I really think it's time we stopped fooling ourselves here. Bangkok is just the scramble to pick up singles and teaching couples. Only one percent of those hired last year had dependents. This comes straight from an associate.

I was a rockstar too when I went there as a single bloke. When I went with a dependent spouse but far more experience in the international scene I was an absolute pariah. Didn't even get an invite this time. :'(

Lucky you Cheerybottom. I was thrown under the bus by the most corrupt director ever at my last gig. This bloke would go to the Bangkok fair and purposely fail to recruit just so that he could go to London as well. In the end it would turn out that he had sycophants lined up for the positions all along.

As for the negative reviews, ask yourself: what would happen if there were a website like this for the national schools where you come from? Would all the schools you have worked at received glowing appraisals from all the teachers who had worked there or would there be a few axe grinders?

HoF = Head of Faculty.

I really cannot be bothered with you anymore mate.

Judging by your post count I think I am wasting my time on someone who feels the need to troll every single post that has ever been made on this forum. But you are a little annoying. So here it is:

PsyGuy wrote:
> @tangchao
>
> Yes, I do because I dont have to step in the poo to see it or smell it from
> a distance.

Meaningless wordplay.

>being an admin cheerleader doesnt qualify you as an objective
> observer.
>

Really? I thought you bill yourself as admin mate?

> Examining your response:
>
> 1) The issue is "a lot" or the quantity of unscheduled teacher
> training days. Whats there to train, if you ahve teachers who know what
> they are doing?
>

Look, there is 180 contact days, which is in line with the rest of the international schools in China. There are about 5 PD days scheduled over the year. Surely you understand that professional development needs to take place to maintain proficiency... or don't they do that at Arhuus anymore?


> 2) The issue isnt computer HARDWARE, its computer and technology education.
> Buying laptops at discount, marking them up and dumping them on a student
> with a "here you go" is not education.

And no one said it was. We have dedicated tech teachers here and run the MYP so there is dedicated tech time.

>
> 3) I wouldnt call those areas field trips. Who went on the field trips?
> EVERYONE, Im getting the sense it wasnt, and you had "selective"
> participation.

Yes EVERYONE went. You wouldn't call Thailand a field trip? Really?!

>
> 4) Yes checking your invoice is good, a good practice, that doesnt give the
> finance office permission or make it a game. People shouldnt HAVE TO check
> their invoice for fear of being ripped off. It is unacceptable to play
> "how much can we rip off the employees and students".

Implying that we rip people off here behind the veil of internet anonymity from your desk in Denmark amounts to libel!

> 5) Having a supply of textbooks and implementing their use are very
> different things.

I really don't know where I'd be without your groundbreaking insights psyguy. Simply brilliant! I tremble in your shadow which is clearly cast by an educational giant.

>
> 6) Many of the BEST schools in the world are not IB schools.

... and many are.


>
> 7) Nice deflection but the issue of the OP was about the trust factor, not
> a play on words

Don't even know what this refers to.

>
> 8) How do you know she lost money? Because your an admin or admin
> cheerleader, or ownership. Thats how you know, and no one loses money, they
> invest money on future returns.
>

No. No. And nope. I am just a HoF here but am a little annoyed. As a founding member of this school we have put a lot of work in over 2.5 years, only to have a single disturbed parent take a cheap shot and you, a self-professed international school expert, join in with her. Infantile.

And yes mate. I hate to have to break this to you, but people do lose money.

> 9) More and more teachers are being employed because you cant keep them.
> Schools invest in style like buildings when they know they cant offer
> quality substance, such as education. There are a number of beautiful
> schools that are horrible.

No, again with the presumptions. Talking from the secondary school only here, we have gone from five full time teachers to close to 20 in two years.

Just to clarify: how do you plan in certifying for phys/chem if psych is your undergrad?

At any rate, most international school heads don't especially care whether you are certified to teach something in your home state or not. They want to see experience in successfully teaching the subject.

Having a trailing spouse as a first year out teacher will prove a drag.

There is good air to be found in Yunnan and Tibet.

PsyGuy wrote:
> I will just concur that in such schools, the foreign HOS is just a figure
> head who is there for appearance, and to deliver the message. Not a bad
> appointment if your a new admin and can do the bobble head.

You don't know what sort of school this is PsyGuy as you simply haven't been here. Reading a post from a disgruntled parent qualifies you in this regard not one iota.

Anyway, Jimmifoo may well be a parent whose kid was recently shown the door here. We've sent off a few here as they were not able to pull their socks up despite fair warning. These not-so-stellar kids have wound up at places like Xi'an IS and Bo Ai who are pleased to take them due to their tiny number of enrolments.

jimmifoo wrote:

> For Parents
> Hanova International School (XiAn, China) is turning from bad to worse.
> School has a lot of unofficial holidays dedicated to teacher training.

There are scheduled PD days like virtually every other international school on the planet has.

> Can’t they do it during the school holidays?

Why don't you work on your holidays foo?


> They force parents to pay a
> lot of extra fees that are unreasonable. We pay computer fees, but there
> were no computer lessons.

Yes there are. Every kid had an apple laptop whilst the fees were charged.

> We pay field trip fees when there is no field
> trip.

Yes there are. They have been to Thailand, Foping, and will go to Guilin and Sichuan this year.

> This is a lousy school. They even have pornography books in the
> school library. This is not acceptable for me.

NO THERE ARE NOT! I think I know who wrote this now.

> If you happen to be in this
> School, watch your invoices, they will always quietly over charge you in
> areas that you may over look like exchange rates and lunch fees which you
> tell them not to include. If your company pays, they make sure you check
> the invoices as they will always overbill.

Of course you should check your invoices. This would be good advice wherever you are.

> They have no textbooks and are
> quite disorganized.

Yes, there are textbooks here. There are quite a good supply of them in fact.

> Other schools like XiAn International School are a
> better choices. If you live in the northern part, there is a Christian
> international called Bo Ai school there.

I don't think Bo Ai is Christian, but Xian IS is. Neither of them are IB schools. Hanova is now DP accredited.

> Avoid whenever possible Hanova. Just beware that they never keep their promises.

Whenever possible? Well it's always possible.



> For Teachers
> Hanova International School (XiAn, China) lacks the essentials of true
> international school. It is run by a Local Chinese Management who seeks to
> turn the school into a money making machine.

Actually she has lost money on it every year. She throws a lot into this. It must be nice to tear down people who are trying to build something out of their own pocket.



> Quality education and customer service is going down with cost cutting to maximize profit.

No, in fact, more and more teachers are being employed and a new campus is being built.


> Although there
> is an English principal, he cannot overwrite management decision.

She does own the school. So that makes her the executive.


> The
> environment is now non-organic and very bureaucratic. So make sure you get
> a good deal before you make a the jump.

Of course get a good deal. That would go for anywhere.

eion_padraig wrote:
> But Tangchao made it sound like such a great place to work after he worked
> so hard to win me over. Now, I don't know what to think.
>
> Jimmifoo, the teachers who end up at a place like Hanova International
> School either never make it to this website or are so desperate they take
> the job anyway so your post probably won't help. I'm sure your Bo'Ai
> Christian International School is much better where they wouldn't even
> think to offer professional development to teachers.
>
> Good times.

No I didn't! No one could care less about winning you over!

It's a joke mate. A taxi driver could make more than that in a year.

There was a bloke who had no idea who came to China to manage a school and thought he could get western teachers for 10,000 RMB a month! Needless to say, he failed.

I think there is a big issue with the number of children you wish to bring. Most international schools will offer free places for up to two kids but very few will allow for three.

There are reviews for CIA. It's definitely not one of the top tier schools of Cambodia.

If housing allowance were included I'd say it's a good deal. If that's all there is to it, then it's really mediocre. Are they offering medical insurance?

Wuhan isn't all that bad. You may also be able to brush up on your French while you are there as most of the expats work for Totale.