Benito
- 2011-01-09
I was one of the Filipino teachers of KIS. The detailed statements were true. After many years, it came across my mind to browse KIS and what is new to it. Now that I am stable in United States as a licensed teacher, but working in the medical field. Let me just refresh my mind that, KIS English Department: teachers and Mr. Park, who was very close to me ( I even brought him to my country) and who was the echelon of the department were helpless in organizing the curriculum, more so that the last say is coming from the Principal or the President who does not have any idea AT ALL in this field. The teachers who may have an excellent ideas, suggestions, and how to improve the curriculum, whether, you are coming from US, England, Australia, Uganda, Puerto Rico, Paraguay or any part of this world nor fill-up your Department from an English Speaking country if the one handling everything is focused ONLY to discipline and culture, indeed, nothing, let me reiterate, NOTHING will be improved! We missed those bright students, who are more than willing to crave for knowledge and feed all ideas we know, leaving the school without anything in their brains. One factor? Books. what else? Educational resources and if we teachers are educationally equipped. We may, but reserved because of such treatment/s aggrandized from the management. I PITY THE STUDENTS, who were affected with this sad scenario. Mr. Rob Mason, let me address this to you, thank you for accommodating me back as a teacher of KIS, but, few days after we talked, I need to be in U.S. Again, thank you and congratulations for developing a better KIS. I hope to see you someday especially that I am planning to tour my husband (am a lady/trans now) before visiting my country. To my former students and former co teachers, check out my Facebook, see you there, miss y'all - bengmolintas@yahoo.com
Chengdu CT
- 2010-09-04
How does it continue?
I had a friend that worked their briefly several years ago and this is what he told me.
Basically all the kids come from rich families. The parents are busy doing what ever and have sent the kids to boarding schools. By the time they make it to KIS they have generally been kicked out of boarding schools in Korea.
The reason they don't close the place down is they are only mistreating Korean students, some Korean and native speaker staff, and a handful of Chinese staff. Meanwhile the school brings money into the local economy so a blind eye is turned.
Also the parents of the students attending the schools are inattentive to the situation and have probably never even been to the campus.
So that is one theory how the place continues.
englishgibson
- 2010-09-03
Not that I am a KIS expert but money might be the answer. I have seen many businesses that have got away with so much poor business people could have only dreamed of on mainland. You get quickly shut down if you don't cooperate.
Cheers and beers to KIS ability to go on :)
Ritchy
- 2010-09-02
How can the Chinese authorities allow the Korean school even to continue? Disgusting.
pangdelaowai
- 2010-03-31
I have no idea what planet "Former KIS teacher" is from or what medication he is currently taking. I worked at KIS for a few months in early 2009 and the place was a train wreck, to be charitable. I lasted maybe 5 weeks before I couldn't take it anymore. Another American there while I was left in disgust not long after I did. I'm not sure who this "Former KIS Teacher" guy is but he wasn't there when I was, I can assure you of that. Here it is, about a year after I left, and there is absolutely NO ONE still working there who was a colleague of mine. (I periodically exchange emails and chat with the last holdout, a very nice Chinese girl.) They are ALL gone. These folks came from all over, mind you, and had many different backgrounds and experience. Most were Chinese and very nice people who were treated like dirt by management. I've lived and worked here in China for almost 7 years now and I can honestly say, without a doubt, KIS is THE worst employer I've ever had in this country.
expat
- 2010-03-03
Checkmate - thanks for your contribution. You obviously knew KIS well, and your description of the school atmosphere is bang on, but unfortunately, your information is out of date by about 6 months, and despite the teachers and principals best efforts, the situation at the school had become much worse. In fact, the school has been moved from Boan to Shekou, and its address, for the time being anyway, is at 51 Yanshan Road, where it occupies the top two floors.
As you mentioned, at the end of the final semester of 2009 all the teachers resigned, with the exception of one Chinese teacher, who was convinced to stay. At the same time, the school lost all but 22 of its students. This meant that the 2009 2010 school year was about to begin with no teachers and few students. Eventually, a new foreign principal was recruited from Canada, and some excellent foreign and Chinese teachers hired in China.
The new school has no gym, nor any science labs. It has no A/V facilities, and even a request for a TV monitor and DVD player were turned down as being too expensive. There is no library worth mentioning. Korean lunches are brought in daily, but there is no cafeteria. There are only 3 old computers for the use of staff and students. In the office, which has recently been moved into the teachers room, there is only one administrative person who speaks Chinese, Korean, and English, so it falls upon this one extraordinarily hard working girl to translate all conversations between management and staff. Of all the deficiencies that needed to be addressed, the only addition this term is a tuck shop, which is being built and operated by some outside party; the school receiving rent for the space. The administration told the teachers the shop had been demanded by the parents.
Most of the Koreans you mention in your posting are no longer visibly associated with the school, but the new ones seem to have a similar attitude to the last bunch. There is a Mr. Li, who is the front man, but apparently, hes a different Mr. Li from the one who was with the school in the past. The new Mr. Li was introduced as the PE teacher, but as an overweight smoker, whos only activity is to stand around, while the kids play ping-pong, it was obvious he was really someone else.
Checkmate, I could go through your posting line by line to bring you up to date on how things have deteriorated (teachers now pay for their own medicals), but Ill just leave it to your imagination.
As I mentioned in my first posting, all of the teachers who were with the school last term, and one who had only recently arrived, walked out on February 24th, and that unbelievably, is the third time this has happened with this school. As any teacher will tell you, conditions have to be dire in order for any of us to consider abandoning our salaries and students, but after being fed a steady diet of lies, late payments, and obvious discrimination against local staff, the teachers at KIS had finally had enough.
Anyone familiar with Dickens will understand my description of this school as Dotheboys Hall
Chengdu CT
- 2010-03-02
I had a friend that left to go there and teach.
Needless to say he was back two months later. Wouldn't really talk about all the crap that happened there other than say, it was the worst of a Korean school and Chinese school combined!
Take the above posting seriously!
extrog
- 2010-03-02
Whoever this woman is, she's obviously a delusional paranoid and should seek help. Seriously!
Rocket
- 2010-03-02
Hi,
I am an Australian. I lived and worked in Shenzhen for 3 1/2 years. It was difficult to say the least. I am not a feminist but in the past have been accused of being a misogynist. So in response I coined the word "misandronist" - a woman who fervently dislikes males, hates them, to be more precise. But what has feminism got to do with KIS school and the way it is managed?
As far as Australians and/or Canadians being bad to deal with I can agree, as I have been done in by them too. But I've been done in by many people in China. My theory is that China being a nonreligious culture then it attracts immoral, or amoral people. Chinese "authorities" actively suppress religions as they see them as a threat to their own religion; Marxism. Yet in actual activity they are no different to any "fundamentalist" religion, or even Catholicism. They do not demand loyalty, they just illegalise any other religion or organised political group, or grassroots movement with those similar goals or aspirations.
China is now, and always has been, a collective of warring factions. It is operating as yet another dynasty, the CPPC dynasty. But I suggest to say that conditions under the present dynasty have been almost the best in the past 1500 years if not the best in Chinese history for the majority of people. China has always been ruled by central governments, and they have come and gone, and been located n various places, just as they have throughout the world, throughout history.
I must say also that I have been ripped off and discriminated against in my home country also. That's life.
KIS never wanted me as a teacher; lucky me!!! But I did have a look at it one time and warning bells went off as soon as I entered the school grounds. KIS is not actually in Shenzhen, though it is located in a county of Shenzhen. It is in Bo'an, the former capital which was down graded and replaced with Shenzhen. Bo'an is an ancient city in Chinese history where as Shenzhen was merely a village and is insignificant in Chinese history until very recently. It gained notoriety during "the Cultural Revolution" where millions went to try to escape to Hong Kong. I recall, vividly, in the 1960s of TV live footage of masses of people along the fences bordering Hong Kong at Shenzhen begging to be let out.
Then the Cultural Revolution is alive and well in China today more than ever before, they just made it socially acceptable, less in your face. Yet, many provinces are reviving their past by reimplementing common use of their local languages by media broadcast. You may not have noticed that. Further evidence of the continuing Cultural Revolution was the eradication of almost all of "the hutongs" in Beijing that displaced the long time residents, scattering them far and wide. The hutongs were a hotbed of radicals. Such was the same in Bo'an. Do you ever wonder why Chinese allow such draconian enterprises such as KIS or Foxconn operate in China? Why do the people of the USA allow the US Federal Reserve operate, or the Council on Foreign Relations? Why do all "former" British Commonwealth countries have "a Governor General"?
Did you ever wonder why foreign teacher salaries have remained static since before SARS? Yet, schools have made more money than ever before and the cost of living has gone through the roof! KIS's recent advertised salaries were the same as they were when they first started???!!!
I know why. We teachers are not organised. We are desperate, rugged individuals, escapists, tourists, whorists, anthropologists, lost, etc. Chinese salaries are on the rise. Chinese have houses and cars and holiday in the Maldives. Factory workers in Guangdong now have salaries higher than the average foreign teacher salary throughout China, plus they have sick pay and portable retirement funding and portable Social Security, likewise in many other locations. EF and Wall Street, and the like, have not increased teacher pay since 2003!!! They are franchises and pay their fees to foreign Joint Venture corporations based in Tax Free Offshore havens.
Get with it teachers, English is one of the biggest Nett Profit Industries in China, we get about 5% of the Gross Turnover!!! In 2003 it was estimated to be USD$32Billion!!!
It is all designed that we fight amongst ourselves.
If the weather doesn't change it will stay the same.
extrog
- 2010-03-01
This is the latest on KIS International School. On Wednesday, February 24th. 2010, the entire teaching staff, including the foreign principal, and all foreign and Chinese teachers, resigned and walked out. This is the third time in as many years that this has happened at KIS International School in Shenzhen, and each time it has been with a different group of teachers. The Korean managers of this school are poster children for everything that can be negative about teaching in Asia - constant lies, late payment of salaries, discrimination against local staff, and disorganized. How long this school can survive with its current financial problems is anyone's guess, but in the meantime, if you are considering joining them, take the advice of a former teacher, and RUN!
Rob
- 2010-01-26
I don't know what happened to you, but I am working for them and I don't see any of these. They are nice and responsible people, and quite professional, too. All other teachers also think so. And as I know they have a very good reputation in both Australia and China. I don't think they deserve your comment. And I think you ought to pay attention to your choice of words as a teacher.
englishgibson
- 2009-11-29
christina, i really don't like your generalizations in your post where you're talking about canadians and australians in middle management in shenzhen. why wouldn't you use words like "SOME" or even "QUITE A FEW" and then follow with "FROM MY EXPERIENCE"?
just about three weeks ago, i had a confrontation with such a middle manager from a company in chongqing. this guy, called dave, is an american and serves his chinese employer sooo very well. he'd even bend over for his GM if he had to, as it looked when i reasoned with him. then, a few days ago, i confronted the big boss of a rather large american company that subscribes these corrupt chinese educational businesses/services for students going abroad. this american lied his arse off to tell me that i was one of very few that had a tragic experience with his subscriber, a center in china. by the way, the product he sells is in fact two products in one that conflicts each other. one of these two academic products were actually created by yet another coward from UK who claimed he could not disclose much 4 years back as he was under a confidenciality agreement. the f*ck wrote parts of the books for the program...most likely copying and pasting from other sources. and, this latest f*ck actually is, according to my sources, in shenzhen. so, you see there're all kinda people from many different countries that might hit you any time.
i too am a canadian and when i was in such a middle management position in china (not shenzhen), i had to do PROBABLY QUITE A FEW things similarily as the ones you are refering to or had experience with. otherwise, i would've lost my middle management position there. yes, i was proud enough and kept my integrity to the head office (not my employer) and the teachers who by the way did not appreciate it enough, and then i lost my job as a result of that. if i had the chance to do it again all again, i would do it the same way and yet again lose my position 'casue i am proud and will always keep my integrity. however, not all are the same as me and let's not ask all to be the same. sadly enough, if we were, there would not probably be a single foreign manager around, would there?
having said that above and over all, i am with you on what you are saying. what i'd like to see from people like you is the understanding, never mind these poorly constructed generalizations. i mean, when you are on that job, having to deal with such a manager, try better to understand his/her position wherever you are. ask and/or reason more as there's so much patience necessary in this country.
cheers and beers to our views on china and schools' managements that are more respectful with their foreign workers who have come to help the locals learn the language better than they've learnt it with their chinese teachers :)
Former KIS teacher
- 2009-11-26
I would be lying if I said my experience at KIS was perfect but I would also be lying if I said I did not benefit from working there. I am well paid teacher at an international school in Hong Kong and own a little business in HK just for kicks and fun. My salary is 6 times more than what I was making at KIS but my experience at KIS is what gave me the opportunity to succeed in Asia. I learned my trade at KIS and for that I am forever grateful.
I am an American and yes I do feel there is much anti-American sentiment from the ESL teachers from other countries. That comes with the territory of being an American which some people may see us as the world dictator or maybe a little jealous of the special treatment we get from the locals. Of course I am biased. My friends from other nations will all say the same thing about themselves and their countries. We argue and have a good laugh about it afterwards.
Christina mentioned Canadians and Australians as being goons more or less. I have met my fair share of scary people from Canada & Australia and perhaps worked with a few...but I have also met some of my best friends from Canada and Australia...and Italy, the Philippines, the UK, Korea and China as well. I am sure there are a number of bad Americans, New Zealanders, Brits and various other types of Westerners in Shenzhen too. I think people from Australia and Canada have a longer history of working in Shenzhen which is why there are more people from those countries there. KIS was under one principal from Australia in 2007 who I thought did a good job and had a natural ability with teaching kids. He left for greener pastures somewhere else. Then we had another principal in 2008 from Canada. He was a young guy but very motivated with a lot of great ideas. What I think about them personally is irrelevant as long as they did their job well, that is all that should matter. But I could care less if someone is gay or straight. I am not a bigot. Anyway, now KIS has a new principal from Canada who is doing a fantastic job.
I am proud to say that I am still associated with KIS. I have been associated with KIS from 2007 to present. I am no longer on permanent staff at KIS obviously but I like to help out the school on my free time. Being a NET in HK of course has shortened my free time but I do the best I can.
What some of the Western staff fail to recognize is that Korean International School is a family business. Most of the people with a stake in the school are related in some way through blood or marriage. Also, they are very shy because of the language barrier. But they are open to anyone who try to speak with them. I have been invited in their homes and listened to some classic American R&B while drinking coffee with the Korean principal more than several occasions. Most of the family members are Christian but some practice other religions. They absolutely love Americans and love American culture. I have had the experience of eating dog for the first time with some rice wine at my Korean friend's home. I felt a little guilt about it but it wasn't too bad. The chairman of the school paid for my hospital bill when I was ill and never mentioned it to anyone else. He slipped it under the table expecting nothing in return. That is the sign of a true and loyal friend.
I think KIS is a good school to teach at especially for beginning teachers. If you are a new teacher with limited experience then KIS is a great way to get started. I think if you are planning a one year sabbatical in China then KIS is a great school for you too. If you are planning to spend a semester in China with your family to learn some Chinese or just to experience China then KIS is a good opportunity for that type of wish. I would encourage student-teachers to give KIS a try as well.
Well, I wish everyone the best who both enjoyed their tenure at KIS and I equally wish the same blessings to those who didn't. These are just my thoughts and opinions.
I am sure many people have legitimate gripes and concerns about the school and maybe a few illegitimate. But I hope Korean International listens to all of them even if it is sometimes very hard to take. That is how the school can improve and produce a better product for the sake of its students and staff.
God bless everyone,
F
Christina Johnston
- 2009-11-24
Beware of Canadians and Australians in Shenzhen
When teaching abroad it is best to keep in mind that most people in middle management within various establishments in Shenzhen are not looking out for YOUR best interest but for their own financial benefit and personal gain. Canadians and Australians who were failures in their own countries come to Shenzhen for the opportunities that have eluded them their entire lives. They will manipulate, lie and kill if necessary for a piece of the pie. They will embezzle money, cheat parents and lie to potential employees. An Australian middle manager may smile and greet you with warm cookies and a glass of milk once you load off the travel bus; and tell tall tales of international espionage, romantic encounters with fish and preach about their revolutionary leadership of multi billion dollar companies; but then shockingly terminated over an unflushed toilet and a terminal illness. Thus, the reasoning why their moment of glory has ended and they must now settle into the role of middle manager of an international school. This type of Australian is the suspicious and paranoid kind. He is frightened he may lose his job over his lust for Thai men and appetite for semen. He is unaware that ownership knows about his penile cravings. Ownership is aware and accepting but smart enough not to ever mention it or make an issue of it as long as he keeps his mouth shut for the sake of business. But the Australian laughs and brags how stupid ownership must be to not know that he is a BIG Australian homo. Under the evil hood of the Australian may be some Canadian cronies aka "the flying monkeys" in reference to the Wizard of Oz. I always had a good laugh with the Chinese about the "flying monkeys" or "puppets" who were more than willing to put their lives on the line for their Australian master who not so secretly hated all the Canadians. The Australian called them "stupid", "idiots" and my favorite "Hoser-sexuals". Yet the Canadians loved him for it. Oh yes, those cooky Canadians make numerous attempts to interrogate new employees by sometimes poisoning them or getting them drunk on their tab of course. This is their way to report imformation back to their Master-Roo. Every friendly gesture given by the corrupted Canadian in Shenzhen is nothing more than a mask made from hypocrisy. Beware of this and recognize the foul stench before it suffocates you. They will put their wicked arm around you then snicker and bad mouth about you as soon as you leave the room.
I am a Canadian myself and a feminist...and I have met plenty of good Australians abroad but it is in everyone's best interest to be careful of the reoccurring pattern of bad people going to Shenzhen who come from those two countries of Canada and Australia.
Christina
Bob
- 2009-02-05
These people advertise on seriousteachers.com under Ahead education and C0-Achiva. They recruit academic teachers and when they arrive they are met with lies and false contracts and cheated at the end. They sound good and have an affiliation with UNSW in Australia but UNSW does nothing but send grossly fat people over to graze at the 4 star buffets but they WILL NOT help you at all, they claim they are not the employer etc etc. Don't trust either of them....you'll be sorry!
former teacher
- 2007-08-22
As a former teacher I'd like to comment on the status at KIS Shenzhen. I worked there for a month and a half. My first payday the principal told me they didn't have enough money to pay the teachers salaries. It was being sent from Korea because the school operates at a loss. He wasn't sure they were telling the truth. At that point I decided if they don't take their contractual obligation to pay and on time seriously I wasn't going to work there anymore. A month and a half after the end of June I was paid for June. I gave him notice I was leaving. At that point the principal, who says that he hates Americans, got vindictive and wrote me to say that they weren't going to pay me for the half of July I worked. At the same time another teacher who was leaving said it was because of pay problems and they had often been late.
There are other problems with the school. Many of the students are rather unmotivated or have a difficult time because of their English level. Some go there so they can collect allowance from their Korean parents and really have little interest in studying. Some are poor students and some are good students. But as for teaching science there are no facilities. There is no AV equipment. For lower level students such as many of these whose English isn't great lecture just isn't a good way to teach. But of course the school has no money for the right equipment. An interesting experience was when a class who could add resistance values in parallel and series asked me what a resistor was. They learn to manipulate symbols but have no conceptual idea of what they're dealing with. It's a shame because there were some students who are smart and would do well.
The school pays more than an English training center but not as much as a real international school. I suggest that they have an entrance exam which would solve some discipline problems. But these schools are really businesses and they had so few students they couldn't turn any away unless and until they became too big a problem.
Rob
- 2007-03-20
The new KIS International has changed!
Korea International School in Shenzhen got off to a shaky and troublesome start, resulting in a lot of teachers and students leaving the school. The previous management team has all been replaced, and there is a new team of teachers, a new curriculum and a new direction!
I know this first hand as I joined the organisation as the Assistant Principal in September semester of 2007. It was a difficult time as the school was rebuilding and trying to repair the damage done by the previous management team. I came from Australia, without any forewarning of the previous issues, and was quite shocked to hear that many of the bad stories I heard after arriving, were in fact true! When I joined there was a new principal (his name is coincidentally Mr Lee too - the same as the previous one). When I confronted him regarding the horrible stories that I had heard he confirmed that many (not all) were true, and that his mandate was to change the culture and the reputation of the school.
Now I am the Principal! (Mr Lee is now a director of the organisation). We have adopted a completely westernised curriculum, work from 8.20am to 3.35 pm Monday to Friday and have class sizes of under 10 (with a strategy of never having more then 20 per classs). We have adopted Cambridge teaching methodology, teach all academic subjects in English (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, English Literature), and have almost removed Korean language studies from the curriculum! Our focus is English! ESL / Academic / Critical Thinking.
We have also moved to great new premises in Jui Wei. The facilities include a music room, basketball courts, tennis courts, table tennis, track and field oval etc... (much better). We are sharing the premises with another school, so it is not perfect - but it is good. We have yet to invest in a computer room, but intend to in the next semester or so.
Our teachers come from USA, Canada, France, China, Korea, and I come from Australia. They are all experienced academic and ESL teachers and are well looked after (I will not permit there to be any issues). We meet weekly to discuss teaching issues, behaviour issues, ESL issues, develop ideas and strategies to improve our programme, and work very much collaboratively.It is a great team!!!
The school is far from perfect ... yet! But we are seriously working on it, and offer teachers the opportunity to really use thier professional skills.
It can be very challenging to rebuild an organisation after it has developed a bad reputation, but we are committed to it!
If you want to know more then please email me your thoughts and questions to rmason_kis@hotmail.com.
Rob Mason
Principal
KIS International
www.kis.org.cn
This is I hope an impartial review of the Korea International School in Shenzhen,
The school is located in Baoan close to the airport. It is adjacent to the Oriental school from which it leases a portion of their school.
The closest town is Xingwei about 2 minutes by bus.
From Futian there is the 305 bus which goes to Tao Yuan Ju about 1 hour travel time through the Nantou check point. From there take a small mini bus 776 which goes directly to the school. About 15 minutes travel time in normal traffic.
The organisation of the school is as follows. A Chairman (name unknown)
board of directors, director Mr Li, Principal Mr Soon, Vice Principal Mr Park.
There are 3 teaching departments, Chinese, Korean and English. Head teacher for the Chinese department is Miss Park and Head teacher for Korean and English department is Mr Park.
The man responsible for foreign affairs at least visas is Mr Jimmy Ling.
The teaching staff are very friendly as are the students but the adminstration although friendly are not as efficient as is necessary.
There are approximately 80-100 students in the following class groups.
E1 - E6. elementary
M1 - M3 middleschool
H1 - H3 highschool. The highschool is broken up in to 3 groups.
CH 1, 2, 3. Students concentrating on learning Chinese
KH 1, 2, 3. Korean
EH 1, 2, 3 English.
The English students study a range of subjects including English, Maths, Science, History, SAT, TEFOL, Speech and drama.
Cuurently there are 8 foreign teachers (there were 9 but I left after 2 weeks). 3 from the Phillipines, 2 from Spain, 2 from the US and 1 from Britain.
There are also about a dozen or so chinese teachers and the same amount of Korean teachers.
The school cafe serves Korean food 3 meals a day.
The school facilities are slightly limiting but sufficient. There is a DVD room, a 20 computer room. The teaching office has about 5 computers accessible to both Chinese and English teachers but the computers all use Korean or Chinese XP. No English versions are available.
There is a small library contain mostly Korean books and a few English books mainly about computers and some fiction.
There is a small basket ball court but no grass area or football field.
There are 2 school mini buses that pick up the students who live outside the school which the teachers can ride for free if they live near or can get to where the school bus goes. Teachers usually arrive around 7.30am and the last class finishes at 5.00pm. Teachers are expected to remain at school at least til 5. Usually the teachers eat dinner with the students at 5 and the go home on the school buses which leave around 6pm.
All teachers are required to sign in when they arrive in the morning.
There are 8 periods per day. 4 til lunch and 4 after lunch til 5.
Class periods are 50 minutes starting on the hour from 8am.
The contract includes half day Saturdays but the foreign teachers (Except the Phillipine Teachers) dont work Satudays unless there is exam prep or sometihing special.
The salary is 12000 per month. The school does not provide accommodation and the allowance is part of the monthly salary.
The school meals are free.
The school does organise work visa's and we had to fight to get the school to pay for the medical exam. This is 480RMB and is done at the Huanggang Port hospital. It takes about 1 hour.
Now for the good stuff.
Many of the students level of English is quite high especially E6, M3 and EH
It is considerably higher then Chinese and Korean teachers and especially the administration.
They are very bright and eager to learn and it is a shame that the school does not have the capacity or inclination to provide for them so they have become dispondent.
This term the school did provide text books but they are below many of the students abilities and there were not enough for everyone. For those that use the teaching editions there were not enough.
The administration staff speak little or no English so communication is difficult and many times pointless.
Despite being called an international school there is little to show it. The school routine and dialogue is always in Korean. There is very little assistance for the foreign teachers in regard to discussion and there is at best a casual curriculum.
All so called teachers meetings focused on the Korean aspect to the Korean teachers. As all teachers are in the same office the English teachers had to shut up while the teachers meetings in Korean were held.
When we organised our own English teachers meetings to discuss certain concerns we were accused of subversion.
English teachers were just given directives without any room for discussion. Basically there is no avenue for the English teachers to discuss their concerns because the adminstration doesnt speak English. Mr Park who has assumed control of the English department speaks limited English and having no real authority can do little. The power on the ground is the principal. He runs a tolatarian regime and is absolute.
A man of 71 years we use to joke that he was really North Korean because of the way he excercises authority over everyone especially the students. Most of the students do not like him and all want to leave the school. Having spoken to many of them as well as students who moved to other schools he is the main reason they either left or will leave at the end of this term. Basically they are afraid of him. He yells at them, makes them sing some sort of school song if they do the slightest thing wrong. Yells out the window from the 4th floor at them.
The students call the school KIS jail because they have no freedom and little rights. They cant go out even when I volunteered to take them to the local town with some other teachers. There are no activities for them in the school, no sports except taekwondo. No soccer field, they cannot associate with the chinese students in the school across form KIS. No after school activites. apparently they are allowed to go under escort to Walmart in Baoan every fortnight to practice their Chinese.
Even though the school admits that the English department plays a central role in this so called international school basically the only "international"
are the presence of the foreign teachers. The school hired an English speaking Korean(the one who hired me) who was very forward in his thinking and wanted to make sweeping changes to promote a proper international school and he lasted 1 day. They got rid of him after he hired 3 of the four native english speakers. His idea's were to radical.
I became friends with him but the school (Mr Park) told me after seeing me having dinnner with him one night in town that I was not to have any more contact with him or I would suffer the same fate. I believed that the school had no right to dictate to me what I did on my own time outside the school but he said it was school policy so when I have to choose between my friends and my job - the job loses.
The students parents pay around 20,000US per year to go to this school because they are told that it is an international school with all that it entails only to find that they could have gotten the same type of treatment at their own schools in Korea - for free.
Many of the students will leave to go to other schools such as SIS, QSI and some Chinese schools.
I suppose I personally would expect this from some Chinese schools given their limited experience with foreigners but for a Korean school to do this seems to be extremely negligent if not worse.
The students and their parents have high hopes when going to schools such as this and it saddens me that the school is unable or unwilling to
to do more then make empty promises. I wonder if this is a syndrome unique to China as Ive also meet some foreigners who also do this??
For me this school talks the talk but definitely doesnt walk the walk.
Rating 3/10