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Wednesday, February 08, 2006
DEATH BY CONTRACT: TEACHING IN CHINA II  Once again I will begin with a disclaimer: I have built many good relationships with many wonderful Chinese teachers and staff here. I had the great privilege of teaching staff and faculty from other departments last year and am all the richer for it. It was that very exchange that most expatriates hunger for during their time here. With that said I will move on to some more things you might expect to negatively affect you if you choose to teach in China. And remember that this does not apply to ALL schools or all expatriates. But, there are generalizations that can be made because most contracts are copies of those handed out by the local education bureaus and student and faculty life, for the Chinese, does not differ dramatically from one campus to another. Expect, if you are not in a "tier one" school for your students to feel a sense of hopelessness about the future. They feel inferior if they are in a lower level school. They believe that they are locked into a "good old boy" system that will hand out jobs because someone is a graduate of a " good school" or being aided by a former alumni from top schools and they will not be employed according to their skills. If they are lucky enough to get a job they feel they will make less than the worst graduate of a better school. Expect your students to lie and cheat. They will fake an attendance record for their classmates if they can. They will pass on answers from exams if they can. And in much larger numbers than we, as westerners, are accustomed. Let me help you understand this a bit: This is a cooperative society. They have been taught to assist each other from day one in school. They do not view it as dishonesty but, as aid to those in need. They will generally sit to the back of a classroom and rarely volunteer to speak. This too is cultural. There are many proverbs about the peg that sticks up being beaten down. They want to talk but, they won't. The real aggravation in this is that they will criticize you, not openly, for not allowing them to speak more in class when it is they who put you in the position of having to use an intellectual crowbar to pry out information. I do not blame the student for this but, it is a harrowing experience for a new teacher--especially those with no experience in the East. The administration will always make schedule and curriculum decisions in favor of expediency and not in favor of the student. Because schools are in the midst of an enormous 1-300% growth spurt--this is China's baby boom period--they lack the resources and often the skills to problem-solve a situation. They will take the easy way out and it will usually not benefit the student. The Peter Principle is alive and well. Standards have recently been lowered to allow more promotions to higher ranks due the growth spurts. Do not expect (yes, I worked for a host of aministrative nightmare makers in the US) the best person to be in the job. One administrative aid here has alienated EVERY foreign teacher, most students, and even a majority of Chinese staff and he is still happily destroying serentity for everyone in his position. Conversely, the administration in SOME schools, especially the lower tier ones, will change any failing grades you may issue. One Chinese teacher here, in another department, told me that "the student is god at this school. This is because the tuition dollar means far more here than in Western schools with endowments. This is akin to "social promotions" in America in years past. Most classes contain students who have not been skills matched. This means you will have students with near native ability learning alongside those who can barely form a sentence. This means if you use games to teach, the brighter ones will be offended, and if you use sophisticated materials you will lose the needier ones. And both groups will blame you. Don't expect to meet the administration of your school. Some schools will "meet and greet" you as though you are a visiting scholar. Many schools will see you as a "necessary evil" and you will never see the faces of the top brass as they are too busy saving it--I could not resist. Chinese teachers will enjoy a welcoming ceremony into the school and be visible to colleagues while you will be given a schedule of classes, often in Chinese, and sent on to your classes. I was invited to an awards ceremony where they handed out an award to the best English teacher of the year. What I found out later was the foreign teachers were not considered in this, or any other, category for recognition. You will likely have no desk, no locker, no office nor anywhere to store teaching materials. Your foreign colleagues may have degrees in underwater basket weaving. Though it is EXPECTED that they have a relevant degree, ESL training or TEFL/ESL experience they very well may not. And if they have no experience in Asia, you may be holding the hand of very disheartened teachers. The reticence of staff and students to assist you in your tasks is like waiting for your cat to answer the phone.  cartoons China politics TEFL TESL asia cartoons Human Rights Health Care Discrimination Teaching Abroad Lonnie B. Hodge blogs at: ONEMANBANDWIDTH Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Lonnie at 10:31 PM |
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