31 Bad Flavors: International School of English in Aobadai Yokohama

[MacIntosh]

Do not work for the International School of English in Aobadai Yokohama. During my time there, the boss has demonstrated behavioral characteristics that I have recorded into the following list. He is 40 years old, balding, has black greasy hair and a horribly pockmarked face. He is also a 'I'm-better-than-you-are', classist, chauvinistic, power-abusing waste-of-flesh. He robbed me for the first time while my grandma was dying in America and I was grieving over that. Guess he hoped to get me while my guard was down. He also did the same to a coworker who took personal leave because their father was on their deathbed. He also has no ability to adjust his English towards lower-level students. To let you in on the fuller version, he:

1. comes to work late most mornings when students are waiting for his lesson to begin: approximately 5 minutes late around 75% of the time on mornings Tuesday to Friday
2. makes inappropriate sexually discriminating comments about students, especially females who study together in groups
3. states that regular days have 1 or 2 lesson preparation times, when in fact the work schedule is much busier than this: stated when I signed my contract and twice over the phone
4. says comments in an attempt to prove himself intellectually superior to others, even if its false information. this occurs with teachers in front of other teachers or students
5. talks down to students, teachers, and especially the Japanese secretaries
6. complains about materials that are misplaced or not returned, but fails to pick up his own materials in the classroom or asks others to do it
7. promises a 3 month evaluation of a teacher's abilities, then fails to do so
8. suggests that a pay raise after 3 months will be awarded if a teacher proves reliable, then fails to produce
9. fails to pay the proper salary amount, especially with overtime amounts or cancelled lesson hours
10. charged teacher who was taking personal leave for the payment of replacement teachers, along with the removal of those days regular salary, resulting in a deduction roughly double the proper amount from that teacher's salary
11. criminally negligent/incompetent accounting procedures, self-admitted to no proofreading or double checking, or possibly just intentional errors for his benefit (given his poor character, its likely he simply uses it as an excuse)
12. fails to provide the necessary resignation materials in a timely manner, fails to meet the deadline he set for himself and : both the letter of release and tax certificate
13. compensation statements are inconsistent in style and form, resulting in confusion
14. expects teachers who become aware of their incorrect salary amounts to wait until the next pay period to receive what they deserved days or weeks earlier
15. dismisses late or incorrect compensation as if it were a minor problem
16. speaks poorly about previous teachers who have left the school: spoke of Anushka, Evan, and Rose (just in case you guys are reading this!, lets push a lawsuit on him)
17. shows favoritism to those who suck up
18. fails to pay the necessary severance pay upon immediately firing a teacher
19. makes inappropriate comments to teachers: 'those pants make you look fat', called coworker's husband a leech and then said he was just joking, social-class type insults towards employees going to a restaurant that fails to meet his own preference
20. talked entirely too much in lessons: student stated
21. two-faced with teachers and staff, especially secretaries
22. fails to follow his own school's custom lesson plans: primarily with numerous morning students witnessed by myself
23. called to ask fellow teacher to work for him the morning of his birthday during the 10 minute break between lessons, could have asked well in advance for such a favor rather than irresponsibly at the last moment, also made this seem as though it were paid emergency overtime and instead claimed it were a simple shift swap(despite it being made only 5 lessons before the time it would occur)
24. fails to follow his own school's lesson structure, often extending warmup for entire class: primarily with morning students witnessed by myself, overly used listening warmup activity with sound effects
25. switches students with other teachers for his benefit, such as students with similar interests or young attractive female students: switched with me twice in the 10 minute break before the lesson started
26. hires young attractive female students as secretaries or temporary workers
27. fails to pay teachers final salaries on time
28. hires people on independent contracts that suggest teachers are actively scheduling their own students, preventing them from avoiding taxes for his own gain; then states that he's not quite sure why he arranged it that way as if it were an accident(keeping in mind that he has more than 10 years of experience)
29. cannot apologize when he is caught red-handed or admit to doing something morally wrong
30. cheats teachers who are employed with working holiday visas by overtaxing them and refusing to return the tax money, even when contacted by the government tax office
31. produces written statements that suggest problems with teachers, only to keep them on their guard and attempt to assert control, e.g. satellite-controlled time system and suggestions that many teachers are late for classes or leaving classes early; then ignoring this system with later teachers whom he liked better(who actually have larger problems with tardiness than the original group). another example is suggesting that there are problems returning materials when there are so many new teachers at the school that returning materials incorrectly is to be expected. yet another example is the vocab tracker concept that he winds in and out of: fall of 2005 with time related statements, spring of 2006 with material related statements, fall of 2006 vocab tracker disappearing, winter of 2006 vocab tracker being strictly enforced and complained about, spring of 2006 with vocab tracker disappearing yet again.

[Ganbaru]

To begin, I would like to affirm EVERYTHING that was said in this original posting. As a former ISE employee I strongly advise all people to stay away from this place for your financial and mental health. As a short addendum to the previous posting, I would like to add four bonus 'flavors' to ISE's repetoire:

1) When an ISE payday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you will not get paid on the previous Friday (which is the norm in the rest of the world), you will get paid on the Monday following the weekend -just hope it isnt a three day holiday.

2) The Japanese Labor Code clearly states that all employees are entitled to 10 paid vacation days per year. In the ISE contract, it is clearly stated that ISE will 'afford vacation days according to Japanese Labor Standards', but you are only given 5 days per year (and very scant holidays).

3) At the time of my resignation, Mr. Lee had written in a fine of 50,000 yen per month of uncompleted contract in the event that you choose to leave Japan or ISE early. Please know that this is 100% illegal. No employer is legally able to write fines into a contract that penalize employees for leaving early.

4) My personal favorite!!! There was an article in an old Metropolis magazine (the most popular English magazine in the Tokyo area) all about the formation of labor unions for teachers caught in unfair or unethical/illegal working situations. When this issue arrived at ISE, a friend and I picked it up and read it with interest at lunch. However, when we returned to ISE an hour later the magazines were nowhere to be found!!! While I dont know exactly what happened, I believe that Mr. Lee fears his employees joining a union as this would force him to conform his business practices to the letter of Japanese law and treat his employees as real people, not just things to be manipulated.

If, after all this, you still choose to work for ISE then please know that you were duly informed of what your experience would be like. Personally, I wouldnt advise anyone -even someone looking for work- to apply, but as the saying goes "to each his own". Good luck in your job search and work experience!

[powerrose]

Phew. I just got sent a job posting from Mr. Lee and I'm glad I averted disaster...

Keep up the good work!

-Rose

[Teacher4life]

I was really shocked to read this review of ISE.As a former teacher of ISE (April 15th 2005- March 14th 2007) ,I completed two back to back contracts . I must honestly say that I had a very positive work experience. I found Mr. Lee to be a very fair and supportive manager, commanding respect of both his Staff and students alike.The school is not only absolutely beautiful but very well run.I was really impressed with level of professionalism that teachers and Japanese staff maintained.The school was always busy (When I left in 2007 ,I heard the head count was over 600 hundred students). I was never paid late, I received all my designated holidays and also a sizezable tax refund that helped to finance my return home and pay off part of my student loans.I still stay in contact with some of the ISE teachers that are still employed by Mr. Lee, and I have not received any negative news on the school.I think the reviews posted here are basically rubbish.Anyway don't always believe what you read.You might miss a great work opportunity.I've worked with some great teachers and I have also worked with people that give teaching a bad name.I think the people that wrote those reviews have a lot of negaitve energy and bitterness.I don't get the personal attacks on Mr Lee's appearance .I know he has a good looking wife and two beautiful daughters.I am going to encourage other ISE staff that I know to post there own positive reviews.

Peace!

[alfresco]

DO NOT WORK AT ISE AOBADAI!!!!

I don't know how Tim Lee sleeps at night. I used to work there, and all of the above statements are true...except the most recent one, which, if I had to guess was written by Mr. Lee himself. Any one of his employees would agree that he is a pathological human being...funny how the above entry resembles points that Tim Lee tells you in your interview to get you hooked. I think he's so completely whacked in the head, that he doesn't even know he's lying!! I would not be at all surprised if he wrote that himself...because honestly, what kind of person checks up on their old workplace's blogs and takes the time to write a rebuttal like that?

After only working there for a few months, I had to get out!! Still not sure exactly how I will get screwed by ISE, but as far as I know, NO employee who has left (whether completing their contract or not) has been granted an easy separation from the school. I could write forever about how rediculous the environment is there. I have never encountered a workplace with such a lack of respect for its staff and employees. Wish I would've taken the time to Google 'ISE' before I accepted a job there...could've saved myself 5 months of hell!

[Ganbaru2]

NO ONE at ISE leaves with happy thoughts about ISE. The comments about the boss Tim Lee are correct. There are only two people I know of that have worked at ISE for two or more years. The average teacher last six months or less (except for the Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and French teachers) They work only part time though. If the boss has a chance to screw up out of money he will. He has his lawyer rewrite the contracts so they sound legal, but he does not honor them. You still only get five days of vacation not 10. The money you receive from your tax returns goes to the city tax. You will probably ended up paying more then you will get back . When teachers leave ISE they have to call Tim to get there last pay check (because he won't pay it unless you fight for it) and sometimes he still won't pay. He didn't pay one teacher because they left the country and that person honored their contract. He will take out more than 10,000 yen (over $100) for unpaid leave. Japanese law says you are only allowed to take out 2 percent of the daily salary and no more then 10 percent of your monthly salary. He breaks that law all the time. Japan law also requires you pay ex employees within seven days of there request.He NEVER has. You must fight him to get your money. Many employees have Monday and Tuesday off so he won't have to pay them holiday pay ( as long as the holiday falls on a Monday and most do). Everyone is required to work two hours of overtime for the annual Halloween party, but he only pays you for one hour.

I also think Teacher4life it Tim Lee. It was hell to work at ISE and I would tell anyone thinking about it to seriously reconsider. It is not worth the time or stress. If you still want to work there please look into unions. They are well worth the price.

--- EDIT ---
Sorry I was so anger I made some spelling and grammatical errors. That is just what the thought of HIM and that school do to me.

[blablabla]

Wow THANK YOU so much for writing this down. I found an ad for this school and was thinking it sounded so cool and professional...then found this.. googled the school and found tons of complaints against the guy-- http://www.generalunion.org/voice/voice17.pdf
scary scary.
On with the job hunting....gambarimasuu