Regular school versus Bushiban

I just have a question here about teaching in a regular Taiwanese elementary/middle/high school versus teaching in a bushiban.

From any voices of experience, how is teaching in a bushiban really different from teaching English in a regular school? Pros and cons? Have many folks here made that switchover?

Just curious…

A good buxiban is much better.
Regular schools don

Thanks, almasjohn!

If you are a legal teacher, does it make much difference?
How much freedom do you have in your teaching style?
And are what the bushibans expect in teaching really sound practice versus what you do in a regular school?
Why are the staff so resentful? Issues with respect, pay or what?
That said, how does the pay compare, and what should you expect to earn?

Miss Anomaly,

Almas John is right. Of course you don’t want to be teaching illegally. And the potential drawbacks of school teaching that he mentioned echo the comments of a number of other people.

There are a great many different kinds of buxiban-type institutions, some good and some bad. Even among the good ones, they vary greatly as to their “house teaching style” and the degree of autonomy that you are allowed.

If you feel that you have the experience to cope with relative freedom in your teaching practices, then look for a buxiban that will accomodate that. But do be aware that nowhere will hand freedom to you on a plate. They will have to feel confident that your teaching is effective, from various viewpoints. This means not only the pure ideal educational values but also the hard commercial facts of what sells and what doesn’t. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s possible to have a program that is both educationally effective and commercially viable. But there is always some degree of compromise. If you don’t have any students then you don’t have anyone on whom to practice your wonderful teaching methods!

Do you really want to be teaching 35 kids at once? Well, that’s what you’re going to get at a public school. For me, the limit is 10 per class. I’d go with a buxiban and check 'em out beforehand. Make sure your contract states class size limits, a set schedule with no split shifts, and all that jazz.

the public school programs differ a little from city to city. some bigger cities have companies that manage all the foreign teachers who work in the public schools, some schools in small towns hire their own foreign teachers directly. Public schools differ from one another as much as buxibans do.

My opinion is that public school teaching is harder given huge differences in ability of students, having students with special needs in the classroom and having super large classes (compared to buxiban). That being said, the hours in the public school can be very good and contracts tend to be 8 months which can be good for you if you don’t want to spend the whole summer.

I have worked in both public elementary and buxiban here and I do not regret doing the public thing; I may also return to it next year. I was very lucky to get a good school with very good co-teachers (all classes are co-taught by and foreigner and local taiwanese where I am) but I have many friends who had not so great experiences–you can imagine both the benefits and drawbacks of having 2 teachers in the room.

sorry, I meant 10 month contracts.

Thanks for the advice, almas john, joesax, j99, and powderfinger!

I’ve decided to go for a regular school, one where the class cap is 25 and I really liked the atmosphere. I’ll find out more soon…

[quote=“MissAnomaly”]Thanks for the advice, almas john, joesax, j99, and powderfinger!

I’ve decided to go for a regular school, one where the class cap is 25 and I really liked the atmosphere. I’ll find out more soon…[/quote]

25 students is pretty good for a public/regular school gig, but is that limit guaranteed?

How many classes per week? What’s the salary? (I’m curious).

[quote=“j99l88e77”][quote=“MissAnomaly”]Thanks for the advice, almas john, joesax, j99, and powderfinger!

I’ve decided to go for a regular school, one where the class cap is 25 and I really liked the atmosphere. I’ll find out more soon…[/quote]

25 students is pretty good for a public/regular school gig, but is that limit guaranteed?

How many classes per week? What’s the salary? (I’m curious).[/quote]

25? Most classes I have seen range from 35-50 students. Also, pray to God there is a Chinese teacher in the classroom during class time…

Do foreigners enjoy tax advantages or freedom from tax on income earned as a primary school teacher? I’d heard (in the past – may be different now) that teachers in Taiwan below the university level, or below high school (I can’t remember, sorry!) do not pay income tax on their salaries…

High school classes are usually around 45-55 students per class. Dealing with buxiban owners is the real downside.