Pros and Cons

Hess is one of the largest "cram schools" in Taiwan, and is therefore often seen as a safe bet for those looking to apply for a job in Taiwan while overseas. They conduct interviews via Skype, so for many people it's nice to have the security of a job offer before arriving in Taiwan. They also offer a 2-week (unpaid) training which can be extremely helpful for someone who has never taught before. Teaching materials are provided as well. However, your day-to-day experience as a Hess teacher might vary wildly from someone at a different branch than you. Some branches seem to be well-organized and supportive of their teachers, whereas others are definitely not.

Where I was placed, the new NSTs received almost zero support upon arriving at the branch, even in terms of basic needs like finding housing (it was promised during training that our branch would help us find appropriate housing). I was not given any information about the classes I was teaching other than being given the materials for the class (and the information I received during training). I only had a chance to observe kindy (no TreeHouse or Step Ahead) and I was not given the follow-up observations that are supposedly required after 3, 6, and 9 months. Despite multiple requests, the NSTs were unable to receive "fun time" craft materials for Kindy or even printer paper to use for printing tests and worksheets so we basically had to buy our own supplies out of pocket. Additionally, sometimes when Teacher's Guides/flashcard sets became outdated or went missing, the branch refused to order new ones and we were left without materials for our classes. Class performances were a HUGE ordeal, and despite being given very minimal information about the expectations for our Kindy and TreeHouse performances, we were harshly criticized for their apparent inadequacies (extremely frustrating considering we had all put a lot of unpaid time and effort into preparing them). Lastly, if you teach kindy, you should be prepared to witness the routine physical and emotional abuse of the children by their HRTs (Taiwanese teachers). At my branch, the children were hit, pushed, yelled and screamed at (often for such small transgressions as spilling water or throwing up on the floor), and forced to hug/kiss teachers and classmates against their will. If these things make you uncomfortable, being in such a classroom can make for a very unhappy situation. The branch managers seemed to condone this behavior.

I do know some people who had good experiences at their Hess branches, but overall, there are so many horror stories that you are taking a big risk by accepting a job offer from them. I think that if the organization could keep better tabs on its individual branches to make sure they are keeping their promises to their teachers, and if the organization invested a bit more in its teachers rather than treating them as disposable, then Hess could take a step toward being a more reputable business.