Job Discussion Forums

[snooffy]

Sino Bright is a pleasant place to work. It�s a new school that will see its first graduating class this year. Most of this class has been conditionally accepted to Canadian colleges and universities, and will be successful in their future programs.

From the perspective of students, Sino Bright can be a good place. The school is small so it has the advantages and disadvantages of a small school. For example, students have limited options in their program. The program offered is mainly academic. Most students are successful, and seem to enjoy their time at Sino Bright School

A variety of students are recruited. Many have a lower level of English. There are programs in place to improve their English ability, and some students improve remarkable in the time before graduation. On the other hand, others do not, and experience little success and have few options once the support mechanisms offered by the school are exhausted. This is a source of frustration to teachers.

Administration has been consistently professional and supportive. They lack the authority that they would in BC. Issues are difficult to resolve considering the power sharing of the public school, the owners, and administration. Even replacing ink cartridges for the photocopy machine has been a challenge.

In my opinion, teachers and administration have maintained a high quality school. Sino Bright is a rewarding place to work. The turnover rate in teachers has been high though. Not all the teaching loads are manageable. Not all the contracts are equitable. And complaints have been made about unfulfilled promises by the employer. From a prospective teachers perspective, one should exercise due diligence before entering a contract there.

[Shan-Shan]

I, too, work for Sino Bright and have nothing but praise and good wishes towards the continued success of the school.

The students of Sino Bright are top notch, world class, a slice of heaven, the best of the best of the best, hard working, intelligent, inquistive about The West and its various breads, charming, accepting of my idiosyncrasies, honest, the best of the best of the best of the best.

The administration is pretty good considering all the horror stories I've read. My contract was printed using an HP LaserJet 1320 on high quality Epson S041586 Premium White Paper (none of that flimsy Made in North Korea stationary at Sino). There's also free toilet paper in the bathrooms and lighting in every classroom. Only the best is reserved for Sino Bright's foreign teacher staff.

There have been a few mistakes in interpreting my contract, but the fault 99.999% of the time has been with me and my bad habit for having an objective understanding of the meaning of words and phrases. Also, this is China: contracts here are fluid, merely a suggestion as to how a school could, if it liked, treat its staff. Being guests of the country, we have to compromise, and be accepting of how our boss can treat us however they like regardless of prior agreements. With the world and future being China's, my contract interpretation snags at Sino have in essence offered me a head start, better preparing me for future employment negotiations and experiences around the world. Thanks Sino Bright!

So good luck to all of those busy e-mailing their resumes to SB (that's the name we foreign teachers at the school call Sino Bright ). If you are fortunate enough to be offered a non-paying training position, make sure to first ask the boss where his parents are buried: this will help in figuring out which direction to face when you weep tears of thanks and gratitude for this once in a lifetime opportunity to work with a world class English teaching outfit.

Zaijian!

[snooffy]

Nice piece of prose from Shan Shan. I don�t think he really works there, but that was an amazing description; right down to the Korean stationary.

The advantages of being employed at SB have been the central location, manageable work loads, good holidays, and the pay checks come on time. There is some flexibility in where you live and the currency you are paid in. But be careful, one location is central, the other is not. Some workloads are fine, but some classes have a three way grade split. That�s more than three times the work if you try to do it right. Some teaching schedules have included time on Sundays. It would be great if you could get your teaching assignment written on the contract.

If you are teaching humanities, you should be aware that there is a lack of resources. There is some support for weaker students, but really, everyone is weak considering that this regular a Canadian High School program with 95% esl students.

In the past, some pay raises have depended of teacher certification. Certification seems to be unpredictable. It may take a month, or a year, or never. One teacher I spoke to received certification, but only got his pay raise at the beginning of the next school year. Another non certified teacher never received promised raises.

There seems to be no standard contract or even pay scale. Negotiate everything.

[7969]

[snooffy]

English is the most difficult subject for students in offshore schools. A 75% in English 12 is a high score. But they are hard working, and do have other strengths. Many will enter colleges, and some will go directly to universities. Most will be successful, but probably not in the usual number of years. I don�t think it unusual for these students to graduate from university in more than 5 years.
Students improve their English ability a lot in 3 years. They face some government exams in grad 10 and 11. This is a huge challenge for them. By the time they are in grade 12, Their English ability is less of an issue. But English lit. and Social Studies is still really hard.
Many universities try hard to recruit foreign students, and try to give them the support they need to succeed. Colleges do a better job of this in Canada. And colleges have good transfer programs to universities.
Hope that clarifies.

[snooffy]

Dont work at Sino Bright if you need a tax reciept. You will never get one.
If you are a resident of a country other than china, and you need a tax recipt for taxes that will be deducted from your taxes at home, you need a tax recipt. You wont get one at Sino Bright. Taxes will be deducted from your paycheck, but its unlikely that it goes to the Chinese tax bureau.
Expecially if you are a resident of your home country, you real pay is the salary they offer MINUS TAX, because you will have to pay it later.

[teac23]

They do not give the required documents by the end of contract, without these working for another employer in China is not possible, you must leave the country.