleted because advertisers complained. I don't know this for a fact because I'm not a moderator and I'm not Dave Sperling, but I do have some inside information.

So, it's up to Dave to decide whether he wants to explain this or not. He certainly doesn't have to name names.

In my opinion, if someone has facts he can substantiate, the post should stay. Again, only Dave can help provide insight into this.

seanmcginty · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 203

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

mtetha, you'd have a lot more credibility if you actually give a reason as to why people should avoid this school.
In my opinion, there's absolutely nothing wrong with bad-mouthing a former employer if you have a valid reason for doing so. I've done it myself.
However, to just write something to the effect that "they're bad, don't work for them, PM me if you want details", is, in my opinion, hittinf below the belt.
You should give your reasons. That way, in all fairness, if someone who has had a positive experience with the school wishes to respond, they can.