This is PRECISELY what I have said on numerous occasions... It falls on deaf ears though, they are unwilling (or unable) to see the harm they do with their blanket generalisations and bias.I have seen some people posting legitimate problems with certain schools, but then those two come on and they are so ridiculous that they discredit the original post. If I were a foreign teacher interested in a school and someone posted a warning about it I would take that warning more seriously if these two weren't going on about it as they have no information to give. They leave the impression that everything on every school is negative so teachers are still taking these jobs, they just can't see through the bs laid on be these guys and people still end up at those schools that genuinely should be stayed away from.
Oh, I went through that emotion... But he really does bring it on himself! He spent three years accusing me of being a man, despite pictures to prove the contrary! If he wants to behave like a child, I will treat him as such!I actually feel bad that I have been bickering with a guy my dads age.
Glad to hear it! This board could use more balanced and objective posters! It's precisely why I stick around too!I am going to still post to help future teachers and hopefully leave some insight that can genuinely help people preparing to go abroad.
Yea your right. I lost hope when they kept repeating "parasites”。I am new on this website and I went back to look at other posts they have made and I see them saying the same crap. I won't bother arguing with them. This site could be fairly useful to a lot of people. I have seen some people posting legitimate problems with certain schools, but then those two come on and they are so ridiculous that they discredit the original post. If I were a foreign teacher interested in a school and someone posted a warning about it I would take that warning more seriously if these two weren't going on about it as they have no information to give. They leave the impression that everything on every school is negative so teachers are still taking these jobs, they just can't see through the bs laid on be these guys and people still end up at those schools that genuinely should be stayed away from.
I looked Turnoi up. Is he the guy who has a blog and says he is the linguistics guy with all those fancy degrees and what not from Estonia? If so I am sure he is highly qualified, but his attitude probably makes him a horrible educator compared to a fresh young mind just out of school. Atleast new graduates aren't corrupt yet and still have hope to be changing forces in student's lives.
Unfortunately the ESL business in China can be discriminatory against older people. Maybe these two have had their day and the industry has washed them up and spit them out. I would be bitter like them too if I saw younger less experienced people landing the jobs. I don't know what they do, but I am not going to combat them anymore. I actually feel bad that I have been bickering with a guy my dads age. I am going to still post to help future teachers and hopefully leave some insight that can genuinely help people preparing to go abroad.
As Turnoi has proven with his latest posts, he is unable to separate universal professor with state school teacher. €4-5000 per month?! High school teachers in the UK earn on average €2500 per month before tax! The problem you have with Turnoi is that he cannot (or will not) understand these very simple things
He should be like me and not even bother to think about it even. I am never ever going to get a job in a UK school or even a good university in China. Although it's very easy to get a job as as an acting professor for most universities in China if you can provide a sub-standard doctorate or even bachelors at least; and I've done that. Why he stresses himself out with stuff that will never affect him is beyond me. My advice to him is to get himself a job as an FT for Yuncheng IELTS or somewhere realistic, where the accent don't matter.
They are completely lost causes, I wouldn't waste your time.trying to have a proper rational discussion with them!
As Turnoi has proven with his latest posts, he is unable to separate universal professor with state school teacher. €4-5000 per month?! High school teachers in the UK earn on average €2500 per month before tax! The problem you have with Turnoi is that he cannot (or will not) understand these very simple things
University teaching is not the be all and end all of the ESL world.
The majority of ESL teaching is done before a student arrives at university.
State school teaching of ESL is often done by a non-native speaker who then imparts incorrect information to their students, as an example I knew an Italian state school English teacher who thought ice-cream was pronounced 'eecha crema'
TCs and private schools, good ones mind you, provide small classes and qualified native English speaking teachers. This is much more beneficial to esl students than large classes taught by non-native speakers.
State/government-run schools are just as open to corruption as private schools, especially in China where Turnoi's own dean accepts bribes to pass failing students.
Curtis, your ideas for foreign owned private schools in.China is a good one. Don't listen to Turnoi and SB, they have Jo idea what they're talking about and will confine to repeat their tired and misinformed mantra despite the intelligent input they are faced with.
Ok you little boys are a lost cause. For those of you who actually care about education, travelling to China, and justice for teachers lets continue the conversation.
Training centers provide small class sizes and good education for children, if it is done right. Im guessing SB and Turnoi are not in this for the good of education. They have their own agenda which makes them the same as the "parasite" Chinese bosses of the bad training centers they preach about.
Chinese kids getting English education in their public school is usually 50 plus kids in a classroom with a Chinese teacher and if the school is good enough they might have a few foreigners on staff that come in and teach the class part time. How can children learn a language effectively in such a horrible setting. The foreign teacher would essentially see hundreds of kids a week. That said I am sure there are some good ones that still find ways to be successful. I suppose we could expect every chinese family to shell out 200,000 RMB a year to go to an internationally accredited school with western certified teachers teaching all in English. Maybe SB and Turnoi would consider that a school. I mean every one can afford that right? So many kids in China are learning English. Despite what people say English is and will be for a very long time the world's business language. I know it sounds cool thinking, China will surpass America as the most influential country in the world and everyone will be learning Chinese. Yea right. I doubt that in fifty years business men from Korea doing business with people from France will be speaking Chinese to each other. It will still be English! English is an insight for these kids into a bigger world.
I take a lot of pride in the work I did as a foreign teacher at training centers. It was fun and the kids learned. Then again I am old fashioned, I come into work on time, sober, and I don't ask for things not in my contract so I never got in a fight with any of my bosses. I was however smart enough to see shady situations in which I turned down before agreeing to anything. Every foreign teacher should bargain for their contract and get a good package. Don't accept crap and stick up for yourself if your boss tries to screw you. It does happen. However with a training center you are contributing directly to their income so you have power.
There are some intelligent people that after they get screwed use this message board to warn others about a shady school and bad boss. They have legitimate grievances, but their main motive is preventing others from ending up in a bad situation.
SB and Turnoi are beyond that. They write on this site everyday about things to which they have some knowledge. I won't discount their experiences. They could actually be useful if all they did was provide input. Someone asks, my boss is doing this or I was offered this. However they can't be taken seriously when they come out and say all training schools are useless and terrible.
I don't know who SB and Turnoi are in real life. Perhaps they make the same judgments with regard to race, sexuality, and religion. I know if I meet someone in real life such as Turnoi or Silverboy who say all people from such and such a group are bad, then I know this person is a bigot and we have no place for bigots in society. I hope they change as they grow up as I am sure the both of them live very unhappy lives.
Again to all of you who want to travel and want to teach well. Just do your research because you can get screwed, but its not written in stone. Work hard, abide by your contract, give your students all you have and no one can fault you for that. You will feel great. I am proud to say many of my students I taught for years are excellent in English.
Some of you foreigners who have been in China a while and see TC bosses screwing foreigners over I am sure their business is being held back. You have an opportunity as well. Why not open your own school and put education first, which means treating teachers fairly. Turnoi and SB have still failed to give me numbers that I asked for as to what would be fair compensation, but since they also failed grade 3 math I don't blame them. I know from the accounting of a school there is more than enough room to make a profit and give decent salaries, nice apartments, big bonuses etc. It is just a shame Chinese bosses would rather squeeze every penny.