Teach English in Taiwan with Uncle Sam American School

I have worked for the Sanxia branch of Uncle Sam American School for several years and love it. I've also worked at several other schools here in Taiwan and in other countries and haven't found any other school that I have liked even half as much. The Sanxia (Beida) area is a great place to live and work. The facilities are regularly updated and well maintained. They have a large friendly staff with a great feeling of camaraderie especially among the foreign teaching staff.

Absolutely ridiculous place to work. Considering the hours you work, they way underpay their staff and they cheat you on taxes and other benefits on top of that. You are teaching kindergarten, which is illegal. Many terrible students and they refuse to discipline them or expel them from school in fear of the owner losing money.

Their buxiban is even terrible as well. It is really a "cram school" because you will have the kids fill out 5-6 pages in a book for a class and you have nothing else to do but cram and make sure all the kids have filled out everything in their books perfectly.

Local staff is filled with bitter awomen who resent their posts and the foreigners around them.

This was at the Sanxia branch, the flagship school.

Overall terrible experience. They have cameras in every classroom. Sometimes teachers are accused of doing things or not doing things and in the event that you attempt to defend yourself by telling them to check the camera, they won't do it.

They always under report income and one teacher was denied his APRC because they have been doing this for so long. They do this to cheat you on your taxes. They say you make less money than you do but in the end this screws you because you don't get your money back and they pocket the difference for themselves!

Only way to get through this experience is to develop Stockholm Syndrome.

Whenever I am asked where I work by expats living abroad, I always give pause, a wry smile and say, 'Uncle Sam', with a bit of a chuckle. Although the school has a somewhat comical, if not unusual name, it is a very nice institution with great facilities. I work in the Banchiao office, and the management has been very helpful from day one. The facilities are nice, the building itself is conveniently located beside the MRT, and above all else, the children at the school are great. There isn't a bad egg in the bunch. I feel that one thing you learn while teaching English abroad, is that there is no such thing as an absolutely perfect school. Uncle Sam is no exception. Yet, putting faults aside, and realizing that work is work no matter where you are in the world, I feel that this school gives teachers, especially those with no prior experience, an excellent opportunity to learn the craft and earn a competitive wage.

Uncle Sam was my very first teach-abroad experience after university, and I worked with them for a year. I spent my time at their Banqiao branch just outside the city center.

As far as the school and staff goes, I really could not ask for more supportive co-teachers. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, and the whole environment was family-like. The head teacher at my branch, Shirley, was so nice and responsive to the concerns of her foreign staff.

The amenities and teaching materials at the school were extensive and quite useful. We had plenty of toys and objects to use for games, and the school provided us with all the materials we would need for carrying out effective lessons. We were also allowed plenty of Internet access in the teacher's room to look for ideas. In addition, the school is extremely clean and quite high-tech compared to other places I've worked since then. Just walking in there, you will see an extensive PA and camera network, as well as video projectors, ridiculously good air conditioning, and massive stereo systems. There is even a phys. ed. room on the top floor.

One aspect of Uncle Sam that some might find difficult is how much work is required of their teachers. I found my job there to be quite demanding, starting at 8:30 and ending around 18:15 every day. Some days, we got long lunch breaks (2 hours), but others, we were busy with writing report cards, doing lesson plans, or participating in teacher meetings. Teachers are well-paid, but you are asked to take a very involved role in your teaching -- often writing evaluations, completing testing, and preparing students for competitions and big events. If you are looking for some serious teacher training and support, you will get it here, as well as a lot of practice with workshops and plenty of feedback from colleagues.

Once you settle into the school, however, a lot of this work comes more easily. If you are willing to put in the effort, you should be able to adjust to it. In addition, the students were fantastic and so lovely to teach. Overall, I learned a lot and had a really nice experience with my students and colleagues.

I was working at Uncle Sam for almost a year and half and I ABSOLUTELY loved it.

The Chinese teachers are friendly and helpful and it is very easy to work with them. Jacky and Maureen ( the owners) did everything they could to make us feel welcome. The are very strict though and you need to comply with all kinds of rules, but you learn to live with that.I think most schools are a bit different than what we are used to.

The school facilities are very good and you work with a lot of other foreign teachers which makes life a lot easier. School hours were from 8 - 6 for me with a 2h break in the middle. Every month we had a themed birthday party where the kids played games and just had fun.

Another good thing teaching wise is that you have workshops for a specific topic ( i think it was every second week)and that was really a great way to learn from your fellow colleagues and to share ideas. You have to do weekly lesson plans and do report cards every second week which can get hectic, but it is also fun and actually a very easy job!!

The parents are particularly involved in your teaching. That is a big thing at Uncle Sam. All the classroom's have CCTV camera's and the parents can watch from home;-) That was very scary in the beginning, but you get used to it.

Overall I had an amazing experience at Uncle Sam!!!