Job Discussion Forums

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Just a quick warning about a school in Panjin, Liaoning.

Without naming the school, I would just like to encourage any potential teacher to do your homework and dig deep before signing any contract. Of course this goes for any school, not just the one in question.

Recently, there was a foreigner who was not given what he was promised, so he obviously left. He is the 6th foreigner in 6 months.

All of them have posted warnings on the internet, and as of this morning, many of these warnings have magically "disappeared".

Of course, you can still find them in histories, caches, etc. so you have to dig a little harder than usual.

Here is a list of the complaints from various foreign teachers. Remember, this is just a compliation from what other foreigners have said. So take this with a grain of salt. However, it should be noted that there has not been one positive post about them in the few years they have been in operation.

1. Being promised 5000-10000, but always being paid only 5000 each and every time, no matter how much extra work she did

2. Same with her successor

3. Unable to get a proper Z-visa and having to work on a tourist L-visa, which means you will be illegally working and risk facing deportation and a nice lovely fine

4. Holding of one teacher's passport (one foreigner had to call the police to get it back)

5. Being told "There is a McDonald's in Panjin"-- an outright untruth. This untruth is still being told to foreigners on some ads they have posted

6. Erasing or hiding any discussion about these grievances. If these complaints are not true, why not just stand up and say "they are not true?"

7. One foreigner said he was owed over 20000 RMB and he never saw a penny of it

8. Being physically blocked from leaving and having his suitcase torn out from his hand

9. Threatening all sorts of nasty consequences if the foreigner leaves

10. False advertising. Apart from the "Yes, we have McDonald's!" (quote/unquote--and Googlable by using the following keywords in succession: Yes we have mcdonalds here panjin), claims of "It�s very easy to get any kind of food you would want to eat" (quote/unquote) are untrue. KFC is just about as authentic as it gets in Panjin, I'm afraid. So you will have to enjoy Chinese food to survive here. not a bad thing, but it's just the principle of saying untrue things to hook you into their school.

11. Advertising that Panjin is 2 hours from Beijing. This is completely not the case. It's at least 8 hours by train. And if you do not know any Chinese, good luck getting a ticket. You could get a fast train that takes about 3 hours, but you have to travel 2 hours to Shenyang first. If you want to get to Beijing, plan a 12-hour trip just to get there-- at least. There is NO airport here, so when they say "Shanghai is 3 hours from Panjin", it's a funny statement. Just look on any map and you will see.

Now, if you want to sign up for this schol, go right ahead. But it's completely up to you. There are plenty of other schools in China that pay higher AND get your proper visa AND have never had any complaints.

Good luck in your job search, folks!

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Here is the text of the warning that has been magically starting to disappear from the internet, written by a former teacher there:

This is with regard to <name of boss> who frequently posts adds to hire foreign teachers. She claims that all of their foreign teachers have made more than 7000RMB per month, but this is not true! I worked for her <name of school> for six months and never made anything like that. I was not even paid what was owed to me in my contract and even worse she held my passport illegally and I had to eventually call the police and involve them in order to get my passport back. Her good friend <name> is actually her husband and they will, if you work for them hold your passport to prevent you from leaving. She posts very vague and deceptive adds that have little truth in them, you will not earn any money working for them, they will cheat you and hold your passport. I was cheated out of considerable amount of salary and where they breech their contract, they also owe me a considerable amount, but their contracts are worthless, they will not honor them. You will be expected to teach and be paid according to quality hrs. This is something that they determine. They have hired about six foreign teachers in the past 2-3 yrs. and have cheated every single one! This is a very small time school that presently does not have any foreign teachers...unless you enjoy being taken advantage of you should avoid these people and <name of school> altogether as you will regret it otherwise. ...and by the way there is no McDonalds in Panjin! FYI <name of boss> is the most dangerous person any new person endeavoring to teach could possibly run in to, she is a smooth talking liar and cheat. Beware !!! You can tell her that <name of foreigner> had these comments to say about her because she owes me around 20,000RMB and her real email address is <e-mail address> Since there is little chance of collecting what is owed to me I feel it necessary to at least warn others.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[kukiv]

my advice - don't go for schools that have massive gaps between lowest and highest pay-levels - anybody who has China experience knows that these figures lead to a bait and witch scenario.

As for the FT's who get reeled in on the promise of a phantom McDonalds -

[kev7161]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

The school is now on it's 9th western teacher, all in one year.

All 9 have had nothing positive to say. I understand what you are talking about Kev, but this is truly, truly a warning call.

[rottenflesh]

Why don't you post the name of the school? Do you still work there?
Sounds like this: http://www.totalesl.com/job_print.php?postingtype=job&id=27582

[mat chen]

I would stop talking about MC'D. I like the part in the ad that says" We need to make money." I have heard this so many times in China. They need to make money and then you can get more money. You will grow with them and everyone will be happy ever after. Mention the word revenue sharing.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

School is now on it's 13th foreign teacher.

Recently fired one because she had the audacity of being black.

The current foreign teacher is not enjoying himself. Stay tuned....

[7969]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

MOD EDIT in last two postings above = Cease with the bickering or face sanctions.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Update:

The school is currently hiring. They are looking for:

"foreigner who is new to teaching, able to learn how to teach our way, with an open mind and understand how things are done, remember this is China not your country!"

and

"foreigner who knows who is the boss and who is the teacher. Remember China is a cheap country and most people earn much less than a usual Chinese teacher!"

If you come across this, read between the lines and stay clear!

[Lobster]

I agree. Seeing this type of note in a posting should be a clear warning that you will be manipulated and taken advantage of. The "between the lines" message is "every time there's a misunderstanding or disagreement, we'll be right because it's our country" and "you should be happy with the pittance we pay because many peasant farmers survive on 800 rmb per month, so even if you see me driving a new BMW bought through your efforts, shut up".

RED

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

The school is hiring again.

Extreme caution urged.

14 foreign teachers in 2 years, every single one lied to and cheated.

Google is your friend!