Well I'm flabbergasted. Bludgeoned into submission and wisely abandoning the frail protection offered by blog-city, Sandy has risen from the cyber dead. To mark the occasion here is a reprint of the final posting that immediately preceded his exit from The TEFL Blacklist and led to the subsequent entry of your noble sleuth.
P.S. That old adage of "watch your back" should now be "watch your IP address".
Sandy takes no prisoners whatsoever, and whether you like it or not..............he's back.
And as for Jean-Guy Girard. You have had a temporary reprieve of about 18 months. Be grateful for small Murphies.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Girard English House, Kitami, Japan
I was recently employed by Girard English House (GEH) in Kitami, Eastern Hokkaido. After about 2 months, I decided to give my notice. For the record, I did work out the 2 months notice that was stipulated in the contract. I left the job because I felt that my employer was dishonest with me about certain aspects of the job before my arrival. I also didn’t like the way the school was run.
GEH is a small eikaiwa with one location in Kitami and another in Abashiri. The school is run by a Canadian man, basically out of his house. (The main location in Kitami is also his house.) The school employs two foreign teachers at a time. I felt the need to warn people about this school since, although they are a small school, they are frequently advertising for new teachers.
Here are some of my qualms with the school:
* In the job ad for this job it states that there are paid national holidays and paid vacation. While national holidays are paid, the vacation time is not. Because of this, you only receive the advertised salary (250,000 yen) six or seven months out of the year. The vacation time that you are paid for is taken from your yukyu days. So if you get sick at all during your contract, those days are deducted from your pay.
* In the job ad, it does say that driving is required. I was nervous at the idea of driving in Japan, especially in Hokkaido. When I asked the school owner how often I would have to drive he said once a week. He told me this over the phone and also in writing. However, once I arrived, I found out that I would be driving almost every day, sometimes just within the same town and other times I would drive for over an hour (each way).
* My biggest problem with this job was that the foreign teachers are not allowed to socialize with the teachers from other eikaiwas in town. Once I arrived at the job my boss presented me with a contract in which I had to agree to this. The penalty for talking to these people at all was ‘loss of privileges.’ If I were to have talked to one of these teachers about a work related topic, the contract stated that I would be fired. In hindsight, there is no way I should have signed this. But at the time, I had just arrived at my first TEFL job and I didn’t want to rock the boat.
*We were also discouraged from socializing with the local JETs, as my former employer said they were all losers.
* At one point, my former employer found out that the other foreign teacher and I had been going to a certain bar in town that other foreigners also go to. He then told us not to go there, because he claimed that the bar owners were spies for the other eikaiwas in town.
* I was told in the interview that all of the teachers had stayed on for at least 2 years and that one couple had actually stayed for 4. In reality, the two teachers that left before me had been there for only 2 months and they’d had another teacher come and go that year after only a few months. One of the Japanese staff (no longer employed there) told me that the couple that had supposedly stayed for 4 years had only stayed 2 years.
Now, about the contract…
* When I interviewed for the job, I was told that driving time was included in the 40 hour work week. But in the contract it states that driving time is outside of these 40 hours.
* The teaching hours that I agreed to were no more than 25. The contract states 30.
* Teachers are allowed to socialize with students but must ask permission of the school first.
* If the teacher breaches any of the clauses of the contract, he/she may be fired without notice. I’m pretty sure that one is totally illegal. It is my understanding that the employer must always give 30 days notice or a month’s pay in lieu of notice.
Now you may say, ‘why on earth would you sign this contract?’ Good question. I was hearing one thing from the employer and the contract said another. I thought that I could trust the employer and he made it sound like a good job. I was much more cautious when I went for my new job.
In the end, I did speak with the teachers from other schools and I found out some interesting things. For example:
* The owner of GEH used to work for another eikaiwa in town and he’s said to have taken a lot of their business with him.
* He has been successfully sued by 2 of his former Japanese employees.
* He was quite vehement that the teachers from the other eikaiwas were ‘unqualified losers’ but he had actually offered many of them jobs at GEH if they had been willing to leave their current jobs.
If you do decide to apply for this job, I would encourage you to make sure you ask very specific questions about the job and make sure you know what you’re getting into.
posted by The TEFL Blacklister @ 6/23/2006 06:10:00 PM
7 Comments:
Anonymous said...
This is so true!!!
A lot of illegal stuff is happening inside GEH!!!
July 10, 2006 4:00 AM
Anonymous said...
Indeed indeed. A terrible place, all because of a certain owner. I stayed there 1 year. I was never given the non-socialisation policy to sign (maybe because I'd been in Japan for a while already and He realised I wouldn't agree to that? I'm not sure). There's dishonesty going on in many places, although he's a very slippery customer. I suggest, if you work there, join a union (form a local chapter if necessary) and get Him sorted out.
July 14, 2006 8:42 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...
Well, I'm just glad I can be of some help to any future 'mugs' who might be considering a move there.
July 14, 2006 10:26 AM
Jill Ball said...
This post has been removed by the author.
October 07, 2006 6:55 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...
And now the boss of GEH is trying to sue me, intimidate me, and God knows what else. He claims it's all lies - so why not post your rebuttal, stupid?!
December 24, 2006 6:15 AM
Anonymous said...
I'm not going to get involved but Sandy you risk losing your job if some of your ever increasing enemies ever find out where and who you are and denounce you.
You could do a better job if you were totally sure of your facts, before you libel innocent schools/recruiters as they are the most likely to really want to nail you and expose you.
I am a firm sandyM supporter but I do think sometimes on the flimsiest of evidence you sometimes shoot from the hip before thinking and it totally devalues your potentially valuable blog.
As for your victim I haven't a clue about the place but I do know a bit about libel and you would be crucified if someone ever revealed who you really were. I expect you'll be tempted to pull this posting which would be a pity as there is a need for people like you - just exercise a little less venom as it may prove your undoing and the web would lose a useful blogger.
An anonymous TEFLER (who doesn't want to lose his job)
December 26, 2006 1:48 AM
The TEFL Blacklister said...
MORE of THE SAME!!!
WATCH OUT FOR GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI, HOKKAIDO!!! [JAPAN]
Dear Prospective Teacher,
I have been living and teaching in Kitami(a small city in Hokkaido) for quite some time now. I must caution anyone thinking of accepting a position offered by GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE. In the short time that I have been here, I have seen eight different foreign teachers come and go from this school and none of them have had anything good to say. In fact, all with the exception of one, have expressed to me that it was an awful experience. The school is run by a man named Jean-Guy. He used to work for another school in Kitami called ASC. He either left this position or was fired. (I honestly don´t know which) He then opened his own school and has since been making a living in Kitami. While all schools within the Kitami area co-exist in relative peace, Jean-Guy has proven himself to be a vicious liar and a generally manipulative individual. I wish I could go into more detail as to my personal experiences pertaining to this but I must protect my own identity, as I have to live here and not make my school a greater target for him. His social policy is remeniscent more of a gestapo than any english school I´ve ever heard of. He does not allow his foreign teachers to converse(either professionally or personally) with any other english teachers or associates thereof. Since Kitami is such a small town, this generally means EVERY foreigner in Kitami. He attempts to convince his teachers that Kitami is filled with spies attempting to infiltrate and destroy his business, while the only one destrying his business is himself. He has been successfully sued twice in Kitami by two of his teachers for breach of contract. (Yet he will vehemently deny this) I spoke to both of the teachers involved and neither of them would have anything to gain by lying. Anyways, I don´t want to keep writing this. Truthfully, I would rather not say anything bad if I don´t have to. I simply feel a responsibility to forewarn any foreigner considering one of his positions. If you don´t believe me, ask him for recent references and find out for yourself. Then again, considering the type of person Jean-Guy is, he will probably try to talk you out of reference checking, or just give you phony ones.
Tread Cautiously,
Regretfully Anonymous
Regretfully Annonymo [2006-02-17, 23:22:00][ID: 1529-9791]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This posting is completely true. I had the horrible experience of working for this man. He lies constantly about the most stupid and pointless things. He is paranoid beyond belief. One of those people who never has anything good to say about others, but has nothing but positive things to say about himself. The only people he treats worse than his native English teachers, are his Japanese teachers. You can speak privately with several past and present teachers to discover the truth, but I think that would be a waste of time. There are plenty of opportunities in Hokkaido for Native English teachers. Smart teachers will avoid Girard English House at all costs.
P.T. [2006-04-25, 17:11:00][ID: 1529-20091]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I too had an experience that was bad!! I was intimated and threatened by this man. I realised very soon after starting this job that I wouldnt be staying long, after he asked me to lie about my professional career. DO NOT go to this school, unless you are not bothered by these comments.
Lesson learnt [2006-06-12, 13:09:00][ID: 1529-23188]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I might be just repeating what is said about GEH, but Jean-Guy says seriously nothing but lies! And this posting is almost painfully true!!! Stay away from GEH!
Annonymous [2006-07-10, 08:13:00][ID: 1529-23891]
December 26, 2006 7:11 AM
ENGLISH SCHOOL WATCH
WATCH OUT FOR GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI, HOKKAIDO!!! [JAPAN]
Dear Prospective Teacher,
I have been living and teaching in Kitami(a small city in Hokkaido) for quite some time now. I must caution anyone thinking of accepting a position offered by GIRRARD ENGLISH HOUSE. In the short time that I have been here, I have seen eight different foreign teachers come and go from this school and none of them have had anything good to say. In fact, all with the exception of one, have expressed to me that it was an awful experience. The school is run by a man named Jean-Guy. He used to work for another school in Kitami called ASC. He either left this position or was fired. (I honestly don´t know which) He then opened his own school and has since been making a living in Kitami. While all schools within the Kitami area co-exist in relative peace, Jean-Guy has proven himself to be a vicious liar and a generally manipulative individual. I wish I could go into more detail as to my personal experiences pertaining to this but I must protect my own identity, as I have to live here and not make my school a greater target for him. His social policy is remeniscent more of a gestapo than any english school I´ve ever heard of. He does not allow his foreign teachers to converse(either professionally or personally) with any other english teachers or associates thereof. Since Kitami is such a small town, this generally means EVERY foreigner in Kitami. He attempts to convince his teachers that Kitami is filled with spies attempting to infiltrate and destroy his business, while the only one destrying his business is himself. He has been successfully sued twice in Kitami by two of his teachers for breach of contract. (Yet he will vehemently deny this) I spoke to both of the teachers involved and neither of them would have anything to gain by lying. Anyways, I don´t want to keep writing this. Truthfully, I would rather not say anything bad if I don´t have to. I simply feel a responsibility to forewarn any foreigner considering one of his positions. If you don´t believe me, ask him for recent references and find out for yourself. Then again, considering the type of person Jean-Guy is, he will probably try to talk you out of reference checking, or just give you phony ones.
Tread Cautiously,
Regretfully Annonymous
Regretfully Annonymo [2006-02-17, 23:22:00][ID: 1529-9791] This posting is completely true. I had the horrible experience of working for this man. He lies constantly about the most stupid and pointless things. He is paranoid beyond belief. One of those people who never has anything good to say about others, but has nothing but positive things to say about himself. The only people he treats worse than his native English teachers, are his Japanese teachers. You can speak privately with several past and present teachers to discover the truth, but I think that would be a waste of time. There are plenty of opportunities in Hokkaido for Native English teachers. Smart teachers will avoid Girard English House at all costs.
P.T. [2006-04-25, 17:11:00][ID: 1529-20091] I too had an experience that was bad!!
I was intimated and threatened by this man. I realised very soon after starting this job that I wouldnt be staying long, after he asked me to lie about my professional career.
DO NOT go to this school, unless you are not bothered by these comments.
Lesson learnt [2006-06-12, 13:09:00][ID: 1529-23188] I might be just repeating what is said about GEH, but Jean-Guy says seriously nothing but lies!
And this posting is almost painfully true!!!
Stay away from GEH!
Annonymous [2006-07-10, 08:13:00][ID: 1529-23891]
MARKS ESL FORUM
STAY AWAY FROM GIRARD ENGLISH HOUSE IN KITAMI
Posted By: Rgretfully Annonymous (210.170.202.196)
Date: Sunday, 19 February 2006, at 5:03 a.m.
Word to the wise. Stay well away from this school unless you enjoy being forced to sign social policy contracts. Every aspect of your life will be invaded and monitored by the paraniod and manipulative owner named Jean-Guy. He is very nice and helpful before you arrive and when you become one of his teachers, you are treated like a disposable posession. You are not allowed to converse with other foreigners. (He will say this is a lie, but what he means is that you can not talk to any other teachers, while every foreigner in Kitami is an English teacher.)Be prepared to have absolutely no social life except going on pathetic field trips with his family. Several of his teachers have sucessfuly sued him for refusing to pay them. (Although he will vehemently deny this) Ask to speak PRIVATELY with SEVERAL of his teachers from both past and present and you will discover the truth about this nightmare of a school.
http://tefltrade.blog-city.com/the_true_calibre_of_efl_school_owners.htm
« H E » Sandy :: email link
About .45? That's the IQ, I mean. And I say this because some stupid geezer wonderful guy in Japan is threatening to sue me, and persecute me to the ends of the Earth, and all because of this little piece [LINK DELETED] that turned up on the Tefl Blacklist blog (which, as I am sure you all know, is nothing at all to do with Sandy McManus). I mean, I didn't even write the damned thing, and now it's apparently all my fault!
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A Supernova?
• noun (pl. supernovae /sooprnovee, syoo-/ or supernovas) Astronomy a star that undergoes a catastrophic explosion, becoming suddenly very much brighter. Source The Oxford Dictionary.
So what on earth is actually going on. Your intrepid sleuth reported a few weeks back that rumblings of a stellar proportion were emanating from the land of the rising bum. Here are a few juicy pieces reported about the dodgy things happening at NOVA Japan.
This is what the Sydney Evening Herald reported last week......
Hundreds of Australian teachers of English in Japan should "start making contingency plans", the Government has warned, as erratic behaviour by language school colossus NOVA this week fuelled more predictions of an impending collapse.
Dozens of foreign staff at NOVA, which employs more than 1000 Australians, have reportedly been given eviction notices because the corporate giant has failed to pay the rent on their apartments, despite in some cases deducting it from their wages.
Japanese students were in tears outside the biggest NOVA school in Fujisawa, south of Tokyo, yesterday, after arriving to find the school had been evicted from its building for defaulting on rent.
Roughly 2000 Japanese staff had yesterday not been paid by NOVA for more than a week, and some young foreign employees have gone three weeks without wages, the foreign workers union said. Several teachers told the Herald they had been forced to borrow money to eat.
One 27-year-old from Melbourne, working in Chiba, said he had been forced to eat only rice and instant miso soup for a week while waiting for his pay, which arrived two weeks late: "Many of those were one-meal-a-day affairs. We're not loaded - a lot of us live week to week."
NOVA controls half of Japan's billion-dollar private English-teaching industry. It has saturated the country with 925 schools - but has recently admitted it will have to close more than 200 of them - and employs 5000 foreigners, more than any other Japanese company.
But a combination of overexpansion and corporate fraud has brought the giant chain to the brink of collapse. If it goes under, it will become the country's biggest corporate casualty, leaving thousands of foreigners jobless and without visas.
CEO Nozomu Sahashi was due to make an announcement yesterday, prompting rumours that NOVA could be partially bought out, but he has postponed the statement until next week. Company spokesman Yoshiyuki Kurabe denied that schools were being kicked out of their offices, and said that NOVA was "implementing measures to provide a stable environment for its students".
Even as the Australian Embassy in Tokyo was telling anxious callers to "start making contingency plans", NOVA was bringing out new teachers last week.
However, the Australian Asia Centre for Education Exchange released a terse statement on its website last Monday to say: "AACE no longer conducts recruitment on behalf of Nova Group in Japan."
Natasha Steele, a 25-year-old from Sydney who has been teaching for NOVA at Fujisawa for nine months, was kicked out of her apartment after the company failed to pay the rent.
Another teacher, 24-year-old Jerry Johnston from the US working in Takamatsu, said he had been given an eviction notice despite the fact NOVA had deducted the rental money from his wages. "Why hasn't the Japanese government intervened yet? It's been going on for weeks."
A spokesman for the National Union of General Workers said that "there are 400,000 students who might not get thousands of yen in tuition fees back. It would be like a bank going down, with no guarantees or security for the investors".
The background is well documented by Wiki ........
Concerns about refund policy
On February 14, 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducted on-the-spot inspections at Nova Headquarters in Osaka and several other branches.[38] Officials said that several Nova schools failed to give full refunds to students who canceled their remaining lessons after paying in advance. Other clients said that Nova refused to accept unconditional cancellation of lessons, claiming the eight-day "cooling-off" period had expired, and had also deceived students by giving false information about their cancellation procedures.The Kyoto Consumers Contract Network NPO also expressed similar concerns.Reductions in the number of teaching staff since 2004 had created a situation where students found it increasingly difficult to schedule classes, precipitating a substantial increase in complaints.During the February office inspections the Ministry had discovered a memo in which Nova President Nozomu Sahashi stated there was no need to stop pushing sales despite difficulties meeting student reservations due to teachers shortages.Consumer centers nationwide have received more than 1,000 complaints and queries regarding Nova annually and The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan says it received some 7,600 complaints or inquiries about Nova's contract and cancellation policies from 1996 to March 2007. Under Nova's system, students buy points in advance to pay for their lessons. The larger number of points they buy in bulk, the smaller the per-class fees. The case taken to the top court involved a former student who had purchased 600 points at a rate of 1,200 yen per lesson. The student canceled the contract after using up 386 points, but Nova offered a refund based on a calculation that 300 points were bought. That meant it cost 1,750 yen per lesson. Nova said the value of the used points should be calculated as having been bought in smaller lots.
The Asahi Shimbun cites an example of a contract for 100 lessons, which would cost 230,000 yen in advance, for a per-lesson fee of 2,300 yen. A contract for 600 lessons would require an advance payment of 720,000 yen, or 1,200 yen per class. But if a person with a contract for 600 lessons cancels after taking only 100 classes, Nova applies the fee of 2,300 yen per lesson, and the student receives a refund of 490,000 yen. Such students say the contract for 1,200 yen per lesson should apply in these cases, which would mean a refund of 600,000 yen.
Delayed Wages
On September 14, 2007, Nova delayed wages to many of its teaching staff. Many teachers who had previously resigned, are still waiting for salary payments from the month of July.[citation needed] The NAMBU Foreign Workers Caucus in Tokyo estimated that up to 3,000 had not received their salaries on time. According the the Sydney Morning Herald, some teachers said they were owed thousands of dollars and others posted messages expressing the intent to quit. Nova President Nozomu Sahashi issued a statement saying it had not been possible to complete all the necessary operations to deposit instructor salaries'. As a result of Nova delaying the payment of salaries, the Sankei Shimbun reported that insecurity spread amongst both staff and students surrounding the possible closures of Nova branches. On September 20, 2007, one teacher who demonstrated outside of Nova's office in Osaka was quoted as saying 'I've already heard about the possible closures of 200 to 300 branches across the country. Nova no longer has the ability to pay the salaries of teachers and staff'. By September 25, 2007, the cash flow problems had not improved and Nova President Nozomu Sahahshi mortgaged 9 million shares of company stock (which included 1.18 million of his own personal shares) for the purposes of raising working capital. Nova Corp. said that they were not involved in planning the transaction.
_________________________________________________________
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Val Ferret, Switzerland
Monday, September 24, 2007
Nova Schools Japan
A little birdy has informed your beloved Inspector that Nova Schools in Japan are in trouble. More to come later but a quick Google on "Nova Schools Japan Today" should get you the breaking news.
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Val Ferret, Switzerland
Inspector McHammered of the Lard in Val Ferret, Switzerland
Monday, June 04, 2007
TEFL Jobs in Japan
Japanese schools on The TEFL Blacklist:
Berlitz, Japan
Smith's School of English, Japan
Shane Schools - Saxoncourt Recruitment
_______________________________________________________________
FOR THE MOST RECENT POSTING CLICK HERE
FOR BLACKLIST NOMINATIONS CLICK HERE
Berlitz, Japan
Smith's School of English, Japan
Shane Schools - Saxoncourt Recruitment
_______________________________________________________________
FOR THE MOST RECENT POSTING CLICK HERE
FOR BLACKLIST NOMINATIONS CLICK HERE
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Ian Holden, Saxoncourt Recruitment (Director)
A posting on the Saxoncourt Recruitment entry* confirms what the Inspector's suspicious mind had already suspected. The unthinkable had happened. I'd nailed a sprat instead of a Prat. Apologies to Paul Mitchell as he is only a bit fishy and welcome to Ian Holden who I now know for certain is the real culprit and a genuine 100% man-eating (why not woman-eating? perhaps the ladies aren't interested) TEFL shark. Enough confirmations have been received through diplomatic channels and, shall we just say, eerhm not so diplomatic channels, for positive ID to be made. Paul Mitchell's smarmy grin will be replaced by Paul Douglas' and the big Prat of them all Ian Holden is now named and shamed and where he belongs - on the good or rather bad old TEFL Blacklist. Thanks to the many undercover detectives burrowing busily and discreetly away in the underwold that is misleadlingly known as TEFL.Does anyone have a picture of Shrek (sorry Shane) that can be uploaded somewhere discreetly as I'm sure he'd like a mention. Oh and one of Paul Douglas is now urgently required.
* The anonymous posting may actually be from Paul Mitchell himself, but who cares "truth will out".
Inspector McHammered of the Lard
FOR THE MOST RECENT POSTING CLICK HERE
FOR BLACKLIST NOMINATIONS CLICK HERE
Monday, January 15, 2007
Berlitz Japan
BERLITZ JAPANIt's hardly surprising that Berlitz would eventually come to the Inspector's attention. I was actually looking into Japanese EFL school working conditions when my jaw dropped upon spotting an actual Berlitz Teachers' Union in Japan. Apparently over one thousand poor souls labour away reciting the mantra that is the Berlitz method. Berlitz has no connection with the phrase books, that bit was sold off years ago, though nobody knows and they certainly don't advertise the fact.
I'll add to the Berlitz story over the months to come and look into what they get up to in different countries, but suffice to say, as long as you are a native speaker and are able to consider yourself as a kind of sub-species of the human race by reciting their boring method, you'll do.
Want to create interesting lessons? Forget it!
Want to be something other than a parrot? Forget it!
Want to be paid a decent wage? Forget it!
Oh, The Japanese Berlitz Teachers' Union can be found here.
The front page gives a pretty good idea of the problems you'll face working or rather labouring at Berlitz in Japan. I quote:
"The Berlitz Union was formed in 1993 to provide support for Berlitz instructors within Japan. Our formation was in response to the rapidly deteriorating conditions at Berlitz Language Centers"
Well worth the Inspector digging deeper, wouldn't you say?
Update 18 January 2007.
1. Big Brother (1984 style not the TV nonsense) has arrived with CCT in classrooms. The main shareholder is apparently in the world's list of the top 500 richest men and as for the teachers pay rise forget it. Read on be grateful that you aren't there. Read this update
2. Another insight into life in Berlitz Japan and the general ongoing cheating of teachers, regarding travel time, and an amazing revelation that 1,000,000 + people "nip" out to learn "Engrish". Read and imagine a class full of Japanese singing "Oh Lovely Liverpool Lou my Lovely Liverpool Lou" which I have on good authority sound like "Ruvly Riverpool Rue". The Inspector still mutters in inebriated moments (usually down to an excess of fermented Yak's Milk) about the Japanese Government censoring of school books in particular Japanese atroctities during World War 11 and the collective Japanese amnesia regarding "The Rape of Nanking".
Also confirmation that The Land of the Rising Bum's EFL schools tend to cheat teachers with regard to health insurance. So you had better not get run over by some lunatic kamikaze driver.
Inspector McHammered of the Lard
FOR THE MOST RECENT POSTING CLICK HERE
FOR BLACKLIST NOMINATIONS CLICK HERE
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Shane Schools / Saxoncourt Recruitment
How could I have possibly forgotten about Shane and Saxoncourt, the definitive global Tefl Cowboys?! Here are a selection of comments about them from other websites and blacklists. Got that bargepole ready? You'll certainly need it!To the left you have a genuine TEFL cowboy. Paul Mitchell of Shane Schools and now Marketing Manager for Saxoncourt Recruitment in London. How much misery has this smarmy self-opinionated twit caused to countless teachers? Here's how he describes himself on the Saxoncourt Recruitment website:
Hello,
I’m Paul and I work for Saxoncourt (recruitment) in our central
I am looking forward to working with StaR members throughout the world and am sure that we can establish Saxoncourt as the first choice for prospective and experienced EFL teachers.
Paul
So the Headmaster will have to keep you in detention and write out fifty times. My name is Paul Mitchell and I dunno me grammur but I'm gonna lern.
Now down to the nitty gritty..............
There is a lot of negative stuff on the net about Shane. None of it is wrong, but some is inaccurate. Let me rectify these inaccuracies.
People are leaving Shane in droves, and they are experiencing problems recruiting new staff. This is mainly due to the multitude of illegal practices the company carries out and acts of intimidation that have become common knowledge via the internet and word of mouth in Japan.
For example if you are sick they charge you a day and a half’s pay (people have been forced to leave due to this and incur huge debts), and pay the cover teacher half a day’s pay (if they are lucky).
The healthcare is also a total scam, and gives kickbacks to Shane. They are expensive and reserve the right not to pay out. If they do, it takes months, and goes through so many NZ bank accounts, which all charge a handling fee, you are lucky to get 75% back. The Japanese national scheme costs less for your first year than Global healthcare does for two months and it's not impossible to get off of it once you are on, contrary to Shane’s mantra.
You must work 13 extra days a year unpaid. Days off are rarely consecutive. Unpaid leave must be applied for three months in advance, with no guarantee of getting it. They do not pay all travel expenses as promised. When you arrive, you are charged highly inflated prices for apartments, bedding etc. You must then pay back the money used as a deposit within three months, so you are held to financial ransom for a quarter of your first year.
They also demand that you have a telephone and are contactable at all times, yet won't install a phone or sponsor you for a phone to be installed. They send bad references when you leave and show you a false copy. They tell future employers that they are considering taking legal action against you for leaving to scare them out of hiring you. They ask for two months notice to leave. This is illegal. The law says that you must give two weeks, unless your contract states otherwise; then one month is the maximum. If a national holiday falls on pay day, you get your money after the holiday.
They sell themselves as a 'British' English school, yet use American language texts. They lie to students to get them to buy the same book for their children twice and keep them in the same class with no prospect of progressing. They only use their own home made texts which are terrible and full of errors. Students are put into any available, level class to maintain targets.
There are many teachers that have been with Shane for around 8 to 10 years, but they came here when the economy was good, and their pay hasn't changed since then, and they couldn't earn that money elsewhere. People trying to start unions have not had their contracts renewed.
In a recent typhoon which killed 7 people, teachers were forced to stay in the schools and not allowed to go home early even though most students cancelled and the train lines shut down. Contracts state you will get an hour for lunch yet the reception staff are told to only allot you 45 minutes. Students are told lies about why you leave the company. Japanese receptionists are paid less than they are in a local hamburger shop.
I could go on longer but I'll leave it for your good selves to double check all of this. Try www.efl-law.com/japan or www.ewaosaka.org, or call the Tokyo Bar Association on 03 3581 1511 to have a contract checked by a Japanese solicitor with a translator for free. Other than that, come here and get a job in a state school.
James, ripoffbuster@hotmail.com, Tokyo,
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I recently left Shane after working for them in Japan for abour 15 months. I have to agree that they should be avoided at all costs. The vast majority of Shane teachers are deeply unhappy in their jobs, and at the time that I made my departure, teachers were leaving in their droves to work for other language schools. Morale is kept deliberately low by removing holidays at the last minute, unfair distribution of cover days teachers are required to work, and frequent impositions on teachers´ free time by requiring them to teach additional hours for very little, and sometimes no additional reward.
Accommodation is very, very small and poorly furnished and they charge roughly twice the market value for it, thereby making a profit from their teachers accommodation needs. Most other schools subsidise teacher accommodation.
Attitudes to their teachers vary. Some DOSs are fine, but central management at Shane HQ seem to regard teachers as property rather than people. Shane provide virtually no professional support. As far as I am aware (and I did make enquiries) none of the DOSs has more than a CELTA, which means that if you wanted to undertake a DELTA you would be in trouble, as there is most likely no one within the company who will be able to act as your mentor (a requirement for anyone wishing to undertake a DELTA by distance study).
And if you find yourself in any kind of trouble, you can expect absolutely no assistance from the company. Their only concern is that you turn up for work, regardless of what calamity may have befallen you. I certainly wouldn´t recommend Shane as a first teaching job. It really offers no potential for professional development and in the majority of cases seems to put people off the teaching profession. Just about everyone leaves with a fairly bitter taste in their mouth, and I would suggest that any postings to the contrary are certainly written and posted by Shane management, or DOSs, under instructions from head office.
A bad company to work for. Very disappointing.
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I left Shane after my home was flooded in a typhoon. I lost quite literally everything I owned, including my home, my clothes and eight months of work for an MA in Applied Linguistics.
So, having nowhere to live and no possessions other than the clothes I wore to work that day, my partner and I decided to leave our jobs and move to her home town in the west of Japan, where we would at least have a roof over our heads and some assistance from her family in straightening ourselves out.
My DoS was very sympathetic and understood the necessity to leave the company without serving a period of notice. Unfortunately the Principal of Shane English Schools did not share his compassion and proceeded to chastise me as if I were a badly behaved child. This just two days after I had lost everything.
I am 37 years old and I spent the ten years prior to my employment with Shane working as a journalist at a number of newsrooms in Moscow and London. Newsrooms can be aggressive and highly competitive working environments, but I never experienced such intransigence and insensitivity in any of those where I worked.
Of course, the day to day experience of working for Shane is not so extreme, the Japanese staff are generally very helpful and in most schools there exists a co-operative and amiable working relationship between school managers and teachers. However, senior management seem to consistently demonstrate a quite staggeringly complete disregard for the well being of teachers, which must inevitably affect the way teachers perform in the classroom. This, combined with the lack of resources (schools have no photocopiers or internet access, and you are restricted to using Shane´s own texts for all but upper intermediate and advanced classes) alongside the absence of potential for professional development and the inadequate and overpriced accommodation I outlined in my previous posting, means that the majority of Shane teachers are permanently demoralized and unhappy.
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I worked for SHANE English School in Chiba, then Tokyo in 2004/05. Fresh from doing a Cert Trinity TESOL it was my first (real) teaching job. I had been on the JET programme in Fukuoka for one year in 99/00.
I found SHANE good in that it was able to be fully-arranged outside Japan, in fact, by the English language school that hosted the Trinity course. Also, they meet new teachers at the airport, which is more than my present school in Prague did. However, finding your way from A to B on the subway is virtually impossible for the fresh teacher arriving at Narita Airport, and taxis impossibly expensive, unlike Prague.
I soon came to see SHANE as a post-cert training organisation, rather than a serious education provider. Scheduling was rather higgledy-piggledy, sometimes up to 10 different classes in the 6-hour teaching period. Chiba is traditionally a district hard to recruit to, meaning many days like this - rushed.
I will briefly speak about the three different DOS's I had, before briefing you on the financial shenanigans.
The first DOS was great, professional to a fault, empathetic despite the sometimes impossible task of assigning staff to back-breaking contact hours, and a good sense of humour. However, she up and left suddenly when her district was merged for cost cutting reasons, delivering two districts into the hands of a merciless SHANE warrior.
This fellow was well suited to wielding a stick, had no real social skills to persuade teachers to work the endless standby and cover days required for a short-staffed district, dismissed a teacher with great prejudice who had only been in the country two weeks for not being able to teach to the required standard (usually a DOS would take a personal interest to coach, you would think...) then allocated him four weeks of continuous cover while he completed the final month's employment! Eyesbrows were raised amongst many of us teachers at the logic of this.
Finally, at the end of 12 months in Chiba, I managed a transfer to the West Tokyo district. This district had a much better DOS and even scheduling. You will see some postings on this site on how the quality of Shane DOS can affect your stay, bear it in mind.
This is not meant to be a diatribe against Chiba district. It is just that I had such different experiences in the three districts I worked in. After merging, a few problems popped up with the salary payments. Outlines as follows:
1. Sometimes the extra 'standby' hours I worked were not included in the monthly salary calculations.
2. Three times the 5,000 yen 'cover' day bonus was not included at the end of the three month calculation period. Today, I am told teachers on new contracts don't even get this. Be prepared to work on your day off for free, with the real chance of not receiving one pence for your effort.
3. When I moved out of the SHANE apartment, the staff took out double the amount for final power and gas bills. I ended up having to catch a train to collect the refund (not reimbursed despite requests) as the two district admin offices' payroll systems couldn't, or wouldn't talk to each other...
So yes, you should be careful to check salary payments and keep utility receipts. When mistakes occur at Shane, it generally seem to be at your disadvantage.
SHANE was a punch-drunk, cash rooting, commercially-charging bull. The money supply screwed down extremely tight, and the fat little man has a truly gasp-worthy array of tactics to get teachers into working like little trojans for low pay.
Posted by Geetus on St. Dave's and saved by The Inspector before the thread is shredded.
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Friday, May 26, 2006
Smith's School of English, Japan
Mr Smith - he is beyond comparison. The biggest TEFL vulture to walk this planet. Some of what you read below will make your flesh creep. The only pleasant thing about reading what's below is the realisation that he peddles his pedagogical 'pornography' a couple of thousand miles away from me. Even so, the words below still make me feel very uncomfortable.This guy should be checked out. He's selling franchises for 15,000 dollars, for which a teacher gets, well, I'm not sure what they get, and then they have to pay him $500 a month for admin, etc. It looks like a fairly major rip-off. I have heard many horror stories over the years, but I have never heard of teachers paying to be poor and sleeping in a classroom as an investment. This guy has taken it to lengths that your Skidrow on Sea shysters haven't even dreamt of.
I am putting together a piece about this guy, and the school he's trying to sell for over twenty thousand dollars that clears ... wait for it ... $500 a month! I wouldn't fancy trying to live off that even if I could sleep in the classroom. Yet he manages to lure people into investing in his set-up.
He charges $1,500 for a syllabus and training clocks in at $500 a day. This guy is so far beyond anything I have seen before. There may be worse somewhere, but I have never heard of it.
I suggest you pour yourself a very stiff one before opening the first link. I wouldn't recommend looking at the site while standing either. Make sure the bottle's near you for the odd top-up; you might well be there for some time, as there's a perverse pleasure in reading this one.
FURTHER COMMENTS
1) Thanks for mentioning my blog there. Anything to help get the word out about Mark Smith and his group is a boon to me and those he has exploited in the past and currently exploiting still. The comments section in the blog tell almost as much about Mark Smith as the pages do now since the man himself has been posting as aliases in comments since he couldn't get the bloghost to remove the blog itself.
2) I used to live in the Kansai area, where this Smith's scam is operated. The thing is just bad news on so many levels I don't know where to start. He advertises in all the local foreigner magazines looking for people to become "Coaches of communicative confidence" which means people willing to fork over tens of thousands of dollars and recieve nothing of value in return. Definite scam. Definite bad guy.
3) Yes, he's a shifty slut alright. I applied for a job there once, and his henchman (M) basically started putting the word out about borrowing cash, so I could buy up - through a Smiths financing scheme !! He has reached a high level of crotchrot in the EFL community over here in Japan, and is looked upon as being very very devious.
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