Janelle
- 2010-05-29
I completely agree with Andrew's post. Nick is a fine professional man who does whatever he can to help those around him. He may have made mistakes in the past, but he has learned from those mistakes and has changed for the better. The remarks about the town being unsafe--things must have changed because I am living here now and I don't fear for my safety at all. The people in this town are welcoming.
Straits-Newman is very different when compared to Western schools. There are changes that can be made to improve the school, but I think the overall program at SN is successful. I don't view the students I teach as "braindead." I have also never had a student ask me for money, especially since most of these students are the children of factory owners, most of them are NOT struggling for money. I leave the property on a daily basis and I have never once been robbed. Many Chinese teachers at the school speak English and are very willing to learn even more English.
Dongguan is not located an hour away. It is a 30 minute bus ride. The school provides housing at the school for those teachers who chose to live nearby. The food is by no means terrible. The classes do have air coditioning. You DO have to walk up 4 flights of stairs, but for anyone who moves off of the couch on a daily basis, the stairs aren't too hard to climb.
I was disappointed to read the review posted by the anonymous writer. I have really enjoyed working at Straits Newman. I do encounter challenges, but the rewards far outweight the trials. To me, the biggest help has been the willingness of those already working here to help me get familiar with life in China.
To anyone who is thinking about applying to Straits Newman, please don't hesistate. Please also do not believe the account of someone who was at the school 4 years ago. Believe the recent accounts, that show the improvements of Straits Newman. I think that if you visit for yourself, you will also agree with the most recent posts.
Hi Nick
- 2008-09-21
Haha! I think you MUST be Nick. Nobody else would ever say anything good about him because he has no respect for anybody.
Nice try...but we're not fooled easily.
Andrew
- 2008-08-26
I've worked with Nick Liao in the past and feel that the articles written here are totally unfounded and unfair. I've always found Nick to be friendly, polite and professional.
This school might be new, but it's in terrible shape. The location is ghetto. You can't go outside the property without getting robbed. Even the students beg you for money. The students are all braindead. They're the worst I've ever met.
The textbooks they give you to use in class are poor in quality. The Chinese teachers there cannot speak English or communicate efficiently with the foreign staff. They (the Chinese English teachers) behave badly and they don't assist you in class as the ads say.
You won't want to eat the cafeteria food. Everyday it's exactly the same mush. Same stringy green vegetable swimming in oil, pork and a soggy clump of rice.
The rules are nonsense. They ask you to do a lot of extra work that matters to no one and if you don't do it, they deduct it from your pay. They're always coming up with new rules to take money out of your earnings.
Your "boss" is only given that title because he is the son of one of the investors. This guy, Nick Liao, is a 20 year old obese punk who lives with his dad and got his girlfriend pregnant so he had to marry her. He's a miserable person with a foul mouth who lashes out and curses the foreign teachers openly. He doesn't have an education beyond high school. He asks the foreign teachers to live in Dongguan where he thinks it's safer, but it isn't. Plus, it's an hour away and they say they provide transportation, but they don't. First you might have to find a way to get to it by walking or taking an additional bus. You have to wake up ridiculousy early. They don't provide any benefits like airfare or visa or paid holidays.
You have to climb up and down 5 flights of stairs all day long. The classrooms have no air conditioning and no heat.
This school has a difficult time finding any applicant, so if you apply, you'll be offered the job. There is no competition. Nobody wants to work there. I think you can see why!