Thanks for that! I was feeling pretty lousy because I want to be a benefit for the school as opposed to being a burden, and I felt like the latter after all of the negative feedback. I’ve since attended the training sessions which has helped a lot, and I’m more confident now. I’m not out of the woods yet, but I’m adapting to the buxiban style slowly and I think I can only get better from here.
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I’m Australian Asian and I feel you about the puzzled looks from parents. For the most part, I’m treated with a mild neglect from the parents. At most they will nod at me, but mostly they will express to my Taiwanese colleagues or my director about their concerns.
In regards to the kids, I don’t blame them at all for being tired, grumpy, and unwilling to learn. Back when I was a student we had six and a half hours of education, and that was it! The Taiwanese school structure is pretty intense.
Still, I want to keep them interested. If they’re being forced to learn more after a long day, the least I can do is make it interesting for them. Easier said than done of course.
Was that mandatory? I hope they paid you for it.
Well unpaid training was listed in the contract, but they asked if I wanted to attend the training classes, reminding me that I wouldn’t be paid. They gave me the option to refuse, but I wanted to go so I could do my job better/the correct way, and so my employers provided meals and transportation for the day. I thought it was more than reasonable. What are your thoughts?
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That’s more than most would do. It’s strange they are “training” you this late into the semester. Did you sit in on another class or did they actually just teach you how to teach?
Have a :“we-shan’t-disclose-the-rating-for-this-school-though-ratings-exist” list 
Edit: plus a count of distinct ratings. 
The previous teacher left pretty abruptly and so I started immediately without training. I figured I would do fine since I taught ESL back home in Australia, but the system in Taiwan’s cram schools really threw me off. I’m slowly learning the ropes.
Edit: I’m not sure how the teaching training usually works here. I was basically sent to Taichung to learn the style of the company. I had two classes and now I have to use what I learned in my classes. It’s pretty hard because I’m not much of a singer, and this school encourages singing.
Oh no… one of those places. 
With your experience teaching in Australia and seeming dedication, I think you can do better. This current place sounds like it takes advantage of its teachers and makes unreasonable requests of them.
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