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imani360
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:44 pm Post subject: Teach Away |
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| Has anybody heard of an organization called Teach Away? They apparently have schools in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Obviously, I'm only interested in the schools in Taiwan, though any feedback on the organization would be most helpful. I was just wondering if anyone has any information on them... |
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markholmes
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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I suspect that if they say they have schools in three countries then in fact they are recruiters and not actually school owners at all. That should send up a red flag flag immediately.
I am not aware of any companies having schools in all those three countries (perhaps Saxoncourt/Shane). I have been wrong before though. |
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SanChong
Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 335
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:26 am Post subject: |
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I've never heard of them before, which means they may be one of the many fly-by-night organizations which come and go in Taiwan.
Reach To Teach and Dewey are two well known Companies who have been in Taiwan for years. It may be worth checking into their options. |
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dvasas
Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 138
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
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| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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Teach Away is a company I met with a couple years ago, they contacted me as they were looking for contacts in Taiwan in which they could recruit with, I contacted them a couple times after we met and never got a response, at the time they seemed more focused on the middle east and Japan as the woman I met had taught there, I do believe they are based in Toronto and she seemed well put together and organized.
I just checked out their site now and it seems like they are focused on those 3 countries only....interesting.
good luck!! |
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LKJ
Joined: 06 May 2007
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Well it sounds like they are new to Taiwan. One thing caught my eye on their website:
On their job listings (which is pretty limited for Taiwan) they have opportunities for a large number of kindergarten positions in Sindian City. I could be wrong, but this sounds like they are recruiting for Cambridge School (also known as Kang Chiao Bilingual School or Cam School) - which has just fired 14 of their kindergarten teachers (according to a friend of mine) with very little notice or reason.
This school has a reputation for treating teachers poorly and for not providing them with materials to do their job. An impressive campus � but not a good place to work.
Cambridge School is not affiliated to the famed University in England. In fact, the last I heard they were being sued to change their name. A place to avoid in my opinion.
If Teach Away are trying to enter the market with a school like that, then I would also avoid them like the plague.
Hope this helps
LKJ |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:38 am Post subject: |
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Nothing ever really changes on Taiwan, just the names.
Good luck!
A. |
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Toe Save
Joined: 04 Oct 2004
Posts: 202
Location: 'tween the pipes.........
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:50 am Post subject: |
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| Aristotle wrote: |
Nothing ever really changes on Taiwan, just the names.
Good luck!
A. |
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LKJ
Joined: 06 May 2007
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Nothing ever really changes on Taiwan, just the names.
Please read this,
4. Don't use a recruiter or work for chain schools if you can avoid it.
Good luck!
A.
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Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
My opinion is different.
Chain schools � some are better than others. There is an interesting post about Kojen and Hess on this forum which demonstrates this very point. Experience is invaluable. Some chain schools are actually very good. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that an established school/business is inherently bad � but this is flawed logic. I could draw comparisons about other industries (where people are either attracted or repelled by well known and established brands), buy hopefully you get my point. If you are suspicious about chain schools, then so be it. However, I suggest you factor in that chain schools have survived mainly because they have a reputation for honoring employment contracts, treating their staff fairly (by the book) and because they provide a service that is valued by their fee paying clients (students/parents). As business models go, they are the winners on many fronts.
Recruiters � again, some are clearly better than others. There are a number of posts about unscrupulous recruiters/agents and there are a number of posts about good ones. You cannot group all of them into the same category. This very thread suggests that Teach Away is an unknown entity, while others say that Reach To Teach and Dewey have a good reputation. For the good ones, why would anyone complain about a service that found them a good job in their preferred location, saved them time, and cost them no money?
Employ common sense, not luck.
Like I said, everyone is entitled to an opinion.
Hope this helps.
LKJ |
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BigWally
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")
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| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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LKJ...
since you are new around here I'll let you in on a bit of info about Aristotle...he is a long time "anti-ESL in Taiwan" advocate....occasionally he does have some good points/suggestions, but, i suggest you take a look back at his old posts to get a better idea of what he is all about....you'll get the picture quickly, and learn not to waste your time arguing with him... |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
However, I suggest you factor in that chain schools have survived mainly because they have a reputation for honoring employment contracts, treating their staff fairly (by the book) and because they provide a service that is valued by their fee paying clients (students/parents). As business models go, they are the winners on many fronts.
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That couldn't be farther from the truth. Businesses in Taiwan survive because of two things:
Quanxi and the ability to make the most money in the shortest amount of time by any means necessary. The book has nothing to do with it as labor laws are widely ignored by both the Council of Labor Affairs of the ROC and local employers.
Chain schools success on occupied Taiwan has for more to do with cheating teachers and not honoring contracts (also known as labor rights waivers) to make a fast buck.
The vast majority of ESL teachers on Taiwan are nothing more than warm bodies and window dressing, there rights and well being is of no concern to chain school operators.
The worst ESL students on Taiwan come out of Taiwanese chain schools like Kojen and Hess. Do you students a favor and avoid both chain schools and recruiters. |
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LKJ
Joined: 06 May 2007
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Aristotle wrote: |
That couldn't be farther from the truth. Businesses in Taiwan survive because of two things:
Quanxi and the ability to make the most money in the shortest amount of time by any means necessary. The book has nothing to do with it as labor laws are widely ignored by both the Council of Labor Affairs of the ROC and local employers. Chain schools success on occupied Taiwan has for more to do with cheating teachers and not honoring contracts (also known as labor rights waivers) to make a fast buck. |
I know and have known lots of teachers. From my circuit of friends and colleagues I would say that the majority of the chain school teachers have stayed with their school beyond their initial first year contract. Their decision proves that they are happy with their conditions, employer and situation. To claim that chain schools cheat, exploit or fail to honor employment contracts as part of a grand business plan demonstrates a lack of knowledge about this industry. Just look at this forum: there are only a handful of people who post to say that a chain school somewhere is the devil � yet when you consider there must be hundreds of (if not over a thousand) chain school teachers in Taiwan at any one time, then the nay-sayers are clearly being outnumbered on a monumental scale.
There is also perhaps a misconception that everyone working within a particular chain school will have the same experience. Actually, the reality is quite different. Each branch of a school has its set of own characteristics that contribute to the overall energy and vibe. If a certain branch is a particularly fun or dull place to work � it might be worth looking at the teachers and Chinese staff at that particular location for further clues as to why this has developed. Of course, �big company systems� connect these branches into the collective mass � but overall what you experience �here� may be very different to what someone else experienced �there�. Resultantly, there will be both good and bad experiences. However, it appears that the good far outweigh the bad.
| Aristotle wrote: |
| The vast majority of ESL teachers on Taiwan are nothing more than warm bodies and window dressing, there rights and well being is of no concern to chain school operators. |
The truth is that the vast majority of school owners wish the standards of teaching were much higher across the board. There are lots of great teachers here and there are lots of people that self market themselves as teachers although they know very little about the job. The good and average teachers will always be in high and valued demand. Poor teachers generally end up working in low end schools and good teachers (or people that show potential to become good teachers) generally gravitate towards the better schools. If you find or allow yourself to be nothing more than a warm body in the classroom or if your school has no concern for your welfare, then you have chosen your employer poorly. You have nobody to blame but yourself.
| Aristotle wrote: |
| The worst ESL students on Taiwan come out of Taiwanese chain schools like Kojen and Hess. |
Actually, the worst ESL students are the students that don�t care about learning in the first place. They are dotted around every school all over the world. To claim that certain schools actually have a reputation for creating the worst ESL students in Taiwan is a wild and sweeping statement. It only demonstrate a contempt and lack of knowledge about this industry.
| Aristotle wrote: |
| Do you students a favor and avoid both chain schools and recruiters. |
To repeat:
Chain schools � some are better than others. There is an interesting post about Kojen and Hess on this forum which demonstrates this very point. Experience is invaluable. Some chain schools are actually very good. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that an established school/business is inherently bad � but this is flawed logic. I could draw comparisons about other industries (where people are either attracted or repelled by well known and established brands), buy hopefully you get my point. If you are suspicious about chain schools, then so be it. However, I suggest you factor in that chain schools have survived mainly because they have a reputation for honoring employment contracts, treating their staff fairly (by the book) and because they provide a service that is valued by their fee paying clients (students/parents). As business models go, they are the winners on many fronts.
Recruiters � again, some are clearly better than others. There are a number of posts about unscrupulous recruiters/agents and there are a number of posts about good ones. You cannot group all of them into the same category. This very thread suggests that Teach Away is an unknown entity, while others say that Reach To Teach and Dewey have a good reputation. For the good ones, why would anyone complain about a service that found them a good job in their preferred location, saved them time, and cost them no money?
Hope this helps.
LKJ |
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clark.w.griswald
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 2056
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:37 am Post subject: |
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| LKJ wrote: |
| Just look at this forum: there are only a handful of people who post to say that a chain school somewhere is the devil � yet when you consider there must be hundreds of (if not over a thousand) chain school teachers in Taiwan at any one time, then the nay-sayers are clearly being outnumbered on a monumental scale. |
Add to this the content of the posts made by both parties. The posts made by the naysayers are often bitter, repetitive, full of generalizations, lacking in any real information, and ALWAYS unsupported by any further logical discussion. The posts made by those who think that chain schools can offer a good opportunity generally warn that athough not every school in every chain is a good employer, you could certainly do far worse.
This is aside from the fact that it is just not logical to assume that just because School A chooses to operate under a franchise name that it is automatically worse than the school nextdoor that chooses to operate independantly. In fact it could well be argued that School A is a better prospect as they have invested money into their school that perhaps the other school hasn't, and School A is starting off with an established program. The other school is an unknown - which could of course be a blessing or a curse.
Surely those who believe that chain schools as a whole should be avoided should lay out in clear and mature terms why!!
| LKJ wrote: |
| There is also perhaps a misconception that everyone working within a particular chain school will have the same experience. |
Exactly. There is no doubt that there are some schools in some chains that should be avoided. However, if you are going to have problems at a school then it is probably to your benefit that they are part of a chain rather than an indepedant as you then have someone over their head that you can go to. This is no guarantee that your problems will be resolved, but surely you have a better chance of getting something done than a small independant school.
| LKJ wrote: |
| The truth is that the vast majority of school owners wish the standards of teaching were much higher across the board. |
I think that chain schools need to get with the times here though as far as the ceilings that they place on salaries for experienced/qualified teachers. By instituting these ceilings they are not only discouraging otherwise good teachers from signing up, but are also failing to encourage their current loyal and experienced teachers to stay on.
In the past chain schools were the place to go to make big bucks as a good teacher could get as many hours as he or she really wanted. These days with increased competition the numbers of hours available are generally on the decline, but the amount per hour has not risen. As such experienced teachers who reach the pay rate ceiling at a certain chain after a few years working there are inclined to move on. This experience is a loss for those schools in my opinion.
| LKJ wrote: |
| It only demonstrate a contempt and lack of knowledge about this industry. |
This is a fact that Aristotle wears as a badge of honor. |
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Miyazaki
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 635
Location: My Father's Yacht
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| Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:09 am Post subject: |
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| Aristotle wrote: |
That couldn't be farther from the truth. Businesses in Taiwan survive because of two things:
Quanxi and the ability to make the most money in the shortest amount of time by any means necessary. The book has nothing to do with it as labor laws are widely ignored by both the Council of Labor Affairs of the ROC and local employers..
The vast majority of ESL teachers on Taiwan are nothing more than warm bodies and window dressing, there rights and well being is of no concern to chain school operators. |
Agree 100% with both of these statements.
Buxiban industry - whether it's in Korea, Thailand or Taiwan - is pretty F*ck'n greasy buisness.
Not only do they rip off teachers, they put the screws to the customers also.
Nasty. |
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