Too Many Good Schools to List

Pictured: A Japanese lantern, courtesy of Fuji Film

There are too many good schools in Japan to list. Often they are run by a couple or a family, they are small but not too small, and they care about their teachers, their
customers and the community. They try to do a good job of teaching their students and treating their employees well. Some of them even have profit sharing. They are not famous and don`t speak with one voice, but if you look through the jobs ads at Jobs in Japan, Ohayo Sensei, Dave`s ESL Cafe, and ELT News you can find them there.

I encourage you to apply to some of the smaller schools advertised at the above places and ask to speak with current teachers. You can get a good idea of what it is like to work there, and avoid some of the nightmares you hear about at some schools; which in Japan is pretty rare I feel. But yes it does happen. Bad things happen everywhere.

Kevin Burns

More on English School Franchises

Of course you would never, ever think of buying a franchise before talking to many people who are already doing it right? A surprising number of people would according to franchising experts. I have always wanted to have balance at the Greenlist, hence the links below to more information about Smith`s and other franchise opportunities.

You really need to research this! Before going into any kind of franchise opportunity, talk to people who are doing it, or have done it. And don`t believe the hype: good or bad at the forums. Better still avoid forums. They are usually too negative. Unfortunately it seems to be human nature.

Read well researched articles on the topics you are interested in-in this case buying a franchise. But avoid articles that are too positive or too negative. Sorry if I am being pedantic, but I think a lot of teachers have been swayed by forums too much.


More research on Smith`s English School franchises:

Speaking Out on English School Franchises

And a comparison of Smith`s, One World and Modern English:

http://www.usingenglish.com/speaking-out/english-teaching-franchises.html