Job Discussion Forums

[amandapanda]

Does anyone have the lowdown on Carden in Beijing? It seems like they materialized out of thin air. I don't see anything on them review-wise on the Cafe or the internet. Any experiences or information you have gleaned about them while inn Beijing would be awesome. Thanks!

[jdodson1229]

I worked for Carden China from 2016-2017 as an English Teacher.

Pros
-Minimal working hours
-Fun students
-Living in China
-Experiencing a different culture
-Meeting some amazing people
-Decent pay
-One month vacation for Spring Festival


Cons
-Low Teacher Retention
-False Advertising- Many teachers are left in the dark even when their own words are being used. The administrators have created a work environment that makes teachers only look out for themselves, even when a colleague is in need.
-Inadequate Administration-Both American directors have never worked in director positions, and make that very clear with every interaction. In the past, the position of the director has been to protect the best interests of the foreign teachers, unfortunately, this is not true anymore.
-Pass-the-buck Mentality-Every staff member does their very best to not have to deal with teachers. They will pass off their own work to someone else, meaning teachers have to communicate with multiple staff members, including those who do not speak English.
-Focus on business, NOT education- The company is more concerned with making money and making the parents happy than what is best for the students and teachers in the classroom.
-Unresponsive Management Team-There have been unanswered messages and messages that have not been replied to for over 24 hours.
-Lack of Training- Training was minimal and not focused on what it actually means to be in the classroom. Every staff meeting through the whole school year included constant questions on what we, the staff, were teaching and what the goal is for the end of the year.
-Extra Work- Some teachers have been given a weekend middle school class that included working every holiday. Without a Carden middle school director, these teachers have had no one to turn to with issues and questions. The Carden Academic Director, has provided little to no guidance regarding the weekend middle school class, leaving the teachers to fend for themselves and not be correctly compensated for these classes.

Overall, living in China is a wonderful experience. Working for Carden China is not.