In principle I'd agree that all the situations you've described are real and that you could find examples of them at many training schools. Of course it shouldn't come as any surprise that these schools are in it for the money, although it is a constant concern that they feel the best way to raise profits is to walk all over the teachers.

However, whether working for one of these schools means you will lose your soul or have to sell it I find difficult to believe and it sounds slightly melodramatic. You always have a choice and even where you've perhaps made a bad choice and find yourself in a difficult situation I don't believe that these employers can take anything more than time and material things from you.

However, if you're genuinely worried, Here would be my advice

1. Just don't work for them in the first place
2. Having taken a job, If conditions don't meet your expectations, leave
3. If you find yourself being fired for not meeting your employers expectations should you be that surprised (I've written about these jobs being very much like sales & marketing positions before. If you put up the numbers you're fine, if not ......)

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

Oscar Wilde

Teachers who sing the praises of EF or similar schools do not know they have been hookwinked. It is an undeniable fact these schools will use the teachers to generate as much money as possible for them and do not care two hoots about their souls. The teachers can be given the boot anytime. Think!

A pro bu*lsh*t comes with MANY toilets that've been converted into pro teaching. I've worked in a couple and opened a couple cloned toilets as I was requested to. I've met MANY EF pros at my centers, in Shanghai's headquarters, and I've also worked with an EF pro whom I've wined and dined at my rented EF home and out. He posed as a Summer EF teacher at MANY EF centers around China once. Currently, he may be working for an EF center as a DoS and his hot headquarter-center exchanges may still continue. The reason why i am saying all this is that there are MANY pros and toilets on mainland China, some with and some without the paper or possibilty to wash your hands adequately. The bottom line here is that this franchise is full of just about everything and if their flushing system does not work well enough, you'll get stuck just like the toilets do.

Cheers and beers to gambling in casinos and education :)

Guys I have also worked in many EF schools and currently still o. Tornoi, Does that mean I have sold my soul? Really your comments are really low blows to teachers who are actually happy working at EF and I have to say if you think their methodologies are wrong then you aren't qualified to be a teacher. I agree very much about the ZhuHai school as I worked there before too and that particular school isn't well run. I wouldn't trust the franchisee either ever again so to Deb if you wish to work for an EF school in other cities where the franchisees are really good and run the school and give the education experience in the right way then you won't have a problem.

If you have worked for EF before and find a good school then this is should be said too and I would hate people to ridicule all of EF just because they have had a bad time in one of the smaller schools where clearly changes need to be made. I had some great friends working in that school before and the DOS at that time was amazing but got fed up with all the problems and left. Then an idiot guy from America took over and then it wasn't just the franchisee you had to worry about! You had to deal with a very inexperienced numb scull pedantic kid! I understand why people would try to blame head office for this but really and truly they try their best to support the schools as best as they can but it is up to the school itself to hire the right staff and teachers to get the job done right. When I was in Zhuhai for example the teachers although good friends wouldn't have been able to get a Z visa even if the school wanted to. They weren't qualified in any way at all not even a BA level degree and that is the biggest problem getting visas.

With every franchise that is the size of EF you are going to get some bad stories and reports however we seriously need to keep a little aware of our limited experiences in one or two schools. I guess you could say I have been lucky to have worked in only one bad school and the others have all been great. CHEERS TO ALL AS I'VE SOLD MY SOUL!!!! hahaha