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Web International English Centre
Sat, 02/14/2009 - 03:11
This is a large chain of schools around China that is headquartered in Shanghai. My comment is about the Dalian, Liaoning school. I am not sure if any of the other Web schools have similar issues or not. Web pays you well but in Dalian the owner/franchisee does not care about his staff. The center manager is a puppet of the owner and has no real power to do anything to help the situation. This school charges very high fees to students but doesn't treat their staff (Chinese and foreign) well. They love making up new rules to penalize you, expect you to be professional but will not expect the same from management staff. The accountant there enjoys playing games with your pay and changing her rules of finance regularly. Because the students pay high fees they are allowed to cause "trouble" for teachers. I highly recommend you do not employ yourself with this school. I would love to know if other Web schools are similar.
Sat, 02/14/2009 - 14:49
#2
Big Banner
I work at a good school here in Xinjiang, yet even we have this horrible sign above the front staircase I see every day when I get to work. It says:
"There are no bad students, just bad teachers."
HELLO!! Talk about demoralizing for the teachers! Unfortunately, it just seems to be the accepted mindset here.
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 06:40
#3
Caring for students and staff?
I get the feeling that in China, that is rare indeed. I am just online with a student in China who on day one of the semester is upset about the school. He is angry today about the teachers and how they treated students on the first day. Not happy. He has a 'new' teacher and says he is scared of her. I know that the teachers at this school, certainly the Chinese teachers are given a hard time. Other students have communicated with me their experiences in the workforce and I feel so sorry for them.
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 11:09
#4
Not so rare
I've taught in more places in China where staff & students are equally cared for than not. Only taught (very briefly) in 1 where it was not the case, hence why I am not there any longer & why my teaching there was a brief (if not interesting, as usual) experience. That was the private gig! I am also still in contact with some of my past students, all from State systems & never a complaint from them. So there is a need to be careful with wording & not 'dump' all learning institutions in China into 1 negative box! The 'good' places are not so rare at all.
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 11:18
#5
Careful Not to Dump
You are right Mary. We do need to be careful not to dump all the schools into 1 "negative" dumping site. There are many good institutions out there, it is just hard to recognize when most of the ones you meet are "bad". We all need to keep a balanced perspective. Thanks for reminding me.
Tue, 02/17/2009 - 00:00
#6
Thanks Alfred
Thanks Alfred, yes, as is often a human trait we can get caught up in all the negs & forget the positives. I understand, especially for newbies here in their 1st jobs & if the place is one of the arghh places you would be in the danger of thinking wrongly that it's how all learning institutions in China are. I guess I've had luck on my side that my 1st was awesome & only 1 a place of nasty going ons! In this (having experienced both sides of the fence), as you said in 1 of your entries, you get a well rounded picture that there are indeed the 'good, bad & ugly'. I'm just glad I can maintain a more positive outlook in regards to learning institutions in China , I've found more good points than not!
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 12:49
#7
Been lucky
I have been teaching at one of the big private schools in Xian, I love it here and have not had any problems with students or staff. Maybe I have been lucky so far and everything will change. Mike
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 23:52
#8
Being penalised
From my experience, it is just the way Chinese think. They have just been brought up with a punishment system and it is quite normal to them, they dont really see losing a few rmb because you are late as being a personal thing.....but in the West we are more inclined to have a reward system. It seems to be one of the cultural differences. I think the main thing is to really study the contract before you sign up. I have seen some pretty tough contracts, but made significant changes that have been accepted. I have become a bit of a contract freek, I really study them carefully first. Generally I find that once the schools get to know me there is sufficient give and take. As someone else says on this blog, TIC, and we learn to go by their rules.
Chris.
Sun, 03/01/2009 - 01:26
#9
Web International English
Generally Web is a great place to work, especially in Shanghai where they are 100% owned. The other branches are franchises so it depends on who the management is. I've heard great things and some not so good about various branches. Also a lot depends on your attitude, if you aren't late you shouldn't have to worry about fines. I've never had any problems with pay, but we do run into some cultural misunderstandings sometimes. They have a great system and as long as you follow their procedures, you should have no problem with student complaints. Remember they are a business and the students pay a lot to go there so we are more like customer service reps. than teachers sometimes. Students often complain when they feel they aren't improving or the teacher doesn't stick to the program. Your attitude is everything I think.
Sun, 12/13/2009 - 14:16
#10
WEB International - Dalian
I must agree with the first poster. I have worked for WEB in the past in other cities and I usually enjoy myself there very much, but this WEB school wants a lot but pay very little. They also pay games with your pay. I worked there and they did not pay me for one class, but I had to wait until the next month, because THEY made a mistake. No extra interest, just oh we are sorry. If you come late, they are waiting to fine you. They are also the cheapest people! They want you sit around when you do have classes so that they can recruit more students and show all their foreign teachers. They try to play hardball with salaries, that's fine for newbies, but they must know that experienced teachers know how the game is played. They are NOT willing talk all。
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 09:54
#11
Web International English
I have been absent from the forum for a few weeks and i just want to say i really like the new look of the website, well done Robert. I have been teaching at Web for a little more than 2 years now and have recently begun my third contract with them. The center that i work at is owned by people that also own another large franchise in a big city and it is treated as a small agency of the main center. I love working here. The people are all very good people (staff, colleagues and center owners) and they are always ready to go out of their way to help the foreign teachers here. As far as i am concerned they go out of their way to help us in any way possible, even in personal matters.In fact all the foreign teachers working at the center are now on their third contracts and very happy.
There has never been any problems with my pay or overtime. I realise that i am very lucky to have got this job so early in my Chinese adventure. My advice to people is just to ask around when you are considering changing jobs. There are good people and companies out there, you just have to look for them and also just be well informed about what is happening in the industry as a whole. Keep looking, you are going to find some bad people out there, there are also many good people.
Mon, 03/08/2010 - 01:20
#12
Well-known
This web something is also well-known on other boards for the same complaints made by the OP.
It's definitely a place to avoid!
This is a large chain of schools around China that is headquartered in Shanghai. My comment is about the Dalian, Liaoning school. I am not sure if any of the other Web schools have similar issues or not. Web pays you well but in Dalian the owner/franchisee does not care about his staff. The center manager is a puppet of the owner and has no real power to do anything to help the situation. This school charges very high fees to students but doesn't treat their staff (Chinese and foreign) well. They love making up new rules to penalize you, expect you to be professional but will not expect the same from management staff. The accountant there enjoys playing games with your pay and changing her rules of finance regularly. Because the students pay high fees they are allowed to cause "trouble" for teachers. I highly recommend you do not employ yourself with this school. I would love to know if other Web schools are similar.
What's this?