Job Discussion Forums

[joey2001]

Be careful if you want to work for this school (Capital Language School, Zhongshan, Guangdong Province)! They (especially co-owner Damon) are known even among the students as being extremely tight-fisted, and constantly try to squeeze every penny out of teachers, staff and students. If you consider working for them, don't EVER let them talk you into working for 100�/hour or even less. They'll try to tell you that all the foreign teachers here get paid that little. Don't buy it! If they offer less than 150, just find another school. From reading a contract with a company, I know that they charge students at least 280�/hour, while only paying the foreign teachers a maximum of 100. In one case, a teacher from the Philippines got as little as 10� (!!!). She later bargained that up to 21�. That's just a fraction of what a Chinese teacher makes, and for a foreign teacher!! No matter what people might tell you, no foreign teacher here in Zhongshan works for less than 150� anymore. So don't let them tell you otherwise or you will regret it!

[Steppenwolf]

I am not entirely convinced that every FT in Zhongshan makes above 100 kuai an hour.
And I can't see anything criminal in a training centre owner being "tight-fisted".
They have to make money too - not just those travelling foreign "teachers". They have to meet overheads, pay taxes and look foot the bills for utilities, visa costs, advertising and whatnot.

[vikdk]

I wholeheartedly agree with Steppenwolf - our purpose in China is to help our masters to pay their bills and become rich - I for one would love to support a school that pays phillipino teachers 21RMB/hour - and I'm sure Steppenwolf will join me in this just cause

[eslstudies]

[joey2001]

280Y an hour? Each? I find this difficult to believe, with no offence to Joey.

And personally, I wouldn't poo in a school letterbox for 100Y. But Roger's right. Those poor school owners, dedicated to improving the English language skills of their countrymen, let alone all those "whatnots" they have to pay![/quote]

I never said they were "criminals", but IMHO running a school this way is nothing short of exploitation. And when even the students, who are supposed to be their customers, complain about it, that's where I'd draw the line. And I'm talking about the school's owner telling the students not to use the plastic cups to drink water before class (I assume they are allowed to get a free drink, but are supposed to bring their own cups), classes cancelled without refunding the tuition fees, switching teachers at random during a course without notifying either students or teachers, and giving no reason whatsoever, etc. etc. etc. In the case of that Philippine teacher I mentioned, the school still charges the students the "foreign teacher" fee, while paying the teacher a lousy 21Y. Being "non-white", she is apparently not entitled to get paid even the minimum pay a Chinese teacher would make (Oh yes, I forgot... They are concerned about students or students' parents complaining about "coloreds" teaching their spoiled brats. So it makes sense to keep the wages low to reduce the loss in case of complaints. And everyone in China knows that only American, Canadian or Australian Caucasians can teach English). Now that's profitable for the school, isn't it? That way they can make a 500% or 600% profit on every class. It sure is tough for a school owner in China!!
280Y an hour is quite normal, I know that as a fact. No, not EACH student of course, but for the whole class, per hour.
@ Steppenwolf: That's right, NOT every FT here makes 100Y, but that's because they don't know any better. They get talked into working their asses off for 100Y or less because they think that's what the standard pay here is, that 100Y is the upper limit. I remember telling the students in one of my classes I make 100Y per hour, and they said something like "WOW, that's CHEAP!!!". And that was YEARS ago. Now I work freelance for companies and privately, and nobody says that 150Y to 180Y is too much. That's rock bottom for me now.
There's nothing wrong with schools making a profit, but if you keep exploiting staff and customers, you'll find that you're harming only yourself at the end. Capital's FTs are constantly walking out, and students are dissatisfied. That's not the way to do business!

[Orrin]

I fail to see what business it is of a teacher to care about how much a school charges the students, or how much they pay other foreign teachers. On the issue of compensation, a teacher's only concern should be on how much they can negotiate into their own contract. Unless the teacher has some ownership responsibility in the school, how much profit the school makes from its students is, simply, none of the teachers' business.

[Orrin]

I fail to see what business it is of a teacher to care about how much a school charges the students, or how much they pay other foreign teachers. On the issue of compensation, a teacher's only concern should be on how much they can negotiate into their own contract. Unless the teacher has some ownership responsibility in the school, how much profit the school makes from its students is, simply, none of the teachers' business.

[vikdk]

[Steppenwolf]

[vikdk]

ohhh deary me steppenwolf lets have bit of consistency in your argument First you say -

[TravellingAround]

[eslstudies]

[joey2001]

[Steppenwolf]

[Steppenwolf]