BKC-IH Moscow Teachers Blogs

A short time ago, the main page of this blog linked to several blogs by current and former BKC-IH Moscow teachers. We received three messages from the owners of some of these blogs, requesting that their links be deleted.

From a message sent to us by one of the BKC-IH Moscow Teacher blog owners:

You have my blog, ...listed on your blog under blogs by bkc ih teachers. While I appreciate your efforts to inform people about bkc moscow, you do not have my permission to include my blog on your site. Please remove it.

Response from the BKC-IH TEACHER'S BLOG:

Your permission is not required. Any time you publish anything online, it may be linked to - as long as the website uses the home page, and not a deep link. Therefore, we are under no obligation to remove it.

If you do not want people reading your blog, you can attempt to make your blog private or you can make the decision to not publish anything online.

However, if you can give us more details and an explanation on why you want your link removed, we will talk it over with all of our contributors, and we will vote on whether or not we will remove the link.

You got fired from BKC, didn't you? Why do you care if your blog is linked to by our blog?

We Never Heard from This Former BKC Teacher Again

And, Another Message We Received From a Different BKC-IH Moscow Employee

Please remove my blog site from your list, I am the author of ....While it is true that I am currently employed at BKC-IH (and as much as I sympathized your sentiments against BKC-IH) I don't want my blog to be advertised in your site or in any other sites.

Response from the BKC-IH TEACHER'S BLOG:

Advertisement means that we are being paid by you. We are not being paid by you. Therefore, since your blog is in the public domain, we can link to it if we so choose.

The Email From the Former BKC Moscow Teacher That Propelled Us to Remove the List of BKC-IH Moscow Teacher Blogs

There is a former teacher who is in a sensitive position, who is possibly still in danger due to allegations made by this teacher against BKC International House Moscow. Being linked to this site may harm that person.

And so the people involved in this blog took a vote and agreed to remove all the blogs we had linked to, giving preferential treatment to no one, regardless of their situations.

If you want to find the blogs of BKC-IH Moscow teachers, it is not difficult

Go to Google.com and type in "bkc ih moscow teachers blogs."

Go to and type in "BKC Moscow."

There are ten pages of links in the Google Blog Search.

While the authors, contributors and "board members" of this blog appreciate the dangerous position some people at BKC-IH Moscow are in, our goal is to tell the truth about BKC-International House Moscow.

Our aim is to expose the illegal wrongdoings as well as warn other teachers about taking a position with BKC-IH Moscow.

Work at BKC Moscow - Work Illegally - Get Abused - Speak Up - Get Fired

One of the biggest problems facing teachers at BKC-IH Moscow right now is the lack of legal visa support.

In a new blog by a BKC-IH Moscow teacher called BKC-IH Moscow Sucks: BKC-IH Moscow Should Be Disaffiliated With IHWO (International House), the teacher writes about the following problems that teachers face while working at his school in Podolsk, Moscow.

1. Being forced to illegally work in Russia (a dangerous situation) because BKC Moscow does not have the legal right to currently employ foreigners if their visas expire. BKC IH Moscow instructs its teachers to get "business visas," which are being used by BKC teachers to teach English in Russia, which is strictly against the law - business visas cannot be used to teach. Teachers foot the bill for the visa runs to get these visas, compensated only a fraction of what it costs to leave the country and come back with an illegal visa.

2. Lack of proper ADOS support for the teacher's curriculum.

3. Lies told by the teacher's ADOS.

4. Teachers being told by BKC-IH Moscow to lie to Russian police about where they work. (We will post more about this on an upcoming blog post.)

5. A vindictive director who stopped buying water for the office and shut down internet connections at the school for no reason.

6. Lies told to the teacher by Wayne Rimmer, the director of studies at BKC-IH Moscow.

7. Being forced out of his apartment after being illegally dismissed by BKC-IH Moscow a few weeks ago.

8. Contract violations, emails that were not responded to, and a threat from BKC-IH Moscow's Director of Studies about never being able to work for IH again.

Read the full blog here.

We will update this blog later to explain the illegal visa situation that BKC-IH Moscow is currently subjecting its teachers to, the verbal abuse that teachers are subjected to, and the contract violations and other laws that BKC Moscow is currently breaking.

We wish this gentleman the best of luck in his future pursuits and his new blog about the unethical and illegal practices of BKC-International House Moscow.

Balance, But Still Bad (A Review of BKC Moscow by Current BKC Teacher)

This is a guest post by one of our contributors: The contributor cross-posted this review on Dave's ESL Cafe.
 

So BKC has to jump through hoops.  Here's how they pass it onto us.

The last two weeks of the contract cannot be taken as holidays because of legal hoops BKC jumps through to accommodate the end of your contract.  In order to make sure the legally-recognized part of your salary and all can be received by you via bank deposit prior to the end of your contract, they have to legally say your employment actually finished two weeks (or so) earlier than on the contract you signed.  There's a form you sign for this when you get the visa manager's signature on your BKC leaving form.

That said, what's the thing about terminating early and having to submit your passport two weeks before your early departure date?  They basically issue you a visa that's good until the day you leave (or very shortly thereafter).  This is blatantly illegal.  They do this so as to insure you don't go and work for any one else because your visa IS NOT tied to an employer.  Withholding pay unless you give them your passport is illegal in so many ways I haven't bothered to count.

Registration is legit and if you stay for more than one contract it may even display the address of the apartment where you actually stay as opposed to the hostel at Tverskaya where most of us have been registered at one time or other, no doubt.

The number of paid vacation days does suck for global EFL standards.  Most of the days are taken up by national holidays.  As for February 23rd, that was a holiday.  Thing is, BKC decided the 22nd would also be a holiday, hence making up for it the Saturday the 27th.

Making up for holidays, yeah, that's just a way for BKC to get you to work more.  Many cultures around the world do this and it's just a matter of the teacher being aware of this and negotiating otherwise.

Policies and contracts are different according to Russian law.  Contracts are set in stone and require both parties to agree to any changes.  Policies must be written and physically given to all employees in a hardcopy form.  The catch?  The company has the legal right to change policies whenever they want unilaterally.  Any extra bonuses like non-standby placement tests that aren't written in the contract are literally at the company's discretion as to whether or not they're paid and that is legal in Russia.

Case: I was stiffed on interviews because BKC decided to switch it to a stand-by session last-second so I wasn't paid anything extra as the standby was part of my base contract hours.

As for contracts, the only valid ones are those written in Russian.  Good luck getting one like that from BKC because the Russian income tax rate is insane, plus there are other bureaucratic concerns (most of which I don't know).  That's why many teachers can't find legal grounds to sue BKC, although BKC is currently in the midst of a legal battle with a former teacher on the concerning the grounds of dismissal.  I'm rooting for the teacher on this one regardless of the grounds of the case just because of the bad things BKC has done (otherwise my view would be really different and this would be a glowing email, although in a non-nuclear way).

As for postal addresses, most teachers send their stuff to central office for various reasons - and it's reliable.  What happens is, the Russian postal system will deliver it to a specified postal mailbox or keep parcel notices on-hand until you go there and ask if anything is there.  So, BKC has a runner who goes there once a week (or so) and collects everything with BKC in the address.  Voila.  That's not BKC, that's just the postal system.  I haven't tried DHL, but that may result in direct - and therefore speedier - delivery.

The airfare re-imbursement totally sucks, even with 2010 increases (which are a bad joke IMO).  I have no idea how this is calculated, but I know tax issues are involved.  That said, BKC can make it what it wants, so....

Medical coverage is actually ok for non-serious stuff.  I've had a house call and I've had to visit the hospital once.  Say what you want about the doctors, but the house call was free and the hospital visit re-imbursed. 


There have been issues with teachers who became seriously ill and needed surgery.  Then BKC did the absolutely disgusting thing of renegging and forcing them for forgo so much just to stay in-country to get it done.  You don't kick someone when they're down, but that's not a Russian axiom.  The Russian one is kick them until they can't get back up.  Seeing bar fights or street fights anywhere will make it clear that it's different in Russia.

What, then, about accommodation?  Dealing with Russians in your building is not something BKC can control, but choosing neighborhoods is.  Loud neighbours is one thing, gangs around the buildings that accost you is another.  Such is life.

While the teacher is responsible for cleanliness as well as anything they break, BKC is responsible for everything else (but not lightbulbs and matches and garbage bags and simple stuff).  That said, I was docked for replacing door knobs, shower knobs, taps/faucets, oven/stove knobs, etc.  It took me and my roommate two weeks to get a bathroom door lock replaced.  This was a particular problem because the door would remain open without it.  I literally had to email the accommodation manager that demanding a change in sexual orientation to save on a door lock was too much to ask.  Only then was a door lock installed.

I honestly don't know if they wait for kicks or if it's just a test of patience.  That said, I know many admin on the 3rd floor are caught between a rock and a hard place.  Bribery, ass-kissing, and gift-giving seem to have worked well for other teachers, but only generally so.

My family builds their own homes.  I never had the heart to tell this to the accommodation manager because then I would have gone on and on at all the shoddy things in the apartment I occupied while at BKC.

Finance on 3rd floor can be rude when they reject any costs that aren't covered under BKC's ever-changing policies.  "What you do with your money is your business."  I hated that.  In all honesty, I wonder if they receive any bonus, commission, or company kickback for shaving off this and that teacher-based expenditure.  I don't know if that happens, but I wouldn't put it past BKC and admin.

As for wanting teachers to stay and cover classes, that's to insure continuity of classes.  That's a little BS considering the attitude Russian students have toward "their teacher" versus others.  Plus, BKC is a company and continued classes mean money is continually coming in.  This is an arguable point, but whatever, covers are a part of TEFL-life.

If there's ever an unresolvable issue between yourself and your mentor/ADOS, then you're passed onto the DOS, Mr. (or is it now Dr.?) Rimmer.  He knows his stuff when it comes to the English language, but he has a nasty tendency to put teachers into one of four categories.  You're either a criminal, sexually deranged, trying to escape something, or are genuinely meant to be a teacher.

Then there's the owner, Mr. Bondarev.  Former scientist who grew his business up from the mean streets of Moscow during the rough `90s.  Drives a nice car, owns BKC country, has property in other countries, and is engaged on a sizeable personal project involving frequent travel to one country in Asia I will not name.  BKC is a cash cow, so I'm truly stumped as to why BKC is engaged in actions that will see the company run into the ground.

How to Deal With Your BKC Moscow Flatmate From Hell

This blog post comes courtesy of one of our anonymous contributors.

So! You hate your flatmate. Get in line at BKC Accommodation! And prepare for this to happen: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  This is what happens when you complain about your flatmate:

Step 1: You send an e-mail to BKC Accommodation.
Step 2: You get no reply, so you phone BKC Accommodation and e-mail again.
Step 3: BKC Accommodation sends both you and your flatmate a form letter, telling you both that you need to get along.
Step 4: Your flatmate ignores the e-mail and continues whatever it is he or she is doing to annoy you.
Step 5: You send BKC Accommodation another email, and start to get VERY UPSET.
Step 6: BKC Accommodation invites both you and your flatmate in to "discuss the issues." Your flatmate might not even show up.
Step 7: You are given a choice: live with your flatmate and stop bothering BKC Accommodation, or move to a distant flat, far away from your schools. No matter who is to blame, no matter how much evidence you lay at the table of BKC Moscow, unless you are literally or figuratively in bed with BKC Moscow, BOTH OF YOU MUST MOVE OUT OF THE FLAT.
Step 8: Repeat steps indefinitely.

You MIGHT have a chance at getting BKC Accommodation to place you in a flat with a person who is not crazy or disgusting or evil - that is where a little thing called "bribery" comes into play.

• Ply the BKC Accommodation Manager with the following: chocolates, vodka, and, if you're very desperate: an envelope with 1000 rubles. Make certain that you use the words "gift" when you do this. Enclosing a card may seal the deal. 
• Compliment the BKC Accommodation Manager on her beauty. If you are a female, then tell her how pretty she looks today, and where on earth did she buy that lovely dress? 
• If you are a male, imply to the BKC Accommodation Manager that you would like to sleep with her. Make positive references to her body parts, including her breasts and ass.

Final Steps to Take When the Above Actions Fail

• Fight fire with fire. What exactly is the issue with your flatmate? Does he leave his dirty dishes all over the place? Put them in his room. Does he leave his dirty underwear in the bathroom? Get some plastic gloves, remove the items and place them directly on his bed, with a sign that says, "These are a health hazard, you disgusting moron."
• Does your flatmate stay up all night and make a lot of noise, making it impossible for you to sleep? Arrange to spend the night at a friend's flat. Set up your clock radio to blast rock music starting at 1 a.m. 
• Does your flatmate leave the toilet dirty? Get a jar, and pee into it. When your flatmate is out, enter the flatmate's room and spill your urine over all her clothes and bed. This is best done when the flatmate has just left the apartment. When the flatmate returns, she will find that her entire bedroom smells like piss, but the wetness should have dried by then. 
• Does your flatmate steal your stuff? Carry all your valuables on you at all times. Then enter the flatmate's room when he or she is out, and steal whatever you want. BONUS TIP: Steal things that look important, such as paper with phone numbers on it, directions, phone cards, and so forth. Toss them all in the garbage. 
• Call the militia and tell them you have an illegal immigrant living at your flat. (This only works if you or one of your friends speaks Russian). TIP: If you do this, make sure you LEAVE the flat after you do this, before the police arrive, otherwise you might end up having to pay a bribe to the militia.)
• Is your flatmate a truly psychotic person? Do they talk to people who are not there, scream at the walls, or scream at you? If this is the case, THEN YOU ARE TRULY FUCKED. BKC Moscow doesn't care how crazy a teacher is, as long as they show up when they're supposed to. If you or one of your friends speaks Russian, it may be possible to get the authorities involved and have the crazy flatmate carted off to jail or to the mental hospital. 
• Other possible remedies for a psychotic roommate include 1) attempting to drug him or her with sedatives by dissolving sedatives in his/her beverages 2) screaming along with them when they start to go crazy 3) inviting your friends and students to visit your flat and make fun of your crazy roommate 4) get a video camera or your cell phone, and videotape your roommate as he or she is "acting out." 5) post the video on YouTube with the tags "BKC Moscow" "roommates" "crazy" and your flatmate's real name. 

Good luck to you, BKC Moscow Teacher With the Flatmate From Hell! You are not the only one in your position. Many have come before you, and many will come after you. (Your flatmate might actually really come after you -- think about investing in a lock on your door. At the very least, barricade yourself in at night if you feel that they will become homicidal.)

A Current BKC Moscow Teacher Proves How Stupid BKC Recruitment Is

We deliberated before deciding to publish the following text from a current BKC Moscow teacher's blog. It reveals once again the type of teacher that BKC Moscow attracts. We ultimately decided to publish this stupid teacher's writings because she wrote and used real names of some people we know. She depicts various teachers as drunks and idiots. We think she's a vacuous bore. Read the blog here.

"...my teaching position here is precarious, for various reasons including visa technicalities, Russia’s instability and shady dealings (the company that was supposed to extend my work visa has somehow or another “vanished”…) and the fact that I am, in fact, kind of a lousy teacher.  I’m much more interested in getting my students to teach me Russian terms than in actually doing my job ...

So I went back to sleep for three hours, blowing off my class without telling anyone. Fortunately, I don’t think my supervisors found out, and I am still safe.

It kind of sounds like after paying for a new AIDS test, train fare, hostels, and the actual consulate fee, I’ll be the one paying BKC to work for them.  That ain’t cool, and I’m considering leaving. “I don’t have a choice,” [he] told me, and he’s been here for years, so he should know, “But you might want to think about jumping ship.”  And… ehhhn, I’m thinking about it. 

I got an email from my supervisor the other day, the one who failed me on both of my observation lessons, giving a kindly warning that it’s against my contract to go over his head and reschedule classes without getting his permission first, and will I please not do it again? 


So, I ended up sleeping in and missing my class anyway… curses.  Maybe nobody noticed.

So, my supervisor for InCompany, the section where I “missed” all of my classes except for two through all of December, was pretty pissed off at me for turning in an almost blank register.  He took me aside and gave me a very British talking-to, but I could hear the suppressed rage throbbing in his voice.  ”Make sure you fill in your register for all your classes, and let us know if the students don’t show up, ‘kay?” he said with this really tense, I-will-murder-you smile.


BKC has emailed to say that they have a way to get me my passport back by tomorrow, so I can come back to Moscow post-haste to work for them. Rrrrgh, no way, fuck you BKC, you forced me to go on holiday, and on holiday I shall remain!  

We are speechless. We are united in our stand against the evil corporation and yet we are also appalled at this "teacher" and her behavior. Why has she not been fired? We personally know a few teachers who were fired and the sole reason for the firings was that the teachers refused to kiss ass or give bribes.

Write for BKC Moscow and Make Big Money!

That is a lie. You will write for BKC Moscow and you will earn no money.

BKC Moscow is currently propositioning teachers to write for their "teacher" website, which has been defunct since oh, about 2002. 

Since BKC Moscow has such bad press from teacher blogs, not to mention the almighty ESLCafe.com, and even a mainstream magazine, they must be thinking - oh we have to get some good stories up on this Internet thing all the kids are talking about.

As our intrepid team wades through the World Wide Web (as it was known back in the day), we browsed through the old BKC Moscow teacher's site and found this interesting article written by a guy none of us recognizes.

From his musings on the article, we gather that this young man is likely whoring it up in some third world country, or otherwise financing his sex-tours.

This BKC Moscow teacher wrote about - and BKC Moscow published - the following:

• Threatening stops by the Russian police. One incident in which the Russian police put his hand on his gun to intimidate the teacher. 
• Boasting about his sexual escapades. "My second visit saw me being chatted up by a young girl who was bi-sexual. Sadly nothing exciting came of this meeting. My third visit (yes, I really like this place!) saw be being invited onto the bar come stage by a beautiful blonde and leggy stripper who undress herself, and then undressed me. Completely. Photographic evidence is available at www.HungyDuck.com if your are prepared to pay the fee for viewing."

(We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.)

• This guy also notes that he was accused of sexual harassment which was of course denied by him and laughed off by the geniuses at BKC Moscow. 
• Claimed that although the wages from BKC Moscow were "meant" to indicate a middle-class lifestyle, he could not afford a washing machine and thus washed is clothes in the tub. 

Read the entire article here

And then, after you do that, read between the lines. This is what BKC Moscow is using to ENTICE young teachers to come work for their corrupt school.. All the sex you want! Clubs! Discos! Vodka! More sex! Bisexual, trisexual, threesomes, whatever you want! Sightseeing! Look at all the buildings!

This guy didn't write much about what it was like to be an actual teacher. The article was filled with typos and grammatical errors. We are guessing that he was wasted most of the time and couldn't be bothered to do much teaching, not when his main goal seems to be getting into every club in Moscow and fucking as many girls as possible.

Read even further into it and you will see that this teacher was thoroughly convinced, as was BKC Moscow, that this article was appropriate and in fact welcomed by the ex-pat teaching community.

Become a teacher and get lots of sex and booze and police stops and pay a bunch of bribes. Oh yes and teach once in awhile. That basically sums up BKC Moscow's recruiting tools.

God bless those fools.

When a BKC Moscow Holiday Means You Have to Work on Saturday, Instead

If you are currently one of the oppressed teachers at the evil organization, BKC-International House Moscow, you know what happened last week is a grotesque violation of your contract and also law, not to mention plain common sense and dignity.

If you are not (yet) an oppressed teacher of the fascist regime, BKC-IH Moscow, then you may not know:

On February 23, there is a Russian National Holiday that goes by several names. Some call it Defender of the Fatherland Day, Men's Day, and Defender of the Motherland's Day.

No BKC classes were held that day, but in a cunning move, BKC ordered teachers to work the following Saturday to make up for it.

Thus, BKC Moscow didn't give anyone a holiday at all, did it?

Current teachers coined it "Monterday," which happens your Saturday suddenly becomes Monday instead because you haven't got any holiday at all.

We call bullshit on this. We call this filthy fucking cocksucking sickening revolting bullshit on this bogus BKC-IH Moscow practice. Bastard fuckers!

BKC Teacher SUES BKC International House Moscow

We have confirmed that the lady we spoke of in our last post, Horror Story: the Truth About BKC Moscow is, without a doubt, SUING BKC IH MOSCOW.

An advocate retained by this teacher filed a motion for the lawsuit at the Basmanniy district court of Moscow last Thursday, February 18, 2010.

The lawsuit is for illegal dismissal.

Many of us grumble about suing BKC Moscow. Some of us threaten on occasion to sue Lingua.ru, BKC's umbrella company. But to our knowledge, this is the first time that a teacher put her money where her mouth is and got herself a lawyer and took them to court.

BKC Moscow breaks many laws - we all know this. They dodge taxes, tear up contracts, take hours away from hourly teachers who need them, and give hours instead to teachers who are already working more than 30 hours a week. They might be breaking the law by not giving us free flats - it only appears that they give us free flats, when, in fact, our payslips show that this is deducted out of our real salaries.

We are not mentioning the name of the teacher because it is our policy to not name any teachers at all, even ones who have put themselves out there in terms of being disgruntled.

We wish this lady the best of luck with her lawsuit against BKC Moscow.

Horror Story - The Truth About BKC Moscow

There was a lady who began a contract with BKC Moscow in September 2009. She is no longer with the company, since BKC Moscow (apparently) fired her illegally. According to the blogosphere, she is taking her case to Russian court.

Read the incredible story here, on ESLCafe.com.

The Truth About BKC Moscow

The Russian Government is Now Throwing Teachers Out (it wasn't the government after all - BKC Moscow threw her out).

As promised, here is a true-to-life field story about the type of health care BKC Moscow offers you. This is from the teacher's personal blog:

A Teacher's Story of What Happened When She Got Sick and What BKC Moscow Did About It (close to nothing, it seems)

Take a moment to look at your payslip to see the money that is going into your "insurance" fund. It is, as you may have already guessed, a joke.

We also regret to inform you that part of our crew of contributors to this blog  no longer work for BKC Moscow. This happens every year. In January or February of every year, there is a mass exodus of teachers. Half-way through the contract, many teachers finally decide that enough is enough and they take leave.

As the author of this particular blog post, I wish to congratulate you on finding this blog. If you are planning to come to Russia to teach English - please do not choose BKC Moscow. They promise the moon and they hand you a pile of rocks. Then they take the rocks back and throw them at you.

If you insist on coming to Moscow, and BKC Moscow is the only job you can find -- take the visa. .Get into the country. And then run to another school. Run and do it quickly.

Bad things happen to teachers who come to work with BKC Moscow. That is why you will almost never find a teacher who has been here long-term.

Teachers are harassed, threatened, and intimidated by BKC Moscow. They quite literally do not care if you live or die.

If you would like to become a contributor to this blog, we will withhold your name. Just leave a comment and we will do the rest.

Teachers get kidnapped here. (This did happen to three new teachers last year, and BKC Moscow treated it as a joke although it was quite scary to the teachers involved, though they later developed a sense of humor about the situation -- we will post that story in an upcoming post). Teachers get sick here. They develop alcoholism and drug addiction. In some unfortunate cases, BKC Moscow teachers quite literally go crazy. It has happened.All of it. This is what they do not tell you when you are first hired. This is what they do not tell you when you are in Orientation.

Good luck to us all.

BKC Moscow Lies

We cannot keep tally of how many lies we have been told since we have been here. This is an attempt.

The Lies That We Have Been Told by BKC Moscow Boro Ladies

Lie #1 -  "We can't sign that. You have to wait for Nastia to sign it."

And so we wait for Nastia to return. When she does not return, and one of us was still standing in the 3rd office, finally, one of the Nastias decided to sign it. "It" was a piece of paper in a folder stapled to the wall, accessible to everyone.

Lie #2: "You have to get your bank card from the bank. We do not posses any teacher bank cards."

One of us went to get our bank card and was told quite rudely the above statement. After the rest of us explained to her that Boro had ALL of our bank cards, she phoned them and asked why she needed to go to a Russian bank where no one speaks English to retrieve her bank card when other teachers have picked theirs up at Boro. She was told she must pick up her bank card at the bank. No exceptions.

(She was on the BKC Moscow Hit List)

Lie #3: "You will be paid for holidays."

No. We will not. Our contract is extended.

Lie #4: "I don't have the phone number of your internet company. You will have to wait for Anna."

Our brave contributor continued to demand the phone number, and eventually, with a long sigh and complaints from the Boro lady, the phone number of the internet company was retrieved from Anna's desk.

Lie #5: "We are here to help you."

As we have explained for months, BKC Moscow is there to help themselves and no one else. The Boro ladies are liars and very lazy. There is a way to get them to do what you ask. You will continue to be lied to, but you may receive what you need.

We will discuss the bribes that are accepted by the Evil Queen and the Lazy Lying Boro Ladies of BKC Moscow in a future post.

BKC Moscow - the Internal Regulations for Contract Teachers

We know you don't want to read the internal regulations. Why would anyone in their right mind want to read the internal regulations? Boooooooooooo-ring, right?

Just listen to us. If you haven't signed the contract yet, great! There's still time.

If you already signed the contract, consider finding an alternative school that will pay you more and provide you with a much more decent experience in Moscow.

If you please, pluck your Internal Regulations for BKC Full-time Contract Teachers document you have buried in a mass pile of paper on your desk.

Pay close attention to these:

2.1 - Teachers are required to carry out oral and written instructions from the head of Recruitment department, Senior teachers, Assistant Director of Studies (ADOS), Director of Studies (DOS) and General Director and to fulfil his/her duties.

Problem - every single one of the aforementioned people will give you contradictory instructions on how to "fulfil your duties".

2.10 - Teachers are expected to be in the school, where they are teaching, at least 20 minutes before the class is due to start.

Problem - we don't get paid for this. Even if you happen to work at only one school, and happen to work only 5 days a week, that adds up to one hour and 40 minutes per week of unpaid work.

5.2 - Teachers will not be paid for the first 3 days of absence from work through illness. For any further consecutive days of illness (beyond 3 days), teachers will be paid 50% of their gross salary (see payment guidelines for details).

Problem - no sick pay. except a measly 25 bucks or so starting on the fourth day.

5.4 - Regular or persistent sick leave can result in early termination of the contract.

Problem - huh? you're planning on sacking me because I get sick too much? you see those old guys hawking and hacking on the streets and in the metro? Oh no, BKC, you're right, it's all my fault.

6.3 - Teachers cannot take holidays later than 2 weeks before the end of the contract. Teachers cannot book holiday time to be taken after they complete their contract. They will be paid for the number of holidays earned but not taken.

Problem - we got together and tried to figure out what this means. We think it means that we can't use our holiday time past our contract. No shit? We also don't see why we can't take a holiday in the two weeks before contract ends. Stupid.

6.4 - Unpaid Leave. Teachers may be asked to take unpaid leave between June and August if there is not enough work in their branch school. If a teacher does not take unpaid leave, they may be moved to another Satellite or Central School or Summer Camp where there is work or they will undertake other educational work as directed by the school director. If a teacher wishes to remain in a school flat during an extended period of unpaid leave (more than 5 working days) he/she will be asked to pay rent.

Problem: If your contract runs through the months of June, July, or August (one of ours does), then that means you'll either be moved, get to do lots of stupid shit work for the Evil Queen, get shipped off to camp or, in a twisted scam - you will actually end up paying BKC, and not the other way around.

6.6 On public holidays when BKC schools are closed, teachers will have days off, which are not counted as working days.

Problem - this extends your contract, those sneaky bastards. this also means you don't get paid.

6.7 - Teachers working on public holidays when BKC schools are open will receive double pay.

Problem - they just like to throw this in there to make it look good. nobody ever works on public holidays.

6.8 - The school will be closed for winter holidays from the 31st December to the 7th of January. These days muist be taken out of the paid holiday.

Problem - oh, silly me, i thought i could take my holiday as i pleased. no? all those days off are forced holiday? thanks for telling me. nice of ya! WHAT THE FUCK? That's not holiday time, that's a public fucking holiday!

7.3 The company guarantees that it will take a teacher not more than an hour to get from a school where they teach to the flat they are provided with.

Problem - this is a bloody fucking lie. One of us has a commute that takes her anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours one way from her flat to her school.

7.7 The company cannot guarantee that all teachers will have the same standard of accommodation in terms of facilities, fittings, size of flat and convenience of location.

Problem - this is BKC-Moscow-speak for "We'll give the best apartments to our friends, and the ones that give us chocolate and vodka. Oh, and that cute American boy who invited us to his party. He'll get a good flat, too."

7.14 For teachers taking more than 2 calendar weeks leave (paid or unpaid) at any one time, the school cannot guarantee that they can return to the same flat they were living in before.

Problem - YES, it is a possibility that if you go on holiday and return 2 weeks later, BKC will tell you that you no longer live there. You live in this other flat. Across the city. How will you move your stuff? They don't care. Why was some strange wanker living in your room while you were on holiday? They don't care.

8.1 Teachers will receive reimbursement towards the cost of their return air ticket to Russia. This will be refunded as follows: 50% after 90 calendar days of teaching and the remainder on completion of the contract.

Problem - This is a lie. This year, we all received our 50% late. Took them a paycheck or two to finally give us the money.

12. VISA

We're not gonna touch the visa mess right now because it's a total cluster fuck right now. We'll try to post the latest and greatest from Russia and BKC Moscow as soon as possible.

14. Disciplinary Procedures

Just ignore all of that. It's all a big pile of horse shit. There are a lot of stupid teachers around you, and some of them just get tossed. There are a lot of good teachers around you too, and they also get tossed by the Evil Queen if they didn't do the proper bowing and curtsying and chocolate giving.

The most important thing to know is that you can get sacked for whatever reason and you're on your own in terms of getting back to whichever country you came from. Try to find a new job, whatever you do. And don't give them your visa. Trust us on this one.

15. Notice of Termination

Ignore all that happy horse shit, too. If you want to get the hell out of BKC Moscow, then go ahead and give them their 4-week notice. Do as they say. And maybe, maybe, just maybe, you'll get the money they owe you when you leave.

But we don't advise counting on that.

BKC Moscow Teachers! You Must Bow to the Evil Queen. Bow to the Students!

Most of you are young and eager. We were just like you once. We were sold the dream, only to see it die.

This is BKC Moscow's way of telling you that you must do exactly as the students tell you. They are in charge of you, not the other way of them. Fail to submit will result in damage. Do exactly as the students tell you. If it is impossible to do so, you still must do it. You have no authority. That is why we have overheard some of you, at Boro, telling the other rookies that your adult students have ousted you from your classes.

You are, quite simply, a liability to BKC International House Moscow. The students are an asset.

From the BKC Moscow Weekly News:


STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM
Dear teachers,
In order to increase student retention by providing classes students are happy with, we have introduced a student feedback form. The form is to be given to your adult students with the progress/end of level test, and will let you know what the learners think about the content and level of difficulty of the materials you use, what they want more/ less of, what they think about the course book etc. If you’ve already done the first progress test it’s still a good idea to give the students the feedback form, to see what they think about the course.
The forms are to be given by the teacher to the students, then collected by the teacher. After you look at them and decide how to adapt your classes to the students’ feedback, pass the forms to the ADOS of your school.
Please tell your students why you are giving them these forms (to find out how to better adapt the lessons to what they want) and ask them to be honest in their feedback.
Ask your LO/ ADOS for a copy of the form or download it from the Teachers’ Forum.
Thank you.

No, thank YOU, BKC. Thank you for entrusting us to not do our jobs correctly.

Actual Email from a BKC Moscow ADOS Telling You That You Must Help BKC Make More Money

When you go on holiday, you will receive an email like this from your BKC Moscow ADOS. This comes from an actual email sent to a teacher:

I see that you're having some time off.  In the past, we've had students who ask for a break in lessons when they know that their teacher is going to be on holiday, which is a bit of a nuisance for the school and loses us money.  If you tell your students that you will be away, explain that they will have a cover teacher, and encourage them to come for lessons as normal during your holiday.


We are not sure why it is our responsibility for BKC to not lose money, since they pay us poverty salaries.

We Don't Get Paid for Holidays? We Thought We Did! That's What You Told Us!

Originally posted by a teacher on the BKC Moscow Teacher's Forum

Money money money
November 30, 2009


This maybe only applies to contract teachers.

Did you work extra (catch up/cover) hours in the week Nov 2 to 7 in the expectation of being paid for them? We were led to believe we would be at the teachers meeting in October. (The assurance has been 're-interpreted' - as below.)

Did you find out on pay day that that the extra hours weren't paid? (as I did) The reason given when you enquired being that the extra hours merely replaced the hours 'lost' on the Nov 4 (paid?) holiday.

If that happened, let your Teacher Reps know as soon as possible at reps@bkc.ru

Meanwhile, I suggest that if you are asked to work extra hours in a week where there is a national holiday, you were ill or for any other reason missed a day or more, DON'T!!! Under current payment guidelines there's every chance you won't be paid for them unless the total hours worked that week - holidays etc don't count in salary calculations - exceed your contracted hours. If you are under hours it's a different situation - then you have to work up to your contracted load, but no more in that week.

The way to get paid is to do the extra hours in another pay week where you actually work your normal contracted/scheduled hours. Then it will be counted as overtime.

Tricky, isn't it!

Another way to tackle this in future, of course, is not to do catch-ups or cover classes at all if you have the weekly hours to refuse, no-one (ADoses and Senior Teachers excepted, I believe) is obliged to do overtime. Take note that there are more holidays around New Year and that Timetabling will be looking for cover lessons, as many of our teachers will be on leave. Only do the extra hours if you are guaranteed payment as overtime, in writing/by email, and it suits you.

Hello, Fresh Meat - We Mean, BKC Moscow Teachers of 2009/2010

We wish you'd stop skipping and jumping and acting like you're King of the World. It's giving us a headache.

Sorry, that's just our bitterness speaking.

Here's what we wanted to tell you: holiday is coming. Oh, you want to go home for the holiday? Too bad. Too late. BKC Moscow says so. Unless you requested holiday time the minute you arrived to Moscow, you get nothing.

From the BKC IH MOSCOW WEEKLY NEWS


Dear teachers,
1. Attention! Holidays!
We are not able to approve any more holiday requests for January. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We will appreciate if you discuss your holiday plans with your students in a more positive way (i.e. encourage them to continue classes even with a cover teacher,  etc.)

this means that if any of the students do not come to class while you are gone, you will be blamed for this. you, the new teacher, barely into your second month of teaching, are now in charge of making sure students stay in class when BKC Moscow tells them to.

Warning to BKC Moscow Teachers - Flat Inspections

Accommodation will now be sending inspectors who will take pictures of your flat.

From BKC Moscow Weekly News

Dear teachers,

To address landlords' concern about state of accommodation we are planning to hold regular flat inspections. I will be contacting each of you to arrange time and date convenient for everyone. In case flats are not kept clean and tidy we will be sending a cleaner once a month and expences will be covered by teachers occupating those flats. Please be aware that we may need to take a picture of the apartment during the inspection. 

If you have any questions, please contact me at flats@bkc.ru

Respectfully yours,

Anna, the accommodation coordinator.

Ever Wonder What BKC Stands For?

This post comes courtesy of a BKC teacher from the BKC Moscow Teacher's Forum


Ever wondered what BKC stands for?

Look at the naive souls wandering about, lost and helpless. And young. So, so young. Clueless about teaching, living abroad, even just working. And look at the organisation that lured them over here, with promises promises. "Hello. little girl, would you like some candy? Or see my puppies?" You gotta admit, it is one slick operation. That's why, BKC is better known in IH World circles as the Baby Kidnapping Crew.

Welcome to white slavery.

A Message to the Fresh Meat - BKC Moscow Hires From Fall of 2009

This comes courtesy of a long term BKC Moscow teacher. Originally posted on the BKC-IH Moscow Teacher's Forum.

Welcome.

You have just started at BKC. You are just settling into life in Moscow and IH. You are not sure how anything works, probably don't speak the local language. Or maybe you do. You are still finding your feet in the classroom. More than likely, you are a new, raw, teacher with little real experience and the 'induction' process has done little to reassure you that you can pass muster. Don't worry. That's how BKC likes it. It is just like last year, and the years before. Fresh meat to be feed through the murder-machine. The more innocent, the better. It doesn't matter how much of a mess you make, you are easily replaced, and quite cheaply too. Much cheaper than employing an experienced teacher. Much more malleable too, less likely to know your rights, much less demand them. Just a commodity. Branded Cattle.

So good luck to you. I hope you make it to the end of your contract. A lot of you probably won't. Or won't want to. There is no shame in that. There were many thousands before just like you, who were sold the dream, only to see it slowly descend into the nightmare that is working for BKC. Thousands like you, who eventually quit in dark, weeping despair.

Those of you who do somehow complete a contract may end up as ADOSes yourselves, 'inducting' 2010's fresh meat. But, then the real torment that is ADOShood awaits you. 

Few heed the warning. 

Fewer survive.

BKC-IH Moscow Teacher's Forum

The Flatmate You are Given by BKC-IH Moscow

New teachers quite often fill out a short form that asks preferences of the following types of lifestyle choices:

Are you a smoker?

Do you drink? Occasionally or frequently?

What is your level of cleanliness?

The Flatmate BKC Moscow Gives You May Be the Opposite of You

Current teachers have a theory that BKC Moscow takes those forms you filled out and simply tosses them in the bin. There is no other logical reason, since here are the facts:

• Smokers and non-smokers are frequently paired together in the same flat.
• Although cleanliness is subjective, there are some teachers who are cleaners, paired up with teachers who are filthy slobs.
• Teachers who simply work and study are paired with very young teachers who spend the majority of their time and money on liquor - and throw the necessary late-night loud parties that accompany this.

What to Do If Your BKC Moscow Flatmate Is Crazy?

Some more true stories from the field of BKC Moscow's World of Disgusting Flatmates:

• In 2009, a teacher attacked his flat mate with a knife, because his flat mate had an annoying habit of bringing home prostitutes and causing a lot of late-night noise.

• A female teacher in her 30s recently remarked that her 20-ish flatmate dirtied every dish in the kitchen and refused to wash them. The flatmate also soiled the toilet and refused to scrub her own shit stains from the toilet bowl.

• There are occasional stories of flat mates sneaking into the other's room to use personal computers, read diaries and snoop around.

• A male in his mid-twenties told a group of teachers that his 30-ish flat mate's room actually smelled, and the smell permeated throughout the flat. This person also had a tendency of leaving shit-stained underwear in the shower room, as well as leaving moldy plates and food inside his room.

• A female teacher reported, with horror, that her flatmate had not only snuck into her room to use her computer, but also left trash and dirty dishes behind.

• A male in his late twenties invited his long-time girlfriend to Moscow for a weekend. The girlfriend mopped the floors (in addition to cleaning the whole flat), and asked her boyfriend's flatmate to refrain from walking on the floors for a bit. The flatmate off-handedly remarked that she was a "bitch." The boyfriend was not happy about this at all.

• A brand-new teacher, who had been in Moscow for just a couple of months, was saddened when his flatmate did not invite him to a dinner party. The problem is that the dinner party was in their shared flat. The new teacher hid in his room until finally making a getaway to meet other new teachers at a club.

• One infamous woman, who has been with BKC Moscow for about 4 years, boasts that she has managed to make every single one of her flatmates leave. This older woman greets her new flatmates by immediately telling them, "You and I are not going to be friends." Then she shows the new flatmate around the flat, explaining, "This is mine, and you are not to touch it." She then begins cleaning and throwing things around between 3 am and 5 am. She knocks loudly on the new flatmate's door, and screams at them for not cleaning enough. She locks her roommates out of the apartment. Multiple female teachers have gone to BKC Moscow administration to ask for help. These teachers are told to move to another flat. The problem here is that in most cases, these teachers are forced to move further away from the schools they work at. The old, crazy lady? She is friends with the accommodation manager, and so suffers no punishment at all. Just a slap on the wrist and a "tsk, tsk." BKC Moscow doesn't care whether or not you leave because of this crazy person.

But we shall discuss BKC Moscow management and administration at a later point.

The Secret Lives of BKC-IH Moscow Teachers

Are you thinking about moving to Russia to start or continue your career as a TEFL instructor? Are you considering applying to BKC-IH Moscow? Are you a current or former BKC-IH Moscow employee?

This blog is intended to give up-to-date advice for teachers, former teachers and prospective teachers of BKC-IH Moscow.

If you are a new or prospective teacher, you have read all the horror stories of BKC Moscow on Dave's ESLCafe.com. You have read from disgruntled ex-workers who claim the contract BKC offers is not exactly in the teacher's favor.

You have done internet searches for BKC-IH Moscow, and since they have the International House brand name attached to them, they appear to be legitimate. You look at the nice site they have up, geared toward promoting their brand and recruiting native English speakers as teachers.

As a prospective teacher for this school, you may not know what to believe.

This blog serves two purposes: to answer questions from TEFL teachers thinking about choosing BKC Moscow as their next employee.

It also serves as an open, anonymous forum for current and former employees.

If you are a current or former BKC teacher, you know the true stories. We want to hear from you.

If you have any questions about BKC Moscow, and you want to know the truth, you've come to the right place.