Job Discussion Forums

[dc855]

Hi!
I am new to this forum, so no hazing, please. haha....

...um, anyway...
I have read good and bad things about the school mentioned in the subject heading. When I asked about it in another forum, all I got was "Dont teach there!" but no specific reasons!

I haven't really read anything specific here, either. Would anyone with experience with this school maybe give a few specific reasons why it was bad?

Thanks for sharing!

oh, ps: where is this notorious forum entitled: Warning: esl company in shanghai, which is apparently, about this school?

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Details sent by e-mail. Previous school post deleted by mod.

Middy

[mr_incognito]

hey dc,

it is too bad you joined this site now. well not really, but you sure did miss a good set of postings about this company. it really is sad that it was deleted by the mod because it wasn't really a bad post. just to let you know, i feel that Midlothian Mapleheart is someone working in the office at that company so I wouldn't consider what they have to say as great evidence about how this company is. also, you probably won't get much feedback about this company as when I found a job with them last year nobody knew new anything about them or could give me many comments about the kind of company they are. so i signed, taught, and was relieved to finally finish my contract and move on. i'm not sure as to your reasons for choosing to work with them, perhaps you should let that be known and then someone can answer let you know if your choice is good or not.

mr incognito.

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

No MI, I don't work in the office, I'm a teacher. I've identified myself quite clearly on this forum and try to give a balanced perspective of work with this company. Mr. Incognito, why don't you pm both the OP and me and let us know about the specific problems you had with this company. Your post is totally vague. Why would he/she want to work there? Probably for the same reason as the rest of us. We need the money. At least this company pays in full and on time.

BTW, this is the second request I've made of former FTs with this company to forward info about their experiences. You may remain anonymous. I try to provide prospective teachers with info about the job requirements and conditions by e-mail, and I am trying to present an accurate picture. The thing is, I work in a different program, so I need more input from as many FTs in the primary program as possible.

At the office meetings, I just heard a lot of whining about things that were, IMHO, pretty minor. Most of it came from teachers who were shocked to find out that teaching in China is a different ball game than teaching back home, and mostly from inexperienced teachers who were unable to control their classes. Yes, you should have done your research, but why didn't you? If you don't do your homework or prep, you fail the course. It's as simple as that. Next term, I hope to see teachers who are better prepared for the experience and who won't turn the working environment into a confrontational, toxic gripe-fest with the over-worked office staff.

So far, I haven't received anything from alanb either, and his warnings were also non-informative. Please get off your rump and give us some facts!

Middy

[mr_incognito]

I think you need to calm down a little Middy, or Ken, however you want sign your name. How long have you worked for pacican may i ask and what is this different program you speak of? Don't ask me why other teachers don't post anything about this company, maybe it's because they are so glad to have finished their contracts and now be able to move on to better companies. As far as it goes, I'm not trying to tell people not to work for them, I just tell them to make sure they've looked around before settling with pacican. Sure they offer decent money, and if you want to save money, your best be is to go to Korea or Taiwan. There are however other schools and companies that offer the same, if not much more money than pacican, so don't tell me its merely for the money. I was asking dc what his reasons for choosing pacican was because maybe it was the same as when I chose them. I tried to do research about them and no one heard of them or no one was hear to answer. So I took my chances and signed.

So you heard lots of whining from inexperienced teachers. I myself have many years experience and so has many other teachers with them. So don't say it was inexperience because do you even know all the teachers previous experience prior to working there?

Everyone that worked there tried their best to do what they can with whatever garbage they were given. An established program they claim but that is bs. There was obviously no flow as you jump from food to transportation all they back to food later on. Great thing they know about theme teaching. Oh, Canadian English too, I don't recall calling an eraser a rubber or saying I go to school on foot. I think those lessons are just cut and pasted from somewhere, possibly even used from the books the students use in their everyday English class. And one more thing, it's amazing that some were given grade 1 lesson plans to teach grade 2's. If a grade 2 doesn't know how to introduce themselves and what a car is and so on, they shouldn't be in grade 2 English class. The company should stick to just teaching grade 1's or do much more research on the levels of students past grade 1 so they can actually offer something useful for the students. Afterall, these English classes are for students that can't usually afford to take classes, but yet they still pay 400 RMB a month and maybe even more. Most people's average salary in china is quite low so that isn't cheap. And then again, they can't afford to help a few teachers out with computers if they have troubles getting to one, as they laugh to the bank cleaning up money. Most teachers had well over 80 students, so I think the math can easily be done at how much this company is clearing. And don't tell me that isn't how much students pay because I've talked to some parents of my students and they voluntarily told me.

To end this little bickering to which I will be the bigger person and move on because fighting for this is just stupid and time wasting. I can't speak from alanb and nor will I try to get info from him. That is his own business. Once again, I'm not trying to tell teachers not to go there. I'm merely telling them to look around and not settle with the first company that approaches. Also, watch your contract carefully, as the first ever contract they sent the teachers looked nice, and then they re-sent a final one with clauses changed and removed. Once again, don't deny that fact because we all know and we aren't dumb, we researched lots. So make sure you protect yourself on the contract as there's is very vague and pigeonhole's you if you don't meet their liking in the end. Good luck to those who decide to go with this company, I hope they have changed and the experiences will be much better than the teachers of the past 2 years.

mr. incognito

[Midlothian Mapleheart]

Thanks for the input MI, now at least I understand your concerns. I'm not in the least excited, and since you know who I am you should know I'm pretty laid back. I work in the teacher-training program, which is quite different from the primary program. This is my 5th term with this company, my 4th year in China, and my 14th year teaching. Yes, I do know about all the teachers' backgrounds and experience, and not all of them were green. My intention is neither to defend nor attack, but to just help improve things for the teachers, the students, and the company. This is a discussion forum, not an argument forum.

I note your concerns regarding inappropriate teaching materials, inconsistent themes, and mixed use of British and Canadian vocabulary. I also note that lack of access to computers is a concern. I do advise all teachers to read their final contracts extremely carefully before signing. The company does make a lot of money, and I don't dispute the figures you gave, but comparatively that's not very expensive. Of course, EFL is a big business in China and elsewhere, and all businesses want profit. Class size is generally capped at 28, but last term we took over some classes from missionaries. These classes had 40 students, which made things difficult for our teachers.

I think that, in the classroom, almost all the teachers did a wonderful job, and that was reflected in the exam scores and school reports. Some of the attitude during meetings was, IMO, a bit disturbing, but most teachers offered good advice and tried to make the best of things.

Again, I thank you for your information, and I'll be sure to pass it along to any teachers considering work with this company and to the program development staff. Best regards MI; I hope that you have found a nice position and that work with BSK provided a beneficial transition to other work in China.

Middy