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[diverdude1]

Royal Queens Academy

I am posting the following information/observations about Royal Queens Academy in Zhejiang province, PR China as a service to all who are considering employment there.
I was employed as a science teacher with them in the latter part of 2008 to early 2009. I will just make a list of things that I think the potential employee should be aware of. This list is in no particular order.

➢ The building is cold. They are stingy about turning on the heating system, and they basically seem to expect employees to purchase space heaters at their own expense and use them to heat the classrooms. To be fair, there are times when they do turn on the heating system.

➢ Many times the water for bathing was not heated. This is a very big deal in China in the wintertime. Many times we could not take showers. We heated water in a kettle and bathed out of the washbasin.

➢ The building�s water supply is non-potable. This is to be expected in China, but be aware that you will be purchasing your own drinking water. (6.5 rmb per 4L)

➢ The Headmistress is cold and standoffish. She made me feel as if I were some sort of interloper from Day One. Other employees said they felt unappreciated and even disliked by her. Why she would hire a teacher and then make them feel unwelcome is a mystery to me. Driving teachers away only hurts her business, which in turn hurts her. Ah well, such are the mysteries of the human mind. I just hope the investors realize the damage she is doing to the school.

➢ The Headmistress seems more concerned with profit than the welfare of the students. They all complained to her many times about the way she treated them and how come they paid so much money to attend that school and there were so few resources available for their use. I taught her son, a bright personable boy, and he was one of her principal critics. He told me things in class that basically confirmed my opinion that she does not have the loving nature which should be a primary characteristic for those involved in the care and upbringing of young children.

➢ They cheat employees on pay. They deduct 13.1% from your over-time pay (before taxes) with no explanation given. The wife of the Assistant Headmaster (who had managerial responsibilities) informed me that this was to be expected, as �this is China�. What that had to do with anything I could never figure out. Perhaps she feels that it is ok to steal from people. Furthermore it is a Korean owned/operated company, so I think the �China� comment basically was senseless.

➢ The school management was very reluctant to explain the salary calculations to me. They acted very imperious when payday came. Handed out pay envelopes with a take it or leave it attitude. When I asked for explanations and calculated the pay, you could tell they were a bit shocked. For all of you who do not have experience in Asia, this is quite common on an Asian-to-Asian context. They will often treat their employees as borderline slaves. It is our duty to stand up to that practice and demand fair, ethical treatment for all.

➢ The food is pretty bad. The evening meal is buffet style, so I hope you like cold food. Some things are ok, but all in all, pretty bad. Limited menu presented again & again. Strong emphasis on Korean dishes.

➢ The teaching material available is fair, however they illegally photocopy textbooks, thereby breaking copyright law. Teaching the students by example that illegal, unethical behavior is acceptable if it helps you to profit financially.

➢ The school is located in Xiaoshan, not Hangzhou. This is like saying the school is in Manhattan when it is really in Brooklyn. Be prepared for a long commute to get into Hangzhou.

➢ The part of Xiaoshan that the school is located in is a developing office/residential area. In other words, it is in the middle of nowhere.

➢ They lock the building doors after about 21:00, so be prepared to wait outside until you can rouse the security guard. They will then mumble something under their breath akin to �why are you out, I was sleeping�.

➢ We had a teacher get seriously ill, spent two weeks in the hospital and underwent abdominal surgery. The staff/school were very supportive of this employee. However, the mandatory insurance that you pay for was of very little help.


In interest of Fair Play I will mention a few good points to working at RQA.

➢ The living quarters for teaching staff are adequate. Imagine a Two-Star hotel room and you will have a pretty good idea of what it�s like. The housekeeping staff cleans your room, just as in a hotel, which is a nice perk.

➢ The housekeeping staff takes care of your personal laundry. This is also a very nice perk.

➢ It is nice to work in the same building as you live in. The commute from your personal quarters to the staff office and classrooms is about 60 seconds. It is also nice to have one�s own domicile nearby to retire to between classes.

➢ The class sizes are very small and the students are wonderful. They were a delight to teach.

➢ The staff is also very pleasant and supportive (with the exception of the Headmistress).

➢ The students are delightful, intelligent young people.

That is my take on employment conditions at RQA. Not a terrible place to work if you do not mind living in Xiao Shan. Forewarned is forearmed.

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