Way to Russia Talk Lounge

vicky8 · Just Starting Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 1

Going back to the Samantha School situation...my housemate applied there last week to work (having not read the dubious reputation of the school and it's director). However after reading the reports from ex-teachers, she cancelled her interview. What ensued was a fiery exchange of emails between my housemate and Helen, the director. The woman told my friend firstly that she was in no way a credit to her University, but the real icing on the cake came today with this email:

[b]"Sorry but you are too young to warn me. Ex-teachers you've mentioned
(just 2-3 persons for 15 years!) didn't want
to WORK and follow the rules of our school. They considered the school
a 'discussion' club and not an academic
institution. Nevertheless everybody's been paid!

Instead of reading this nonsense you could come to school and talk to
our current teachers (most of them are British
and work already a few years). But you've missed this opportunity.

If you've arrived to Moscow to learn Russian please respect not only
our language but our people as well.

I wish you success in your teaching career."[/b]

This not only goes against other people's (very similar) reports of the Samantha School, but also the insult about not respecting Russia and its people was outrageous! WE URGE ANYONE CONSIDERING TEACHING IN MOSCOW TO STEER CLEAR OF THIS SCHOOL!!

We do however recommend Language Link, Globus International and ITC.

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

Thanks for sharing--at least she didn't sign up for the school! That email belongs to the junk folder, no less.

I highly recommend you look at The Moscow Teachers forum at http://www.moscowteachers.com/bb/

There is a Language School Review section and it gives heads-up on some schools you should avoid.

Teaching in Russia is a rewarding experience, but when working in any foreign country in any line of work, you need to be careful.

(Russia would be ashamed of having Helen as one of them!)

jo jo 7 · Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:37 pm Post subject:

vicky8

I remember reading these post about the Samantha School. I warned the students at my college here in the US not to go there for a teaching job. I wanted to maybe teach English in Russia for the experience of it. I am surprised that they have not fired this terrible woman, Helen. She seems so unprofessional in her position as a director of the school.

I must ask you why no one turns her in or sees that she is fired. The issue with this director just seems to carry on and on. Are there no higher ups these teachers that were fired or worked there can go to and complain about her and have something done about it?

nikir · Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:13 am Post subject:

It's Russia jojo and these things happen there.

This woman Helen will no doubt come to the end of the line somehow and sometime. But her successor could be even more unscrupulous than she.

At least prospective teachers who read these threads are warned.

WayToRussia · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:05 pm Post subject:

It's funny: the director of the school wrote to me a long message explaining everything about how the school really works and asked to get rid or to lock this thread. She had a few valid points, but I asked her to post her opinion here in this thread. Instead I have now teachers from the school sending me a message every day explaining how good the school is... If it's so good why don't they just openly post their opinion here?

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

I myself am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt... but the same day Dima received this supposed PM, a teacher claiming to have worked for Samantha School said that all these claims were untrue, and that the school was a good place to work.

If they claim that we are not presenting the case fairly, then I will say that there simply is no balanced story from them either.

If it amounts to nothing, teachers, please be careful of such schools. Losing money and wasting time is one thing, but having to be leashed by a visa/passport is really not funny. Always do your homework before deciding which school to work for. If there's something fishy going on, it's bound to be floating around.

One of them · Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject: Samantha School

I am one of those teachers (who everyone seems to think whon't give their opinions here) who work at Samantha School and have no problem posting my experiences here: -

It's not a perfect place to work (but where is, especially in Russia?!).
However, I have never (and I have worked there a while) seen or heard of anyone not being paid. Plus the pay, while not high, is among the highest in Moscow for a visa-giving school (am not talking about business lanuage schools here - I also work for one of these, but continue to work at Samantha as well). Also, there are some really great people working there (both Admin and other teachers) and everyone tends to socialize after work.

There is a highly politicized environment at the school, which can be difficult at times, but it is not the completely awful place that people here seem to be describing. If it were that bad, why have so many of the teachers continued to work there for 2 or 3 years?

krasatulya · VIP Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 568

The fact that the director of the school contacted Dimitry requesting that he remove or lock this thread scares me a little bit. It seems to be a common theme in Russia that if you don't like what's being written about you, have the source removed.

I truly hope that this site doesn't lock threads of this nature, for one of site's great benefits is that it raises awareness of certain subjects to potential travelers, teachers, etc. Like Mediashark stated, getting tied into a visa is not something to mess around with, and a lot of research should be done on the establishment for which you will be working.

And as Dimitry and Mediashark said, no one is preventing them from posting opposing opinions. But to suggest that a site remove material because they don't like what numerous sources are saying about them...well, it makes me question how the school does operate.

jo jo 7 · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:59 am Post subject:

I agree with Krasatulya on this. I think it is wrong for a school to call or send a message to have this thread removed because they don't like it. Sounds suspicious and smells fishy. I personally would want to know some information on the school that I am applying a position for. I would want to know the reputation it has especially when you are an American teacher who will be coming a long ways to teach and honestly, do not want any problems while we are currently supplying services in this or any other school in Russia, let alone the other Russian teachers who really don't have much of choice where to teach. I maybe an American woman and I get sick and tired of hearing about this kind of stuff going on at schools. I know teachers have more rights in the USA but, people like these directors in the Samatha School or any other Russian school for that matter would have been fired from their services because of the reputation they are making for the school. In America this would be taken care of and they would be fired on the spot and be black listed from working in another school. It might be okay on different issues there and they have great teachers but, it doesn't make the school. A bad director can ruin a school.

So, to have this thread removed would only make someone else make a new one. If the Samantha school has a problem with it then they need to make their own post on saving their reputation. I am glad that people come forward and warn other teachers so they are not left with a headache later.

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

At the end of the day, words can only stop at words.

But very often you reap what you sow and your actions/wrongdoings will often end up speaking louder than words. There are bad apples amongst teachers that will show up at every school--why does this one get such comments floating around?

I discussed this issue with a friend who does another forum. Someone did a similar thread, and the school got them to close the thread. They did close the thread. What that forum does is their business, but just to show you that they have been trying to save face by getting people to remove comments rather than trying to debunk the facts openly.

I can only hope they change their ways, not just words.

Just my 2 kopecks.

Samantha School · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:39 am Post subject:

I am Helen, Principal and founder of the Samantha School. According to this dialogue I should be posting a ‘Demon’ sign next to my posting but those aren’t available. Originally I was unwilling to join this thread because, contrary to the terms of Agreement for the Site, it regretfully ALLOWS the posting of ‘abusive, vulgar, hateful and untrue, unverified material that violates applicable laws’. This explains why I wrote to Dmitry directly.

I would like to note that the tone of this dialogue was set by the Moderator who opened this thread with an offensive characteristic of the principal of the Samantha School. Based on what?!? Random comments posted on a different website in 2005? We proved the posting was unfair back then and the thread was closed. Сheryl-Ann (Mediashark) was not aware of it at the time. It must be more entertaining to start offending from the outset as opposed to getting to the bottom of a situation.

I cannot comment on all of the “allegations”, but would like to address a few.

The posting of Rupert Hodges is worth taking legal action. Rupert wrote: “taxes went straight to her pocket”, the principal “was charging US$50 per lesson” (according to some parents?!?), Samantha School has ”15 students per class” (whereas there are only 7- Cool

and assures everyone of the principal’s hatred for kids. While the former points can be verified, the latter goes against any logic. Have you ever seen a private school prospering for 16 years, based on hatred for kids? On the contrary, it is our responsibility before the students and their parents that made me extremely strict with teachers who were unwilling to give their 100% to teaching our kids!

Instead of preparing for classes, Rupert brought a newspaper to class and was reading it while assigning written work to students (whereas class work should be interactive and conversational!). Parents complained about this!

None of the teachers were ever dismissed on the spot. The Director of Studies would discuss ensuing problems with the teachers and give them a chance to improve. If a teacher doesn’t want to work and follow our academic guidelines (to give homework, administer tests, prepare for classes, etc.), we have the right to terminate contracts upon the end of the trial period. This is international practice.

The Moderator describes “a history of not paying teachers, sending them home (after providing visa support) just because she didn’t like them”.

There was not a single case when we haven’t paid teachers (unless they left without notice and didn’t come back to be paid). We did not embark on a mission of locating teachers in the above cases.

The Visa situation: it seems people don’t realize that international employees in Russia can only work for companies providing them with visa support. Other forms of employment are illegal. When a contract is terminated, the employer is obliged to inform Immigration authorities. Immigration authorities then cancel the visa and registration. This is the immigration policy of the country (and most countries) and not a policy that I have personally invented. Therefore, concepts such as teachers on “short leashes” are out of context.

The above ‘strict but fair’ approach gives visible results. Our students show great achievement, they pass internal, university and international examinations with top grades and graduate with excellent knowledge of English. This is due to our dedicated teaching team. Some of our teachers have been with us for 2, 3 and even 4 years. We are grateful to our teachers for their invaluable input! We realize that they are away from their countries, families and friends, and attempt to create optimal conditions for them.

Cheryl-Ann, you are a journalist and a journalist should give an objective picture. Basing your story on comments of a few “bad apples” and thanking them for “sharing” their comments is not enough to make recommendations for or against any school. If you are in the position to make recommendations on which schools to teach at and which to avoid or even worse, to name ‘dishonest’, you should visit these schools in person and form your own opinion.

“Way to Russia” is an interesting and useful website. People interested in living in Russia visit the site internationally. If you are in the position of contributing to the site, being objective is paramount. Otherwise, it is easy to turn the site from «Way to Russia” to “No Way to Russia”.

I would like to invite you to visit our school, to meet our teachers and students who enjoy coming to our school (yes, they do enjoy it!). You can find our address and phone number on our website www.samantha.ru . You and anybody else are welcome!

surfguy · Lounge Wizard Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 6996

Wow...what a situation and certainly all businesses worldwide are subject to criticisms and gossip, and claims. I commend Helen for coming on this forum and clarifying herself and her school. The thing is that services will speak for themselves and positive feed back on performance will prevail...but if people are expressing negative experiences then perhaps actions are needed to be taken in order to correct any problems. This is a public forum, and the English school is obviously open to the public and to any criticim or praise. I assume because Helen you did have to come on this forum to explain yourself that you must be suffering from these comments...which is unfortunate...and I guess like any business owner then responsible solutions to any problems would be found. Mediashark has every right to express her views, concerns, etc. with regards to your school or anything else...and if you do not like what is said then it is your right and responsibility to defend any claim.

As a prospective teacher, or student...it is places like WTR that I would come to to gain information and reviews...and opinions on various subject matters. You unfortunately have alienated as it seems some people...teachers...students...whoever. And for what ever reasons. But I have a right to know and want to know so that I can make a sound choice as to whom I will seek services from or commit my services to. Anyway I'm sure all this will come to pass with conduct from both parties being in the most positive of fashions. All I can say from any school, business, teacher, student, persons, etc...your actions will and should speak for themselves Wink

vitalsigns · Lounge Wizard Joined: 25 Dec 2004 Posts: 2784

Here's what pops up in my mind when I look over this thread. Why in the world would anyone blame somebody for something they didn't do? No one would come out and say "Here's what's going on in that school" if there was no reason for that. The fact that there were rumors in 2005, the fact that something has come up again recently points to just one fact: something is fishy at that school.

The lengthy explanation above really doesn't make sense. I have not heard a word of apology - instead an attack on Media, Waytorussia and unrepented spirit - which makes me believe that the school's attitude toward almost anyone stinks. Which in turn makes me believe the negative rumors about it are true.