Comments on: Selling English Students http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/ Chinese, Linguistics, Science, Cultural Observations and whatever else I feel like writing about Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:25:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Mark http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-129643 Mark Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:18:01 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-129643 That's a problem for the school owner, for sure. In many cases, it's sign of poor management. If they were paid what they were worth, the teachers would have little incentive to do that. One thing is for sure. If parents leave a school to follow a teacher, they must be very satisfied with that teacher. I guess what bothers me about the idea of "selling" students is that it assumes they (or their parents) have no volition of their own. "Stealing" them, on the other hand is actually a matter of them choosing to follow their teacher. Parents have to be free to make the best choices they can for their children's education, and they're justified in being upset if they pay one school, only to be told their kids have been "sold" to another by the management. That’s a problem for the school owner, for sure. In many cases, it’s sign of poor management. If they were paid what they were worth, the teachers would have little incentive to do that. One thing is for sure. If parents leave a school to follow a teacher, they must be very satisfied with that teacher.

I guess what bothers me about the idea of “selling” students is that it assumes they (or their parents) have no volition of their own. “Stealing” them, on the other hand is actually a matter of them choosing to follow their teacher. Parents have to be free to make the best choices they can for their children’s education, and they’re justified in being upset if they pay one school, only to be told their kids have been “sold” to another by the management.

]]> By: naruwan http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-129631 naruwan Sun, 16 Mar 2008 13:15:52 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-129631 Students can be stolen too. It happens a lot. Disgruntled teachers sometimes collect contact details of all his/her students and maybe those of other teachers as well, then they call up the parents with some story, or they may be open about it and say they've opened a new school with lower fees. And many times the teacher isn't even disgruntled - he/she will work at a cram school just long enough to steal away a good proportion of the students. My wife told me about a big cram school near our house where three teachers opened their own school and stole about half of the original cram school's students. Students can be stolen too. It happens a lot. Disgruntled teachers sometimes collect contact details of all his/her students and maybe those of other teachers as well, then they call up the parents with some story, or they may be open about it and say they’ve opened a new school with lower fees. And many times the teacher isn’t even disgruntled - he/she will work at a cram school just long enough to steal away a good proportion of the students. My wife told me about a big cram school near our house where three teachers opened their own school and stole about half of the original cram school’s students.

]]> By: Mark http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128904 Mark Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:03:43 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128904 Vitaly, keep in mind that most schools that sell are either losing money or barely profitable. I used Taiwanese prices because I'm in Taiwan and the schools sold here are sold for Taiwanese prices. It really doesn't matter at all, though. The numbers I used were entirely hypothetical, and the same valuation tends to hold true regardless of school size AFIK. Vitaly, keep in mind that most schools that sell are either losing money or barely profitable. I used Taiwanese prices because I’m in Taiwan and the schools sold here are sold for Taiwanese prices. It really doesn’t matter at all, though. The numbers I used were entirely hypothetical, and the same valuation tends to hold true regardless of school size AFIK.

]]> By: Vitaly http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128891 Vitaly Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:13:31 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128891 I know in North America business is usually worth 2 or 3 years of it net income. 3 months of gross income (minus expenses for salaries and rent) sounds very cheap. Mark, why don't you provide prices in US dollars? I know in North America business is usually worth 2 or 3 years of it net income. 3 months of gross income (minus expenses for salaries and rent) sounds very cheap.

Mark, why don’t you provide prices in US dollars?

]]> By: chriswaugh_bj http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128686 chriswaugh_bj Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:34:26 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2008/selling-english-students/#comment-128686 I've been sold before, it was weird. The boss of the Chinese school I was enrolled in decided she couldn't be arsed either buying the office or renting a new one, so she sold the school and students to a competitor. I still had two lessons left, and tried the new school, but it sucked. First up, even though the new teacher assigned to me knew me from the old school, I still had to "retrain" her- she was far too used to absolute beginners and couldn't quite get it through her thick head that some of us laowai make it as far as intermediate or higher stages. More importantly, it just sucks being sold off like that. I pleaded a headache and walked out of that lesson, didn't bother going back for the one lesson I was still owed. I’ve been sold before, it was weird. The boss of the Chinese school I was enrolled in decided she couldn’t be arsed either buying the office or renting a new one, so she sold the school and students to a competitor. I still had two lessons left, and tried the new school, but it sucked. First up, even though the new teacher assigned to me knew me from the old school, I still had to “retrain” her- she was far too used to absolute beginners and couldn’t quite get it through her thick head that some of us laowai make it as far as intermediate or higher stages. More importantly, it just sucks being sold off like that. I pleaded a headache and walked out of that lesson, didn’t bother going back for the one lesson I was still owed.

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