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[Dalian Veteran]

Actually, I gave that school a balanced review. It had some good characteristics, but it also had some not-so-good characteristics. I also placed it in the context of other private schools in Dalian, and it is really the best option (comparatively speaking) of private language schools in Dalian. The Achilles' heel of the organization is their conservative Chinese city manager and their British human resources manager. In the past, those two individuals and the policies they imposed were the significant causes of morale problems. The American C.E.O. may have placed too much trust in the wrong people. I think he is a reasonable guy to deal with, and very smart when it comes to business in China, but there comes a time when a more corporate culture is needed in continuing the development of an organization. That means, making painful moves of leaving behind those who were with you in the early days but that are now stunting the growth of the organization.

[MyTurnNow]

Hey DV,
needless to say I disagree rather violently with about 99% of what you have written above, but I at least have no doubt that your assessment was meant as sincerely as mine was. We all have different experiences and different perceptions.

Calling one school "the best option for private schools in Dalian" is a bit like saying Dalian's sewage output is the least smelly and repugnant in all sewage produced in Liaoning province.

Regards,
MT

[shenyanggerry]

MyTurnNow, said

[Dalian Veteran]

[MyTurnNow]

DV,
nicely said.
The perceptions DO vary wildly...just about every school, no matter how sleazy, can dredge up someone who will say nice things about it. Few schools manage to offend or rip off [i]everyone/i]...

Unfortunately, IMHO you can probably count the private English schools in China who sincerely care about "building quality teaching" on the fingers of one hand, and still have lots of fingers left. I also don't think many management teams really care much about trying to instill traditional Chinese ways in us...few of them think highly enough of us to feel it's possible or worthwhile.
English schools here, even the foreign-owned ones, hire foreign teachers because that's what the customers want and expect, and are willing to pay a premium tuition price to get. When you dig your way through all the lip service, it all comes down to money.

SYgerry, it's called "a joke". Lighten up. Try a few deep breaths...unless of course you actually are in Shenyang; not a good idea there.

That said, I still found Dalian to be a delightful town to live in, with in general among the worst load of English schools found anywhere. I have or have had friends working in a great many of them, and not a one of them seemed to generate even a minimal level of satisfaction among their teachers. I've been around this block quite a few times now, and let me assure you that you don't have to inform me that there are no perfect jobs. But I have found that some cities do have higher standards/better choices/more desirable average working conditions than others, and few if any cities rank lower in my own collection of perceptions than beautiful Dalian.
As I said earlier, I have a friend working at a school in Dalian called "Talenty", and he speaks well of it, but that one endorsement (along with the esteem in which I hold this particular friend) is all I have to recommend it.
"LEAST smelly and repugnant" is still "smelly and repugnant". Who needs it? There ARE schools out there that, while imperfect, don't reach the low level of "smelly and repugnant"...and they don't seem to be in Dalian.


MT

[NumberOneSon]

At the risk of exposing my true identity , I have also
worked with the same American-managed school in Dalian.

I happen to think DV is pretty much spot on in his assessment
of the school (but a little harsh on the British HR guy who is
much nicer once you get to know him). I think his account is fairly
balanced, but I also think my experiences were a bit more positlve
than average.

I think they do a pretty good job overall and feel quite fortunate
to have gone with them as my first school in China. There are
certainly a lot worse out there!

A good deal of the problem with the school now is that the school has
inadvertently created a culture of complaint by making so many
people feel so powerless to change things. This includes teachers
and managers. The only thing left for them to do is moan and
groan about nearly everything to the point of being ridiculous.

A lot of their problems are seemingly inherent in doing business
on a shoestring in China, while others result from having highly
inbred management. At this point it may be difficult to change
management (especially higher up on the Chinese side), so
those problems are likely to continue.

But some blame also has to fall on the maturity level of some of the
teachers. Some seem to have led fairly sheltered lives and freak
at the sight of a bug, so probably should have done a little
more research (or living!) before coming to China.

Others seem to think they know exactly how to do everything better
(fresh off the plane from wherever), even though they may have had
little or no practical experience in much of anything where they came
from.

To hear some of these guys talk, you would think they were experts
in all aspects of Chinese life, from language, real estate and contract
law, to tattoos, tongue studs, and kung fu (often in the same guy).

It's a bit like walking into your first job at McDonalds and announcing
that YOU know how to make a better hamburger, so refuse to stack
that Mac until they change the recipe.

Everyone knows how to make a better burger than McDonalds, but
that's not everything that McDonalds is about, so you had better
learn how things work before you start "improving" everything.

If you can't do that, then you are just causing trouble and should
start your own business using your own money and beat them
at their own game using your brilliant ideas. If you can.

Altogether I learned a lot from my short stint with those guys in
Dalian. They do have some growing pains, but I don't think they
would be there if they were all bad.

Personally, I don't think there will be a really well-managed
school in China until I start one

[NumberOneSon]

[Dalian Veteran]