Job Discussion Forums

[ashajade]

Hi There,

Has anyone taught in Xingtai city, Hebei province? I am after information about the city/people etc., as Google hasn't come up with any useful information on the city.

I have been offered a job by the 'Promising International Education Group' to teach in Xingtai city. I believe this group is a recruitment agency based in Montreal, Canada. Has anyone heard of or dealt with this organization? The director's name is Jingyi Zhang or Vincent Zhang.

The school is called Xingtai No1 Senior Middle School. The contract looks exactly like what I am after, just not sure about the school's reputation or the agency's.


Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Cheers,
Asha

[julmado]

We visited this village.
Mud and dust line the streets, and the biggest shop is a joke. You'd better like Chinese food!
The apartment offered is in a building (which was still under construction when we visited) close to the school. The building was in function, but lift wasn't installed yet and the place was a battlefield.
The school itself is quite big. There we met the principal and another representative. Our dislike for them was instantaneous. They are of the typical smug, self-inflated Chinese midle class.
They don't speak English, so your communication with your employers will be at the mercy of a partial translator.
About the schedule: completely ridiculous.
The scheduled classes take place from 7:30a.m.-9:30p.m!!!
In conclusion: the city is, in fact, a village and the teaching timetable is improper for education.
We have met Vincent briefly, and he seems reliable (but doesn't everyone seem reliable at first?)
We hope this information is useful to you.

[NateM]

Vincent Zhang was the guy I talked to when I came to China. In general, he didn't seem like he was trying to rip me off, and thus far I've been fairly happy with the school I landed at. However, I'm not entirely convinced that has much to do with any special set of standards Mr. Zhang applies when looking at schools he's going to deal with. It may well have been random chance. Still, it seemed to me that he was at least a step up from the Alin Buers and Yakups of the ESL world.

[NateM]

One thing I should add, though, was that when I contacted him Mr. Zhang was with a group called AIEF and/or uscampus.com, not PIEG.