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phdinfunk
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69
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 Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:41 pm Post subject: thanks for this info |
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I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL...
Anyway, after reading some of the reviews of Hess agencies, I'm going to move them to the bottom of my short list for now and consider my offers in Japan and elsewhere. I mean, I'll still check out the details and such, but I really want to make sure I find a good fit, as I'm looking to stay with a company for a little while and I know I'm a good teaching "asset" to the company I end up with.
Anyhoo, thanks again for your posts, they give me really good information. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:37 am Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| phdinfunk wrote: |
| I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... |
That's all well and good.
| Quote: |
| I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. |
Wow, you really haven't been back in a while, have you? I don't know what the EFL market here was like in 1985, but guess what, we're not all "24 year old stoners (sic) on the sex tour of Asia" now. Are you even sure you have lived in Taiwan? Are you sure you aren't thinking of Thailand?
| Quote: |
| I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL... |
Seriously, have you EVER lived in Taiwan? Do you know what the legal penalties are here for importing weed or toking up? I'm betting that less than 5% of English teachers have toked up within Taiwanese borders. Being caught with weed here would result in deportation at the very least, and incarceration and fines at the worst.
Way to generalize and talk smack about teachers that you don't even know... |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| phdinfunk wrote: |
I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL...
Anyway, after reading some of the reviews of Hess agencies, I'm going to move them to the bottom of my short list for now and consider my offers in Japan and elsewhere. I mean, I'll still check out the details and such, but I really want to make sure I find a good fit, as I'm looking to stay with a company for a little while and I know I'm a good teaching "asset" to the company I end up with.
Anyhoo, thanks again for your posts, they give me really good information. |
I have to agree with Rooster. The current generation of English teachers is anything but druggies. I have met a lot of teachers that are 20 years younger than me, and they are a bright lot, and take their jobs very seriously. Even back in 1990, I don't recall bumping into druggies or addicts in Taiwan; well, there were a couple of fellas that did smoke hash, but only on their own time. People like to party and still do, but they do responsibly; at least with the young folks I have met here, anyway. I didn't see or hear about people doing drugs and teaching in Thailand, China, Japan or S. Korea either. I think those kinds of people that you mentioned would not last long on the job anyway, and most school authorities are privy to that kind of behaviour and won't put up with it, because there are a lot of professional and certified teachers in the market competing for the meager jobs as well. I think that a lot of young teachers would take offense to your stereotyping. No offense intend from me for having said that, though. Nevertheless, to be honest with you, maybe I am blind to it myself. I really don't know, but I wouldn't use a broad brush. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:14 am Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| zipper wrote: |
| phdinfunk wrote: |
I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL...
Anyway, after reading some of the reviews of Hess agencies, I'm going to move them to the bottom of my short list for now and consider my offers in Japan and elsewhere. I mean, I'll still check out the details and such, but I really want to make sure I find a good fit, as I'm looking to stay with a company for a little while and I know I'm a good teaching "asset" to the company I end up with.
Anyhoo, thanks again for your posts, they give me really good information. |
I have to agree with Rooster. The current generation of English teachers is anything but druggies. I have met a lot of teachers that are 20 years younger than me, and they are a bright lot, and take their jobs very seriously. Even back in 1990, I don't recall bumping into druggies or addicts in Taiwan; well, there were a couple of fellas that did smoke hash, but only on their own time. People like to party and still do, but they do responsibly; at least with the young folks I have met here, anyway. I didn't see or hear about people doing drugs and teaching in Thailand, China, Japan or S. Korea either. I think those kinds of people that you mentioned would not last long on the job anyway, and most school authorities are privy to that kind of behaviour and won't put up with it, because there are a lot of professional and certified teachers in the market competing for the meager jobs as well. I think that a lot of young teachers would take offense to your stereotyping. No offense intend from me for having said that, though. Nevertheless, to be honest with you, maybe I am blind to it myself. I really don't know, but I wouldn't use a broad brush. |
Thanks, zipper.
The truth is that in many areas of life (be it English teaching, computer programming, nursing, garbage collection, or anything else):
He who believes himself more qualified than the other people in that sector without having worked in the sector recently is the first to be humbled.
I came to Taiwan thinking "I don't do drugs, I have some part-time, under-the-table experience teaching English in Korea, CELTA, and I have learned a language before, and I speak a bit of Chinese. I'm God's gift to EFL."
I was humbled.
You see, here, speaking some Chinese is the norm, having a TEFL certificate is the norm, having experience IN TAIWAN is the norm, and drug use -- forget it. There may be a few drug users in Taiwan, but they are very, very discreet about it and don't talk about it or go into work stoned, or they get fired.
There are other countries in Asia where they will hire weirdos and frat boys readily, where "anything goes." "We just need a DWM (dumb white monkey)." However, if you think Taiwan is one of them, you're in for "a little surprise." |
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phdinfunk
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| phdinfunk wrote: |
| I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... |
That's all well and good.
| Quote: |
| I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. |
Wow, you really haven't been back in a while, have you? I don't know what the EFL market here was like in 1985, but guess what, we're not all "24 year old stoners (sic) on the sex tour of Asia" now. Are you even sure you have lived in Taiwan? Are you sure you aren't thinking of Thailand?
| Quote: |
| I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL... |
Seriously, have you EVER lived in Taiwan? Do you know what the legal penalties are here for importing weed or toking up? I'm betting that less than 5% of English teachers have toked up within Taiwanese borders. Being caught with weed here would result in deportation at the very least, and incarceration and fines at the worst.
Way to generalize and talk smack about teachers that you don't even know... |
I was there until december of 2009. I know that's not everyone. But my experiences definitely showed me if you drug tested all the teachers and had a mandatory firing policy for drug users, a huge number would be gone.
And maybe you're not all 24, but between 23-27 I ran into a hell of a lot of sexpats.
Granted, I can only speak from my experiences... perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle, but I did meet and hang out with plenty of expats.
At my training, and the training of several other people I knew at different companies, the number one concern among new hires was "OMG, are we going to be drug tested?!?!"
Now I would believe that things may have changed a lot in the last 6-8 MONTHS due to the economy pushing more qualified professional teachers to Taiwan. |
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phdinfunk
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 6:12 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| zipper wrote: |
| phdinfunk wrote: |
I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL...
Anyway, after reading some of the reviews of Hess agencies, I'm going to move them to the bottom of my short list for now and consider my offers in Japan and elsewhere. I mean, I'll still check out the details and such, but I really want to make sure I find a good fit, as I'm looking to stay with a company for a little while and I know I'm a good teaching "asset" to the company I end up with.
Anyhoo, thanks again for your posts, they give me really good information. |
I have to agree with Rooster. The current generation of English teachers is anything but druggies. I have met a lot of teachers that are 20 years younger than me, and they are a bright lot, and take their jobs very seriously. Even back in 1990, I don't recall bumping into druggies or addicts in Taiwan; well, there were a couple of fellas that did smoke hash, but only on their own time. People like to party and still do, but they do responsibly; at least with the young folks I have met here, anyway. I didn't see or hear about people doing drugs and teaching in Thailand, China, Japan or S. Korea either. I think those kinds of people that you mentioned would not last long on the job anyway, and most school authorities are privy to that kind of behaviour and won't put up with it, because there are a lot of professional and certified teachers in the market competing for the meager jobs as well. I think that a lot of young teachers would take offense to your stereotyping. No offense intend from me for having said that, though. Nevertheless, to be honest with you, maybe I am blind to it myself. I really don't know, but I wouldn't use a broad brush. |
Thanks, zipper.
The truth is that in many areas of life (be it English teaching, computer programming, nursing, garbage collection, or anything else):
He who believes himself more qualified than the other people in that sector without having worked in the sector recently is the first to be humbled.
I came to Taiwan thinking "I don't do drugs, I have some part-time, under-the-table experience teaching English in Korea, CELTA, and I have learned a language before, and I speak a bit of Chinese. I'm God's gift to EFL."
I was humbled.
You see, here, speaking some Chinese is the norm, having a TEFL certificate is the norm, having experience IN TAIWAN is the norm, and drug use -- forget it. There may be a few drug users in Taiwan, but they are very, very discreet about it and don't talk about it or go into work stoned, or they get fired.
There are other countries in Asia where they will hire weirdos and frat boys readily, where "anything goes." "We just need a DWM (dumb white monkey)." However, if you think Taiwan is one of them, you're in for "a little surprise." |
My experience disagrees with this entirely. I found that the fact that I cared about students at all separated me from about half of the teachers I ran into in Taiwan.
Now, among the half that cared about students, plenty I knew smoked marijuana as well. And also among that half, plenty were working in some rather sweatshop like teaching conditions (Taiwanese kindy at various places) and were becoming rapidly disillusioned and ceasing to care as much about what they were doing.
Now, whether the Taiwanese bosses had the faintest clue about any of this or cared is definitely up for grabs. From what I saw, and the main way I ended up winning most points with the boss was simply being popular with the students. If you have the art of popularity with kids, and can lead them like the pied piper to another school if you leave, you are absolutely solid so far as the local managers go.
And yes, most marijuana users tend to keep it on the down low. This is true everywhere. However, the rampancy of use of that drug, at parties involving teachers with a very wide range of experiences and from a very wide range of schools, was on par with what I saw back at the community college I went to.
Actually, some of the comments above make me wonder if you guys have ever socialized with expats in Taiwan. But it merely goes to show that there are a wide variety of people there... but from what I've seen there are tons of dope smokers and people who generally could care less about the students.
Actually, the sexpat issue is rampant enough that in my first few meetings with the owner of my school (a Taiwanese woman), she was making dirty comments about the Taiwanese girlfriends I'd have there. I kept my replies professional and one day she got real serious and said, "are you kidding? I didn't think men ever came here for other reasons." And plenty of Western women complain about their lonliness, etc, etc, etc...
Isn't this all basically noncontroversial? I can't even believe I'm arguing these points with people because they're so well-known by anyone who's recently been in Taiwan. |
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zipper
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| phdinfunk wrote: |
My experience disagrees with this entirely. I found that the fact that I cared about students at all separated me from about half of the teachers I ran into in Taiwan.
Now, among the half that cared about students, plenty I knew smoked marijuana as well. And also among that half, plenty were working in some rather sweatshop like teaching conditions (Taiwanese kindy at various places) and were becoming rapidly disillusioned and ceasing to care as much about what they were doing.
Now, whether the Taiwanese bosses had the faintest clue about any of this or cared is definitely up for grabs. From what I saw, and the main way I ended up winning most points with the boss was simply being popular with the students. If you have the art of popularity with kids, and can lead them like the pied piper to another school if you leave, you are absolutely solid so far as the local managers go.
And yes, most marijuana users tend to keep it on the down low. This is true everywhere. However, the rampancy of use of that drug, at parties involving teachers with a very wide range of experiences and from a very wide range of schools, was on par with what I saw back at the community college I went to.
Actually, some of the comments above make me wonder if you guys have ever socialized with expats in Taiwan. But it merely goes to show that there are a wide variety of people there... but from what I've seen there are tons of dope smokers and people who generally could care less about the students.
Actually, the sexpat issue is rampant enough that in my first few meetings with the owner of my school (a Taiwanese woman), she was making dirty comments about the Taiwanese girlfriends I'd have there. I kept my replies professional and one day she got real serious and said, "are you kidding? I didn't think men ever came here for other reasons." And plenty of Western women complain about their lonliness, etc, etc, etc...
Isn't this all basically noncontroversial? I can't even believe I'm arguing these points with people because they're so well-known by anyone who's recently been in Taiwan. |
Just curious though, what is there to gain by posting such derogatory statements about English teachers in Taiwan on a teachers� public message board? I agree with you on a lot of your points. But I just don�t understand why you feel the need to inform the whole world of your derogatory opinion that a lot of foreign English teachers in Taiwan smoke dope. I am much older, and none of the teachers that I met here recently have ever lead on that they smoke pot. I mentioned in my previous post that I met a teacher that did back in 1990, but not recently. I would think that people wouldn�t be stupid enough to ever grow, use or purchase it in Taiwan. I am not refuting your points and experiences, though; I am only questioning your motive. Aren't you just feeding readers the stereotype image that foreign teachers are sex tourists and dope smokers that travel to Asia to exploit Asian women and get high? Come on, man! Is it just to inform? I can't drink this cool-aid. I really hope that Taiwanese officials and school heads don�t read this, and make judgments that most young teachers smoke dope! And you�re right about some teachers here not interacting too much with other expats. I only go out and drink every now and then with 3 others. Still, none of them smoke dope. Just my two cents worth. |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Notice: Don't feed the troll. |
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123Loto
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 160
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| Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| I agree. |
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Shimokitazawa
Joined: 16 Aug 2009
Posts: 458
Location: Saigon, Vietnam
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| Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:28 am Post subject: |
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| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
| Notice: Don't feed the troll. |
He's not a troll. I went back and read some of his previous posts and they don't show that he's trolling.
The reality is that EFL teaching in Asia is very attractive to pedophiles, young people travelling and partying before they go back home to start a career, and male teachers who like to R&R in places like Pattaya and Angeles. A lot of EFL teachers smoke dope in Taiwan and Korea. Some who got caught are even still in jail in these countries. |
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phdinfunk
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 69
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| Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| zipper wrote: |
Just curious though, what is there to gain by posting such derogatory statements about English teachers in Taiwan on a teachers� public message board? I agree with you on a lot of your points. But I just don�t understand why you feel the need to inform the whole world of your derogatory opinion that a lot of foreign English teachers in Taiwan smoke dope. I am much older, and none of the teachers that I met here recently have ever lead on that they smoke pot. I mentioned in my previous post that I met a teacher that did back in 1990, but not recently. I would think that people wouldn�t be stupid enough to ever grow, use or purchase it in Taiwan. I am not refuting your points and experiences, though; I am only questioning your motive. Aren't you just feeding readers the stereotype image that foreign teachers are sex tourists and dope smokers that travel to Asia to exploit Asian women and get high? Come on, man! Is it just to inform? I can't drink this cool-aid. I really hope that Taiwanese officials and school heads don�t read this, and make judgments that most young teachers smoke dope! And you�re right about some teachers here not interacting too much with other expats. I only go out and drink every now and then with 3 others. Still, none of them smoke dope. Just my two cents worth. |
You know what, that's a fair question. My first post on this thread reads as follows: "I've been considering taking a Hess contract. I have offers on the table in a few different countries, however, I'd love to move back to Taiwan. I am a good teacher, a little older than some, stable, have a good social network in Taiwan, etc... I think I stand out from the masses in Taiwan by the fact that I'm not some 24 year old stoner on the sex tour of Asia. I mean, if they drug tested at all the major chain schools, and fired all the kids that popped positive for dope, how much of a problem would we continue to have with a "saturated market"? LOL..."
I didn't expect my comments about things that I found relatively common in Taiwan (Sexpats, Dope, and kids who weren't really good teachers) to spark such controversy. And actually, I kind of wish the schools would wise up to some of this because I think it would de-saturate the market to an extent.
I think mandatory drug testing and firing of teachers who tested positive for Marijuana would open a bunch of new jobs for responsible teachers. I also think the job asks for more careful interviewing beyond looking for someone who can teach 15 minutes of a lesson in front of some small kids and keep them entertained (I found all those interview tasks painfully easy as the kids will often hush up and be enthralled by the new teacher anyways).
Personally I would thrive in a more professional Taiwanese working environment. I would have personally loved it if my boss wasn't making sexual comments about all the Taiwanese girlfriends we all had or she thought we should have. I would have also loved it if academic progress indicators had been weighed at least for some portion of the evaluation of my work, for instance, all the students I had taken from the instructors before me who were waaaaaay behind that I drilled extra hard and helped them catch up at least to a minimum standard of English.
So yea, what was meant to be a short comment between lodge buddies who had dealt with a little of the B.S. involved in teaching in Taiwan turned into more than I anticipated. But hey, a lot of people get one or two (or three or four) threads where it might look like they're fussing or trolling, but I guess if you teach in Taiwan for awhile (I was there for 17 months), there'll probably be some legitimate experiences that you want to mention that look like complaints.
Actually, all that said I love teaching in Taiwan. The kids are great, the food is wonderful, and it always felt like an adventure living in my small town. Also I just love teaching. Right now I'm about to start working with the Archdioses back here in my home city in the U.S.A. to teach refugees from Haiti. It's volunteer work but I'm pretty excited!
My nine cents,
--Jiao |
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Rooster_2006
Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984
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| Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:04 pm Post subject: Re: thanks for this info |
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| phdinfunk wrote: |
| Right now I'm about to start working with the Archdioses |
...and you're generalizing 20-somethings, smearing them for being sexpats and pedophiles?
Ummm...
Glass houses...
Stones... |
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