I
would like to thank Jonathan for taking the time for replying to the
posts made here. I would also like to apologise for
misrepresenting his position and the number of schools he successfully
runs. I would like to reply to some of the points he has made:
I think that you brush off the accusations about the visa a little
too easily. The situation that was created upset many teachers
and put teachers under a vast amount of unnecessary stress. I
still do not understand why teachers were not explained the legal
position they would be in before they travelled to Colombia. I
think that these actions were extremely irresponsible.
I was clearly mislead and lied to about my legal position in
Colombia. I questioned the student visa when I was told I would
be given one and I was told that I could work up to 30 hours a week on
it. This is clearly a lie. Furthermore the school then
asked me to continue the lie (that they had told me) by telling DAS
something that was clearly false.
I'm glad that you have clarified the position of the teacher who
visited the hospital and was denied treatment. I am slightly
confused as to why it has taken so long to have this made public.
There were a lot of teachers who were extremely concerned by this event
and expressed their concern to Alejandro. Why wasn't a proper
notification made to the teachers at the time? I would also like
to ask that if the other points are also just similar misunderstandings
could you put me straight on these as well? (by the way eventually
teachers were all given receipts by the school proving that their
medical insurance had been paid).
I am obviously not in a position to comment on Andy's feelings
about his work at IH. All I can say is that I think he did an
excellent job there, teachers were very happy with they way he handled
them and once he left their position became a lot worse. My
assumption of exasperation was based on a couple of actions by Andy
when I went to him for help with administration issues (I am sorry that
I included Andy in my previous post, I was replying to a comment made
by the previous poster). Please note that I left IH Bogota on the
same day as Andy and I am only aware of the situation becoming worse
from what other teachers have told me.
I think that your attempt at dismissing my assertion that the
majority of teachers were upset as merely scandal mongering is a little
disappointing. While I was working there I was under the impression
that most teachers were a lot angrier than me and at a bit of a loss as
to what to do about it. I can name two teachers that I know were
happy at the time and I can name 17 who were not happy (out of 30 and I
have written the names down to check the numbers). I do not know
why the teachers who were upset have chosen not to comment more, I
guess if you put your head above the parapet...
I also guess many teachers wish to work for other IHLS schools and
do not want their names tarred. I once harboured a desire to work
for IH Barcelona, I guess my name is now black listed. But I feel
very strongly about the way I and other teachers were treated by IH
Bogota and I feel that it needs to be made public and other teachers
need to be warned.
I think I had a better relationship with Alejandro than many
teachers and I certainly do not wish him as much ill as some teachers
have expressed about him to me. I have even defended Alejandro to
other teachers. I am aware of the problems IH Bogota had with
attracting new customers and everyone involved has done a fantastic job
to get the school to the customer base it has now. However the
problem remains that it is not a pleasant working environment, teachers
feel that they are treated with contempt and that they are lied
to. A lot needs to be done to rectify these points.
I also do not think that comparing a teacher's mistake with a
director's mistake is a fair one. A director's mistake clearly
has a far larger impact. I'm sure if Alejandro started by
apologising to some of the teachers who feel they have been so unjustly
treated, a new relationship could be developed. I would also
point out that it is not just one small mistake Alejandro has made but
a long list of problems people have had with him - how many mistakes
can a teacher make before they lose their job? (please do not infer
from this that I want Alejandro to lose his job).
You are clearly very successful and talented at running language
schools and I am sure that eventually the problems will be fixed at IH
Bogota. Once that happens I expect it will be a very good place
to work. Until then I would still recommend that teachers look
for employment elsewhere.
| |