E.S.L. Protester Official Web Site
Shane Page
Message:
This is a company for whom I worked for just short of five years
- five wasted years. Put simply they are a bunch of liars and crooks.
"100% British" say the advertisements. So why do they employ Australians,
Canadians, Americans and New Zealanders as teachers? Furthermore,
why do the children's classes use the American English Let's Go
series, or the even more execrable in-house "SPEC"? (I cannot bring
myself to use the word 'course' here,as that would imply some kind
of structure to what is essentially some cute pictures in a book
and silly voices on a cheap tape.) SPEC uses American spelling throughout.
Many Shane teachers are absolutely devoid of any kind of teaching
qualification. If you are white and can string a sentence together, you are in.
Although teaching of children is a major part of the working day
for Shane teachers, there is no training for what is a very specialised
skill, other than a very brief, half-hearted workshop before leaving
for Japan. No additional training is ever offered. Did you really
spend years at University so you can sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" for a living?
The accommodation with which they provide teachers is in most cases
a decrepid, poorly maintained plywood shack, without even hot running
water. Furthermore, Shane charges teachers for these middens considerably
more than it pays for them, and pockets the difference.
The company health insurance is nothing more than a scam, with inflated
premiums and multiple exclusions to the cover provided. The Principal
gets a kickback from every policy sold.
The designer of the in-house adult course has admitted to me that
it was thrown together in a rush with few resources and printed
shoddily by the cheapest contractor. He actually used the phrase "It is crap".
The owner of the school, Shane Lipscombe, is not allowed into Thailand,
due to some financial shady dealing. The Principal of the school,
Ian Wilkinson, has a nice line in abusive, threatening behaviour,
and has been heard bragging about how many managers he has sacked,
as though this were something funny. He is also believed to be a
convicted embezzler, the story being that he is alleged to have
swindled money from the Liverpool Echo. You have to be some kind
of crook to be too bent for Liverpool!
In short, my advice to you would be: if you are coming to Japan,
this company will sponsor your visa. AS SOON AS THEY DO, give them
the two weeks notice required by Japanese Labour law (NOT the four
months Shane insists is reasonable) and get out. Work for somebody
else. There are plenty of infinitely better jobs in this country,
and many of the smaller schools have an interest in keeping you
satisfied. Why make money for crooks who despise you?
Submitted by: Unknown
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