Job Discussion Forums

[fortunatekooky]

I'd like to hear more from teachers out there who've had bad experiences with schools in or near Qingdao. I've come across a few references to that sort of thing on Dave's, with some people having done runners in the past. More recently, I have been hearing about problems a few teachers are having up here and thought it might make an informative and entertaining thread. I live in Qingdao at the moment and want to stay informed about/avoid problem schools here.

So if you've got any good dirt/warnings about schools here, feel free to post up.

Here are some things I've heard recently--not all fantastic dirt, but what I have to kick things off:
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First, I heard a story from a credible teacher this month about being asked to fly from south China on short notice to Jinning City in Shandong Province, for Blue Sky School.

He was told they would reimburse his airfare as he was needed pronto (always a bad sign), so he cancelled the train ticket he had for the following week, and flew on short notice.

The advertised welcome dinner was a fly-waving fiesta in apparently the cheapest local dive they could find, alone with a driver who did not speak any English.

At the school, which was in the middle of basically nowhere, he was given a rusty, decades old bicycle, which he was told he would have to ride from nook to cranny to teach/recruit students, I guess in winter he would too, if he had stayed. Housing was shared, with space for three others.

Definitely not a great outfit for a new teacher.
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Dirt #2: I've also recently talked to a teacher in Qingdao who was unhappy with the deal he was getting here with Zhong Hao School in Zhonglian Plaza (which also goes by another name now, something to do with Canada, I can ask the guy when I run into him again).

He was not told he would have to commute to a second location for kindergarten classes, which I guess is typical if you don't have the class location specified in your contract. But even worse/more importantly, the renewal of his Z visa has been snagged up because (he is told) the school apparently messed up their own renewal of their license/ability to sponsor visas. He is being told by the school to get an L visa for now and work (illegally) awhile until they sort out their ability to get the Z at a later time. They also paid him late his first month, while other teachers were paid on time. Sounds less than ideal; as they say, the devil is in the details.
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Also hear from several teachers/students that a teacher got beat up at WEB International in Qingdao this Spring. It was one of their Chinese tutors, someone who had been employed there several years, and had just taken the director position for the teaching department. Apparently she was roughed up by a "VIP" student in the morning, following an argument in the teachers office, before any foreign teachers had reported to work for the day.

The teachers were then told by the school that the girl was gone for a family reason, and eventually a new director was appointed. The foreign teachers starting learning the truth a month or more later from students at the school who were there the morning of the assault.

Despite having cameras all over that school, and including the teacher's office, the school did not/would not back her up when the police arrived, so no charges were filed. As far as I know, she never returned to the job, probably feeling shamed and humiliated.

I've met several people who've worked around WEB the last year and they all expressed some level of dissatisfaction with the place. Apparently, they have a high turnover of teachers there. They also paid late at least one month this year. I've also heard about a female foreign teacher that was fired by WEB a few years back after she did not take interest in the advances of a male employee. That comes from a good, longtime teacher here that knew her, so I don't doubt it at all.

Perhaps worst/funniest of all, they also were apparently using a foreigner's identity to import cars. The teacher found out when the cops showed up at his door one night saying his car was involved in an accident.

Any other dirt on Qingdao schools out there??

[Non Sequitur]

QD is thought to pay less than other cities because of the perceived beauty and location of the place.
Be that as it may, I taught two semesters there and was well treated. There will always be those 'Welcome to China' moments but that's China-wide not particularly QD.
The expat scene is active but mainly aimed at expat business people.
PM me if you have specific questions.

[Opiate]

I interviewed with the ZhongHao school you mentioned. The school looks great from the outside, it is clean and new and has nice facilities. The overall impression I was given though is that they churn through FT's. The scheduling was erratic with split shifts being the norm. The woman who interviewed me (forget her name) was a fast talking barracuda. Their demands are high and their pay is not. Gave them a pass.

As for WEB....they want 20 teaching hours but you must remain at the school all day for roughly 40ish hours a week. They want 40 hours of your time but want to pay for 20 and not even a well paid 20 hours. The school has a pretty good rep among Chinese but I gave it a pass.

Success is a big one in this city. They hire anyone part time, including non native speakers with accents so thick you may not be sure they are speaking English. They do have a few full timers but it is not the norm. Visit them if you wish to supplement your income but as a full time gig....pass.

EDIT: ZhongHao is known as Mounty English or something like that.