Zhunan Shane School

 I've just come to the end of my twelve month teaching contract at the Shane school in Zhunan and I wanted to write a few lines to say how much I have enjoyed my time here. I also want to thank everyone that I have come to know at the school. You have really become my friends.

Everyone at this school has made me feel very welcome and as the year has progressed I have come to realise that this is a special place. It is more than a school; it is an extended family. Children here go to school very early in the morning and spend much of their evenings doing homework, studying in boring cram schools, or doing other extra-curricular activities. They are under a lot of pressure. At Zhunan Shane you have the chance not just to teach, but also to be a role-model and a source of fun for these kids.

The lessons follow the standard Shane curriculum, so all the materials teachers need for their lessons are provided. The school's philosophy is one of teaching through fun. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to use as many games as possible in their lessons, provided the games help the students to remember, say, and use the target language. This can be quite daunting at first, but once you learn (or invent) some games that work well, it becomes just as enjoyable for the teachers as it is for the students. You will find yourself desperately trying to think up new games throughout the year. Anyway, Shane also provide a week's training in Taipei. Although I had taught before and had already completed a 120 hour TEFL course, I found the Shane training to be useful and of good quality.

In addition to teaching English, I've also had the chance to get involved with a number of other activities with the school. We've thrown Christmas and Halloween parties, produced a play, I've taught French and attempted to teach chess, we've taken the kids to laser tag and a done a lot else besides. The school, the owner, and the children are also very passionate about football (soccer). There are currently lessons on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A few months ago our first and second graders won the county championship. Coaching the children to that victory will be one of my favourite memories of Taiwan and I will miss that part of the job a great deal.

Of course it has not always been easy. Teaching is not easy (don't get into teaching if you want an easy job) and I would be lying if I said there hadn't been challenges: sometimes the kids can be rowdy, sometimes things will feel rushed, sometimes things get lost in translation. But there are other teachers there to help and the staff really do try to keep the teachers happy. The owner, the manager and all of the teaching assistants are very friendly and are always open to talk. They have been flexible and understanding and it is for teachers to be flexible and understanding too.


Anyone who is considering working here in Zhunan (also Junan or Chunan) will no doubt have googled the schools name and found a rather silly rant written by "angryanglo". I hope, that here, I can undo the damage that angryanglo's unprofessional comments may have made. I think those comments say more about angryanglo than they do about the school. I never met angryanglo nor the teacher he refers to. They are both history and had left Taiwan a year or so before my arrival. Unfortunately his comments remain.

In response to angryanglo's comments:

1: "The Boyfriend" left years ago. Whatever problems he created left with him. Also, commenting on people's personal lives and making comments about individuals' attractiveness is unprofessional and undignified.
2: In 12 months, I have never, nor has any other teacher at the school, been paid late.
3: All dealings with tax have been open and above board. Teachers pay 18% tax for the first six months and 6% thereafter. You can then get a rebate from the government (paid at the start of the next tax year) by filling out a few forms. The school has been very good in explaining how to claim this rebate. You don't need to fly back to Taiwan to collect it as it will be paid into your bank account.
4: The school helped me to open a bank account here in Taiwan and my wages have always been paid in to this account directly.
5: The school applied for an Alien Residents Card upon my arrival. It took about four weeks to come. No teacher in my time has worked here illegally.
6: Where does angryanglo get this rubbish about shady people in suits coming to discuss debt? It's nonsense. These comments are just fantasy. Angryanglo made his comments two and a half years ago and the school is still here and going from strength to strength, with more and more children enrolling.
7: Whatever the case may have been in the past (I don't know as I wasn't here), no teachers at this school are staying in any kind of dorm. All the teacher's are in private, rented accommodation. The school will help you to find a place, but the final decision of where you live is yours. If you want to know how much rent you should pay, do some research before you come.
8: The comments angryanglo makes about a "5th wheel" are disgusting and stupid. I'm not sure to whom he is referring, but it doesn't match the description of anyone here.
9:  I would ask angryanglo to remove his page about Zhunan Shane. It just makes him look petty and unprofessional.
10: I'm leaving the school at the end of the week and going back to the UK. I'm gaining nothing by writing this. I am doing it because I really want people to get a fair impression of the place. If you want to know more about the school you can contact them and they will put you in touch with the teachers here, and you can talk to them. They will tell you honestly how it is. I am also doing this because after a year of working here, (and at times I found it tough) I will miss this place and the friends I made here. They deserve better than angryanglo's childish rant.