|
||
| EF English First Suzhou | ||
| I thought it would be in the best interest of the proper development and delivery of quality English language programmes in China if everyone concerned were alerted to the fact that EF English First in Suzhou, while touting they only hire teachers with University degrees and displaying the Foreign Expert Certificates in the school to impress prospective clients, forged a University degree for one of the teachers I had on staff there as former Director of Studies. The teacher's name is Mark Williams from the UK. I, naturally, was opposed to such action but was assured it happens all the time and was accepted by the Ministry. Mark turned out to be a significant detriment to the team effort I tried to foster at the school but the owner, Lisa Liu, refused to dismiss him. His teaching was sub-par to say the least and his behaviour with the other teachers very unprofessional, almost coming to blows with one of the other teachers on a couple of occasions. These statements can be verified by independent third parties. The school also consistently broke promises to me regarding my separation agreement. Details are available if you are interested. I have been a professional teacher trainer for the Korean government, Universities in North America, Asia and the Middle East, dedicated to quality contemporary EFL for the past ten years. I have never encountered mismanagement or deceit such as that found at this particular school. The head office of EF in Shanghai provided little on-going support and less in trying to resolve the dispute over my separation agreement. The EFL community of teachers worldwide is becoming increasingly connected through forums such as this one and aware of problems such as I have described here. The number of truly qualified and dedicated facilitators of ELA is growing as are schools that operate with high educational and ethical standards. We must continue to aid each other to improve the quality of ELA facilitation throughout the world. The increasingly knowledgeable consumer of such private educational programs will, I hope, compliment our efforts and make the kind of behaviour demonstrated by EF Suzhou more and more difficult to get away with. |