Professor C
- 2013-10-29
As of this year, 2013, Witty was bought by yet another person looking for a quick turn in profits.
My friend, Tad Miller who worked there for three years in Tangu, Tianjin, was delayed salary
often and in the end was denied his completion bonus. He was controversial and obstinate
to have his way and students were happy to meet him and have classes wherever they wanted to
but their breech of contract and downright thievery is despicable. May they have a slow, painful death!
Jeff
- 2009-09-27
You worked at one branch of 3 for one year, and you're willing to say for certain that my description of my management at my branch for the years 2007-2009 was not accurate? Well thought out.
You said you were the youngest staff member, and yet you also claim to know a lot about typical Chinese management style. Is that based on experience or arrogance?
You never had trouble. So there musn't have been any trouble to be had.
Four hours straight is a very long time to be receptive to students' specific needs, to be lively and interesting, to be clever and creative, to adapt a lesson which isn't fit for a paricular group. But it's not such a long time to read out and follow some basic instructions. You nailed it.
Did you stop to think that the reason I claimed to have had a student who was five years old, was that I had one? Oh wait, you didn't have one, so it must have been a lie.
As for communication, they didn't hold a single staff meeting involving the foreign teachers in the two years I worked there. Does that sound like management that desires communication to you?
Ever noticed the waiters gathered outside of restaurants in China? That's for their DAILY staff meeting. Not having a single staff meeting says plenty without speaking.
If you enjoyed working at Witty, "hazaa!"
I based my statements on my observations of and discussions with 11 other teachers.
Yours was not the only possible experience, nor is yours the only possible perspective.
Ben Watson
- 2009-09-26
Wow,
Your criticisms of Witty tell me that you're incredibly lazy and that you like to complain.
Nothing you said about Management is atypical. They want to protect their interests and the way the go about things is in line with a lot of Chinese eccentricities.
Plus, I worked there for year and I never had trouble getting paid or getting support from management.
Witty is the only place that I've ever worked where people complained about having to work for 4 HOURS straight. Seriously, it's a job and an easy one at that. Why do you even need time between classes, I mean they're all right next to each other and the curriculum is easy and all right in front of you.
I also don't recall ever having a student that was 5 years old. Your age reference is an incredible exaggeration.
They wanted their employees to be on time and to dress appropriately. I thought that the teachers who complained about this were nuts. If it were me I probably would have sent people home the way some people were dressing.
It seems that you don't realize that this is a BUSINESS and although they have their problems such as bad communication, I've actually noticed that bad communication in ESL schools is pretty common in China. These managers don't understand our point of view and the funny thing is that instead of explaining situations to them teachers would simply antagonize them and complain to them in the least constructive way possible.
I was the youngest person on this staff for a while and although we got jerked around sometimes, I was pretty embarrassed at how the other teachers would respond to them. Maybe the reason that certain teachers had less problems with the management is that they communicated with them better and would garner more respect. Maybe you should try that.
Ben
Tom
- 2009-09-05
So what do you do with this generous break between classes, go to a relaxing teachers room? I don't think so; in actual fact you just move along the fish bowl to another see-through compartment, where you put back the just- taught plan and select the next chinglish lesson plan- it will be incomplete, so you will be late for the next lesson.
The Looks
- 2009-08-15
In Teda they don't give breaks in between classes.
Jeffrey Christenson
- 2009-06-19
Dude, good for you.
I'm truly glad that you haven't had any difficulties.
You work in the Tianjin school don't you? Not in the Tanggu or TEDA schools.
In the TEDA school I assure you, teachers are reprimanded for being 5 minutes late for class, and the class times are scheduled back to back.
I may not have known how to deal with my boss, that's true. But neither did any of my colleagues. We were all in the same boat.
FYI though dude, watch out for Cathy.
She has what some people call a "black heart."
She's also two faced. I thought she was sweet as pie at first.
She offered me a third contract. I declined. When I asked for my release letter (simply stating I had finished my contract and had not split on them), she told me that she had the power to grant it, but refused.
She elaborated by telling me that as I no longer worked there, and she doesn't need anything from me, and therefor I couldn't ask for anything.
When I told her I had contacted a lawyer about it, she FREAKED OUT, and hung up the phone on me.
Later she sent a furious text message telling me that she didn't like being threatened.
She even ranted and huffed about my so called "threat" in the next staff meeting.
I don't mean to be spreading lies. What I stated were the facts as I know them.
There are other experiences, but my colleagues read my review and whole heartedly agreed with it. They will be adding their own reviews shortly.
mike gosciejew
- 2009-06-18
yes some of these things are true but the school is a decent place to work. as far as the no time between classes thats bullshit... every teacher has at least 5-10 min. i also have been here for 2 years and have had no major proplems. maybe you just dont understand how to deal with your specific boss...
This is a dishonest organization from the top, all the way through. Their general policy is to lie about nearly everything to staff and students. You cannot trust what they tell you. I urge teachers to stay away.
I worked for them for 2 years. I stayed so long for reasons other than the quality of the school. Since I left the school the situation has gone downhill and fast due to new management.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
8 hours per day in the school, no exceptions.
5 FULL HOUR classes per day
ZERO break between class times resulting in up to 4 CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF TEACHING
Ages in one class ranging from 5-55 (nuff said?)
Formal dress code
Christmas Day as a working day unless it's your usual day off
No bonuses paid nor gifts given for Chinese nor western holidays (really no personal attention whatsoever)
Managers with unclear powers and responsibilities. Basically you don't know who to please nor who to go to for help. This is for sure, the management does not have your back in any situation. You will need others to have your back to protect you from management.
They didn't have a staff meeting in the 2 years I worked there. I was told that the new manager held a meeting simply to state her new policies of iron fist rule.
Children's English Corner:
A free talk class which is open to be attended by children ranging in age from 5-12. There is no level requirement, and the children often cannot speak nor understand almost any English at all. There is no material provided as it is meant to be a free talk. The number of students could be as high as 40. If you have any experience in ESL this should frighten you. If you have no experience, just trust me that it's hell.
Adult "A" level English Corner:
A free talk class which is open to be attended by children over 12 and adults, lower than "BG" (beginner) level. As stated lower than beginner means that they can't really converse in English at all. Again there is no material provided and it is expected that the class be a free talk. Again trust me that it's hell.
English Corner:
A free talk class which is open to be attended by students over the age of 12. Levels range from beginner to advanced. The school considers it a free talk class but now requires power point presentations. Topics must be discussed regardless of the student's interest. The teachers have been warned not to deviate from topic nor to ever arrive to class without a topic and simply "free talk" (what I did for my 2 years).
Witty History:
-withheld from my pay the damage deposit for my apartment. I lived in the apartment for 1 year and DAMAGED NOTHING! I have confirmed knowledge of two teachers having lived there before me, and I suspect there could have been many others. There was no inspection done upon my arrival and no inspection done after I had moved out. The claim of damage was "missing door." I can only give you the reader my word that I did not remove a door.
-Wrote into the contracts of at least 2 teachers that they would not be required to teach children, and then disregarded that clause completely.
-Told teachers one teaching location from abroad, and changed it upon their arrival.
-Withheld the contract completion bonus from a teacher of 2 years because they arranged for him to fall 2 weeks short of completing his contract
-Held the passport of a teacher they considered a flight risk
-Attempted to charge many months of expenses ahead of time to another teacher they considered a flight risk
Under the previous management they were tolerable although unreliable. Under the new management they are simply one of the horror story schools.