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[Jining Aston]

Jining Aston Administrative statement:

First we would like to thank the people who made comments about the experiences in China as well as our school. Over the past 2 years Jining Aston has had hard learning experiences which have made us the school we are today. These experiences have been both positive and negative so we wish to make the following statement:

Specific events did occur within the statement however they have been written out of context. The situations that our school faced we solved as they arouse. As a school we strive to better our performance and still provide an atmosphere to continue to grow and improve everyone�s lives. The first priority is that our school finds the most successful way of dealing with these problems in the future. This will give everyone a more fulfilling experience. Second is to maintain a positive environment with a strong work ethic. Sometimes these expectations differ from our overall goals however we attempt to find a solution that all parties can come to an agreement with.

The issues stated came from the perspective of one foreign teacher at Jining Aston. In addition multiple foreigners have felt similar negative experiences in the past. However there is no mention of the benefits given through the school, nor what solutions were reached between the teachers for each issue. In addition statements were made about other teachers that the writer in question may not know the whole situation in regards to them.

In regards to the Christmas activity, the school established well in advance that Christmas Eve was a day off for the foreign staff. December 26th was the designated date. The foreign manager kept all parties concerned in the loop and the decision was made. In addition all classes for the weekend were cancelled thus giving the foreign teachers 3 days off in addition to their normal 2 days off.

Additional time was worked out for a Christmas event planned for December 26th. The foreign staff members were supposed to do work in advance for the event as well as show up for all meetings when the Foreign Manager was in America. Since some of the staff members didn�t show up to work for some of their hours the foreign staff were asked to attend a 1 hour rehearsal on Christmas Eve.

Any foreigners who worked on their days off were paid overtime and were penalized for time that they did not work. In addition the foreign teachers performance was not as effective as it could have been. The school planned for them to have 2 solid days off however they needed a 1 hour rehearsal on December 24th. It was the schools decision to turn those days into days off and to give the FT�s a break for the holiday. A majority of schools continue to have class on December 25th.

In addition another past employee has responded to the post since this has grown into a larger discussion. For that specific case there are several issues that were taken out of context. We would like to go over them in detail to give you our perspective.

The major concern was regarding the teacher being without water. The teacher in question ran out of water in their apartment for 3 days without notifying anyone of the situation. They then complained furiously when there was no certainty of the situation. The school responded to the problem as quick as possible. The school can�t solve a problem without knowledge of the situation.

As some people have stated the foreign manager didn�t use the chain of command within the contract to consult with head office. The foreign manager uses the chain of command when the situation doesn�t have a resolution that the school can offer first. In regards to the termination letter the foreign manager verbally made an agreement with the teacher to stay for 4 weeks instead of the 3 weeks. They were also informed on several occasions to review their contracts in case the foreign manager made mistakes.

A week before the teacher�s departure the teacher said that they would need to leave the country to take an interview with another company. This meant they were leaving 2 weekends earlier than they had stated. They told the foreign manager this a day before they were supposed to teach class. As a friend the manager supported their decision, as a manager he had little choice and the franchisee felt that it was a broken agreement even though it was a verbal agreement.

The Franchisee then sent 2 Aston representatives to help her pack and move out. The Franchisee also felt that the foreign manager should cover the classes that weekend due to the sudden response from the teacher. The representatives statements to the foreign manager at the time were, they knocked on the door for several minutes only to hear screaming at then, in defiance the teacher left. The day they did this was also the day that the teacher had already bought the train ticket for.

As for the negative termination letter, the term before the foreign manager had several complaints against this specific teacher. When confronted about these issues the foreign teacher�s response was they were unable to communicate with the taxi drivers, unable to find a taxi or couldn�t use the bus. Being in another country can be scary however if you�ve lived there for 7 months. Getting a taxi should become less and less of a hurdle.

The new term started and the foreign manager wanted to give the teacher a clean slate. However the teacher was late the first week of classes. The Franchisee was angry about this and felt this needed to be communicated to the teacher in question so that was the focus of the termination email.

At our school we do monthly workshops where Aston takes the foreign teachers to different locations such as billiards, Karaoke, swimming, Lunches, and welcome dinners to inspire a feeling of unity and teamwork. We attempt to look out for their needs and build an environment that is both positive and motivating.

The Franchisee takes the teachers out on trips at times such as fishing. We had pleasant dinner experiences in the evenings, as well as a school trip to a small city. Although the city wasn�t Beijing it offered good scenic views and it was for all of the staff members in Aston.

When living in a foreign country the school takes it upon itself to be the intermediary and pay for any living expenses. That includes gas, electric, heating etc. The specific incidents that occurred in the foreigner�s comments were times when the billing parties did not fully inform the school of when the bill was due. In addition there were some instances where the school wanted to give the teachers an estimation of the bill however the bill did not reach the actual amount.

The biggest incident that was referred to was when the foreign teachers were charged 700rmb for the electric bill. The school was under the assumption that it was only a 1 month bill. In fact this bill was over a 3 month period. When the electric department later stated that the bill was over a 3 month period the total was 2201 rmb.

The foreign manager realized the dilemma and addressed the foreign teachers about the issue. A compromise was reached and they only paid an additional 600rmb towards that bill. The bill in question was not the contention of the foreign teachers but the approach of aston and how the bill was calculated.

In this case the school took the only actions that were available to them in a misinformed situation. These types of problems can occur in any country and were not done with the intent to harm or insult the foreign teachers. In addition the school still took portions of the financial bill. The problems that occurred after that relating to the bill was to help aid the foreign teacher who wrote the comments.

Jining Aston is a young and growing school. The team is experienced however it is learning how to deal with not only the students but it�s employees as well. We want to have a positive outlook on this and learn from the experience. Negativity will only slow or stop progress.

In conclusion, our school is a part of an organization. We also realize that coming to another country is an enormous challenge. We learn more and more each time a foreigner arrives and we take measures to improve the quality of life here at Jining Aston for them. Sometimes however life is going to be different from location to location. Even in other countries we can sometimes run into situations where bills don�t get paid on time or paperwork needs to be done in a particular way. Without knowing the whole situation it can be very easy to see conclusions about cultural approaches. We hope that this clarifies our position and we thank you again for your comments and concerns if you have any questions you can contact Jining aston at:

[email protected]
or visit our websites at: www.jnaston.com or http://astonrecruiting.com/

[Lobster]

Well, if you had a bit more cultural sensitivity you'd realize that:

1. Christmas Eve is a time for people to be with friends or family at home, not doing some "rehearsal" at the school. On Dec 24, you stop classes at noon, take the teachers out for lunch, and then say goodbye until Dec. 27.

2. Making people work on Christmas Day is a total cultural slap in the face regardless of contract. Ignoring the customs of people who are your bread and butter is a great way to poison your work environment.

3. Teachers probably don't need or want your 2 representatives to "help them pack and move out" without their specific request. It may be perceived as mistrust or intimidation.

4. Over 2000rmb for 3 months' power? Mmmmm, I don't think so. Since when do utility companies fail to present bills properly? It's your responsibility, so it's your fault.

I don't know. There are 2 sides to every story, but this rebuttal looks a bit thin.

RED

[JZer]

[JZer]

[clownshow]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

i know nothing about the people who complained about this school, or the school itself.

What I find interesting is that people (with their rah-rah-rah posts) are so quick to believe warnings against schools (incl. the Aston Jinin serious warning). Yet on the (very rare) occasion a school decides to respond to one of these warnings (this thread) their motives and methods on just about everything are called into question.

My experience and belief is that for every bad school out there we have an equal number (or greater) of bad teachers who complain about being mistreated but these people are really the authors of their own misery. But they can't acknowledge that and pass off the blame elsewhere. We've all met and worked with these people.

The responses here so far (and ones yet to appear) are going to prove how unbalanced this forum really is and might explain why schools almost never respond to criticism.

[Lobster]

Posters do not take the statements of either the OP or the rebuttal at face value, and it's patently unfair to suggest this. We have just pointed out that this response seems to evoke some credibility issues (e.g. it was pointed out that 2k is an unrealistic amount for 3 months' power and that power wouldn't be cut off after 1 month). Could the denial of utilities have been a crude attempt to coerce, punish and intimidate the FT? That would be pure speculation. But after all, it seems that this was a company-supplied apartment.

ECC, schools have the upper hand in any situation here, it's not a level playing field. Of course there are FTs that range from simply inept to downright psychotic, but some school operators also fit these descriptions. My issue is that FTs are basically powerless and schools hold all the cards. Therefore they should, IMHO, be held to a higher standard. The reality of the situation is that about 99% of the posters on this board are FTs, and this is as close to a support system as they're going to get. It should not be surprising that most posters will sympathize with the FT rather than the school if the complaint post isn't an obvious off-the-wall rant. You will find unbiased and objective reports....nowhere.

[JZer]

[Lobster]

I understand, and it means absolutely nothing to me because I'm not religious. That doesn't change the fact that it is perhaps the most important holiday for many of our fellow FTs, and this outfit's disregard for that demonstrates an extremely low level of cultural intelligence.

They seemed more intent on getting the bucks in by having the FTs work on Christmas and exploiting them as performers for their mandatory song and dance routine. Come on, if this holiday is significant enough to warrant a special performance, it's important enough to allow the performers to celebrate with those whom they consider closest. Hey, do I sound bitter? My place made me work on Christmas eve and day too. I foresee a change in next year's contract.

RED

[seamallowance]

Actually, it was not just one teacher from Aston Jining.

More than one have complained specifically about that Aston location.

I personally know one of the teachers involved, followed every bit of the story and strongly believe their side of the story. The actions of the management at the Jining location were subsequently scrutinized by the main Aston office that licenses the franchises. "Corrective measures" were taken.

The above letter from the Jining location is in no way a plausible explanation of their egregious errors. The most notable product of Aston Jining is the high turnover by their staff.

Avoid Aston Jining.

There are plenty of other schools to choose from; why choose Aston Jining?

[clownshow]

[Daphne]

I also wonder if Jason is just going to bat for his branch in Jining, or whether he is the new spin doctor for Dalian.

The latter seems more logical, and if that is the case, much like Mr. T; "I pity the fool."

There was a bloke in Dalian a few years back who was an official spin doctor for the Wisners on this forum a few years ago, and after leaving the organization (on what seemed to bad terms) nobody has been foolish enough to take on the gig.

What I always find interesting with this organization, is that despite hundreds upon hundreds of unqualified or under-qualified foreign teachers who have either gained employment or even better "management positions" with this outfit over the years, there isn't (and has never really been) even a handful of them who are willing to post here regularly on behalf of the organization when it comes to key issues such as housing and quality of teaching materials.

[7969]

[daCabbie]

I never believe anybody with less than 50 posts. It's too easy to lie.

If this is a sincere response from the school, thanks for an attempt at balance. There is little of that here at Dave's.

I still side with the teacher. Because I am a teacher. When I become management maybe that will change. But I couldn't manage to find the light switch last night and peed on my floor. I don't think the job offers are coming soon.

Take it all with a grain of salt and a shot absinthe.

[Tetris]

I am the one whose bills were not paid by the OP. They were not paid for SIX months, i.e., the entire time I was there. This being my first job in China, and seeing as I was relatively naive, I didn't press the issue of why no money was being taken out of my paycheck for the bills.

The electricity was not severed--the water was severed, sometime in the evening, and I reported it next morning.

I thought the school was doing quite well, and their statement here reflects their desire for improvement. That is commendable.

However, the last week of my time there some cracks began to show, as noted above and in other threads. I am certainly not the only (or for that matter, the first) FT to comment on this; the reader, of course, may read both sides and draw deductions as s/he will. Everyone has their own experience; I encourage prospective employees to use their own best judgement and listen to their intuition NO MATTER where they may be considering employment.