I’m thinking about joining the teaching crowd in order to generate some extra income. I have an interview with Cornell American School (in Taoyuan) this week, and was wondering if any of you Forumosans have worked there in the past. If so, what were your impressions? Anything I should keep in mind for the demo?
I’ve heard about people that have been happy there. Yet some caution might be in order, as this is one of those schools with a very high turnover & constantly advertising for fresh meat.
I had an interview there many moons ago. I did not accept the position.
I worked there, it’s a nice package with nothing inside. The school has all the bells and whistles but absolutely lacks leadership. No syllabus, management is clueless about how to run a school, foreign teachers told to serve food to the kids during lunch. They dream of being the next Kang Chaio but haven’t a clue about running a school. Imagine the first day of the semester and you haven’t seen the books you’ll be teaching with or told what classes you’ll teach. Now you’re expected to go to class and teach and you’ll see the book when you get to class, maybe, but without a syllabus you can only guess what to cover. Constant lies by the admin, covered by sorry my English isn’t so good, I meant… Look elsewhere.
I just met one of the teachers I worked with at Cornell. He just quit, so far five teachers that I personally know have quit in the last five months. That should tell you something!
I hope their management has improved, they have just expanded to include an elementary school. Just had an interview with the school and don’t know whether I should accept the job or not.
Ya think?
Thanks for not starting a new thread about a commonly asked question (“what about school X”).
Steve4nlanguage’s post in What are some good places to start teaching? is a good, basic perspective for newbs.
Good schools are rare, so you’ll have to prioritize & make compromises. Some people want ready-made lesson plans; others don’t. Some want higher pay; others want less unpaid extra work, etc. With experience, you can know better what you want, and can decide just from a visit/interview. Hence, most vets don’t ask this question.
Management rarely improves over time. Same with most schools & the general market.
But a teacher can improve; that’s up to you. Improve enough, and jobs look for you. Personally, I prefer schools with negligible curriculums, so you’re forced to develop your own. Then you = a school.
If Cornell is your best option & you can’t afford to wait too long, just take it. It’s CNY, the start of a new term.
If it’s really bad, just be less bad/trouble than the other teachers. Keep hunting & make the most until next term.
Is this the same one as “Korrnell Academy” or just another school knocking off this well known name?
I don’t know if they’re affiliated, but they have somewhat different Chinese names, and they’re located in different places.
The one that this thread is about (Cornell) is in Taoyuan County. Its Chinese name, according to this ad, is 桃園縣康萊爾國民中小學. Its website is here: cornell.tyc.edu.tw/
The other one’s (Korrnell’s) Chinese name is 康乃薾國民中小學, and it’s located in Zhubei, in Hsinchu County. The Chinese version of its website is here: w2.korrnell.com.tw/ekorrnell/ .
Thanks for clearing that up.
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You’re welcome. It was confusing me, too.
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has any updated information? I have an interview there soon.
Thanks!
Since the original thread got closed due to bullying, I’ll post here:
I can’t provide info on the school itself, but the name of the school makes me cringe. It’s like how 康橋 tried to call itself “Cambridge” and I’m pretty sure got sued for it. (I don’t actually know if they did, I just assume they did, otherwise why change your name to something as unclear to a non-Chinese English speaker as “Kang Chaio”?)
In my opinion, any school using words that aren’t relevant to their actual purpose, such as names of top tier universities (you’re an elementary school FFS), “American” when the admin have no connection to the US, “international” when less than 1% of the population actually comes from a country other than Taiwan, “Montessori” when you don’t follow the child, “Waldorf” when you don’t follow Steiner (actually, he was a nutcase, go ahead), etc. should all be automatic red flags. Don’t give them your phone number, email address, or resume. Don’t answer their phone calls. A reputable school doesn’t need to fill its name with lies to attract students.
Also, I’d worry about my resume for future jobs in the US… American employers will see school names like many of those seen here and will find it difficult to take you seriously. May even assume your resume is filled with spelling errors or made up work experience. I don’t know what your teaching experience is up until now or your future plans, but keep that in mind if you’re looking to have a reputable job outside of Taiwan anytime in the next decade
Hmm, interesting perspective. I’ve been in Taiwan for about 3 years. I want to move away from buxibans and work somewhere with paid leave.
I’ve worked part-time at a few primary schools and really enjoyed it.
I’m not American so I’m not worried about future job opportunities. I can’t imagine any employer in Oz being worried about where I worked and not what I did. Working overseas would actually probably be viewed positively no matter where you worked or what you did.
I also have no plans to return to Australia so I want a job that keeps its books above board and pays into a pension fund for me… I don’t know any buxiban that does everything properly
What kind of educational background do you have?
Nothing recognised here except TEFL. But I’ve completed 2/3 of a Bachelors degree through a private education provider as well as 3 TAFE certificates (tertiary education but not completed at a university).
I have a spouse based ARC which has helped get around my education not being recognised here.
Yea. But office work is gonna wanna see a degree or at least relevant experience.
Marketing, sales, technical writing can be good ways to get out of buxiban teaching.
If you can convince the company you are a good fit.
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I did corporate travel sales in Australia but I’m not interested in getting back into that now that Covid-19’s ruined the industry.
Good suggestions, thanks!
I don’t hate Buxiban teaching, i have a pretty good boss and it’s great when I sub at the elementary schools at the same time.
I’m mostly tired of working evenings, irregular pay and that my boss under declares my income. I’d love something stable and at least my wages to be by the book.
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No problems. Just prop up how awesome you are at selling to foreigners and how you understand foreigners best.
And passion for the product helps
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