definately?

Hey! .. this post was obviously written by the school. You should try harder.

It's not the first time that some training center goon comes on here to defend his dirty school businesses and the unethical business practices in connection with the same. They usually masquerade as native speakers but can easily be spotted as fakes that they are because their written posts are full of Chinglish.

"His Chinglish grammar betrays him. Only in China you will meet so-called "English education experts" who can't string a basic sentence together."

His Chinglish grammar betrays him. Only in China you will meet so-called "English education experts" who can't string a basic sentence together.

I used to work at this school for a year. And I'm not agree with some things people wrote here. My assistant was nice, you really feel that you work in a team. About Jack... There was no such kind of situation that he came and started checking your appartment or anything like that. He always calls and asks if it's convenient for you to meet and what place is better for you. No issues about the salary, too. Overtime was paid accordingly. I don't know if they changed their policy just before I came there or I'm just so lucky but honestly, I have no complains. Probably, some people really don't understand that it's China and some things can seem weird or abnormal but apart from these "Chinese" things everything was fine...

If esl teachers would just do a little research on the schools that offer them employment. I've been teaching English in China now for seven years . i have come across so many bad schools like this St. John's schoolthat the other esl teachers are talking about. When so many ex teachers complain about this school. It's a pretty fair bet this school sucks. I've read all the comments from previous teachers. And the one thing I noticed is that not one of St. John's previous teachers came to the defense of the school. To me this Speaks volumes . AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID. Not all them teachers can be wrong. Also when applying for a teaching job in China . Ask to speak to the schools current teachers or ask for the contact details of the schools previous teachers. If it's a decent school they should have no problem supplying you with that information.

I am in full agreement with the previous post; we should keep this forum dedicated to warning future teachers about the horrible and degrading experience that is St. John's English School in Zhoushan, China.

I reviewed every single claim about St. John's English School on this forum... and EVERY SINGLE THING SAID ABOUT THIS SCHOOL IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! In fact, I would say that some of the criticisms against this school are a little bit under-emphasized! I cannot even begin to describe how horrible my time was at St. Johns English School.

Let's start with Jake (the owner of the school) and Cherry (Jake's girlfriend). Jake's consciousness is equivalent to that of a 5 year old boy. He is selfish, greedy, absent-minded, unreasonable, and irresponsible to name just a few of his reprehensible qualities. When working for Jake it is necessary to watch your back at all times. This means that you must always review your bank statement when money is deposited into your account because each time there is almost a 100% chance that a significant amount will be missing (however it really doesn't achieve anything because when you question him about the missing sum of money he will either 1) give you a ridiculous answer intended to steer you away from the topic or 2) he will become very angry).

To say that jake is a liar is an understatement. Jake is a pathological liar who would lie to you about the color of the sky if you asked him if it was blue. Get the point? I also learned very quickly that I could not trust a single word that came out of Jake's mouth. Jake does not differentiate between serious lies that could have potentially serious consequences or everyday white lies - he constantly tells them all.

Jake is the most unreliable man that I have ever met. When he is due to pick you up in 10 minutes you are guaranteed to still be waiting for him an hour and a half later.

Next to Bernard Madoff, Jake is the most unethical business man in the world. His business practices include committing identity theft in order to obtain underage or unqualified teachers working visas (he uses passport numbers, names, and other forms of extremely sensitive identification documents of teachers who have applied to work at the school, but have not ended up working for St. John's, to obtain working visas for teachers who are too young to work or who have no degree, etc.), forging fake documents such as passports and degrees, and exploiting his extensive government personnel friendships in order to circumvent laws and regulations.

Jake is never satisfied with any of his teachers and he does indeed blame every single little thing that goes wrong on his teachers. It does not matter how ridiculous his logic is or how diplomatic you are when dealing with jake; he is convinced that he is always right and that his logic is impenetrable. He is, without a doubt, the most difficult man to reason with or even talk to about anything.

Just one more interesting fact about Jake: Jake has a side business importing Filipino women into china. Jake is very secretive about this and reluctant to discuss it which leads me to wonder what exactly he is importing them for. Prostitution? I don't know... you decide.

Jake's girlfriend Cherry is a terribly cruel and manipulative individual. Her consciousness is equivalent to that of a starved, caged animal; aggressive and merciless. She has an unparalleled ability to publicly degrade teachers and assistants to the point of making a grown man cry. Her mere presence in the office is enough to send a chill up anyone's spine. I have never spoken with another teacher or assistant who has not strived to avoid her at all costs, least she should throw one of her constant fits and fall into a rage, because when this happens nobody is safe.

Please be aware that the contract that you sign detailing everything from your salary to your living conditions while working for St. John's English School is not worth the paper it is written on. Furthermore, please be aware that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It is very true that Jake becomes extremely angry when you bring up the subject of the contract and he does indeed yell things such as "this is not your country. Contracts do not matter here." You will undoubtedly work many more hours than stated in your contract, not receive as many days off per week (if any!), and not be provided the salary or accommodations described in your contract.

The living conditions provided for the teachers are, to say the least, disturbing. If you plan on living in the house provided for the teachers you had better bring your A-game because the roaches fight back. [In the house] the summers are unbearably hot and the winters are freezing cold (due to the fact that most of the air conditioners do not work). Water leaks from the ceiling, there is mold growing on almost every surface possible inside the house, most of the toilets don't work, the showers consist of small nozzles on the side of the bathroom wall, you are very lucky to have a hot shower (because the water heater is older than I am), the neighbors will hate you (because they are all elderly and from generations that inherently despise foreigners), people make noise as they dig through your trash at 3 AM, and there is even what appears to be blood spatter on the walls in the living room and bathrooms (no I am not joking). Additionally, I would never even consider cooking in the kitchen or sitting on the couches or chairs, both of which are completely saturated with insects and mold.

I hope that my warnings have given you, the reader, a clear picture of what it is like to work at St. John's english School in Zhoushan. Please know that everything I have stated above is the absolute truth and that I am only posting this in the hope that some other individual does not have to suffer through what I did while working for St. John's English School. PLEASE, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ST. JOHN'S ENGLISH SCHOOL.

Have a nice day.

Your son should contact the nearest US embassy/consulate for help.

And then not come to China again. Horrid place.

This is China. What were you expecting?

Shouting at children in class, he does expect of all his teachers, he describes it as a good class the parents will be happy.

This is true. Chinese parents scream at their young offspring. What's more, Chinese parents encourage their toddlers to scream loudly. When their kids do so, their parents are extremely happy. It's the culture here. I've seen it on quite a few situs in public near my apartment block. Good parenting? I doubt it!

To all recruiters out there, if you recruit teachers for St.Johns English School, I hope you can live with the guilt of ruining someones life and time!

Do you mind telling us which recruiter recruited you and your friend?

Dear all,

I would like to find out more about teaching at St. John's, is it really so bad? I want to find out mroe about going to China as an ESL teacher. Can someone who has taught there and is interested in sharing more please email me at natalie.lenrer@gmail.com? Would appreciate it if I can find out more about this school!

Thank you all in advance!

Nat.

What a coincidence that I should find this post - I also used to work at St. John's English School in Zhoushan and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write about my experiences. I could not agree with the previous post more: St. JOHNS ENGLISH SCHOOL IS A TERRIBLE SCHOOL. Jake (the owner of the school) is unequivocally the most unreasonable and nonsensical man I have ever met. Additionally, he constantly tells lies and half-truths, even about things that are irrelevant and unrelated to important issues. After working for him for only one month it became apparent that I could not trust anything he said. Jake would often show up at the teachers provided house uninvited and walk around the house, looking into rooms and even going through our rooms and our personal stuff like a policeman searches a house for contraband. The teachers are NEVER paid on time. In fact, while working for St. John's English School I was never paid sooner than 4 days after payday. Additionally, the amount of payment was extremely inconsistent. Different amounts would be deducted from my pay each month (sometimes up to 1000 RMB!). When I asked Jake why so much was taken from my pay he would say things like "Oh, this is cultural difference." or "This not important." When I would demand an answer he would often become angry. In my contract, it specified that I should receive 2 days off per week and work a certain number of hours each week. However, I only got 1 day off each week (sometimes not even that!) and I always worked many more hours each week than was specified in my contract. When I confronted Jake about these discrepancies in my contract, Jake became angry and stated "Never mention the contract! The contract doesn't matter. Chinese contracts not the same as in your country." I would finally like to mention that Jake's girlfriend, Cherry, is one of the coldest, most uncaring, and meanest people that I have ever met. She basically operates according to a 'rule by fear and an iron fist' principle. I would also like to mention that the schools are in poor condition - not the buildings, but rather the curriculum, etc. All of the toys are broken and the curriculum is a scam. Jake even said to me once that "We not care if children really learn English. We care if children happy because if children happy then parents pay." No joke. In conclusion: PLEASE STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM St. JOHN'S ENGLISH SCHOOL AS POSSIBLE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

This leads me to my next logical question: Are there any decent schools in China? All we see on these boards are complaint after complaint after complaint.

Extc.