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Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
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 Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| jm21 wrote: |
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
| haleynicole14 wrote: |
| jm21 wrote: |
| Or maybe a bit of over-confidence thinking surely it will be easy to get a job. |
You will be able to easily find a job, I am sure, so no worries.  I was looking in late September for a mid-term start and had a number of offers, but nothing that was really too attractive to me. It is good to have options, and to be able to wait until you find the job you want, in my opinion. |
The OP is ready to roll now and is looking at the Spring semester not Fall.
There is always a bit of a 'tail' of unfilled vacancies after the Sept start date. these are tidied up or scrubbed as the admin decides.
IMO the ratio of public sector Spring vacancies to Fall vacancies would be 1:3 or 4. |
But are there the same number of people looking for work? I would think that there would be far more experienced teachers looking for jobs starting in the fall? So maybe less vacancies but less competition? Just spit-balling here...got all my stuff scanned in this morning and sending off resumes... |
My gut is less jobs and less candidates in Spring.
It's simply a less buoyant time in the uni sector, but there will be exceptions ie a great job in a good uni comes available for Feb start.
Given your wish for low hours, your aim should be for uni/vocationals with accom on campus. Plus the other perks.
Glad to see you're sending out applications.
Best |
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wonderingjoesmith
Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou
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| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:15 am Post subject: |
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| jm21 wrote: |
So...a teacher cannot travel and a traveler cannot teach? I would never have suspected that. I had always thought that learning, an aspect of traveling, was something that enabled one to teach better. For a teacher is always a pupil first, are they not?
Anyways, I have seen many certified teachers teach and many are not competent, just as many lawyers are not competent. If I have learned anything in my many years of education and professional experience, it's that it's not that freakin' hard. You could train a parrot to be a lawyer given enough patience I'm pretty sure, and surely a monkey could be a better teacher than many I have seen. |
It's not about whether a teacher can or cannot travel but whether s/he can or cannot commit her/himself to the job s/he signs for and whether s/he is capable to perform all the tasks accordingly. Students as well as the goals of the academic program most certainly ought to be first for a teacher.
As for the generalization and assessment of professional, or certified, teachers, I strongly disagree with the statement above. To debate this one, we could start another thread.
Lastly, I want to say I would not hire the OP for the reasons I have mentioned in my previous post. |
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jm21
Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 406
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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OK. Can understand a lot better now why people get frustrated with the visa process. Seems like everyone gives a different story.
Story I'm getting is that they need a medical check done before the school can even start the process....problem is that they think I should contact the US embassy for a list of doctors and the US embassy both in DC and San Francisco are totally unavailable. I've tried calling their lines like 30 times and never got an answer. I've got a free physical for my insurance so going to try that out and ask the doc to make it seem as official as possible....and pray that goes through I guess. I talked with the teacher I've been corresponding with at the school though and they did their medical check in China.
And then there's some knowledge test I'm supposed to take on http://evaluation.safea.gov.cn/login.php that I've never heard mentioned before anywhere.
Some people seem to have to get criminal background checks but no one has asked for that...I know an FBI check takes a long time to get right now but I could get a state check in a few days.
Seems very disorganized.... |
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Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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There are (or were) 2 medicals.
One in home country to get visa and then another in China as part of your residence application.
If your GP is anything like mine he/she will find the home country medical form puzzling but mine wrote 'Normal' anywhere there was a hard to understand question.
You cannot escape the chest X-ray, but if you take the films with you, you may escape being nuked again in the China residence medical.
I note some current chat about who meets costs.
I've always paid for home country visa costs including medical and the school has paid for the costs incurred in China. |
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jm21
Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 406
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Non Sequitur wrote: |
There are (or were) 2 medicals.
One in home country to get visa and then another in China as part of your residence application.
If your GP is anything like mine he/she will find the home country medical form puzzling but mine wrote 'Normal' anywhere there was a hard to understand question.
You cannot escape the chest X-ray, but if you take the films with you, you may escape being nuked again in the China residence medical.
I note some current chat about who meets costs.
I've always paid for home country visa costs including medical and the school has paid for the costs incurred in China. |
They specifically told me I didn't need the x-rays or EKG...was hoping to avoid those because I know they're spendy and I would have to pay for them out of pocket. Said I should do the physical and blood tests here but wait until china for the x-rays and EKG, and the school would pay for it.
This is the job in Qingdao...as far as I can tell it's a city or prefectural requirement to have the health check done here. I couldn't find anything on the embassy website that indicated you were supposed to have a health exam in the USA for a Z visa. Would be nice to talk with someone but it just rings and then cuts off. I will try on a different phone on the off-chance that they block pre-paid phone numbers.
Most countries have some sort of contract with a physician here (usually one in each major city) to do their physicals but I haven't found anything like that for China.
EDIT: I should say, they thought there was a specific doctor to see. But have no idea who it might be and thought I needed to call the embassy to figure it out. |
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Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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I've not heard of a country-specific Dr or Dr practice for China.
Good about X-ray and EKG in home country.
Just get your normal Dr to fill in the form and get bloods done.
Decorate the form with his/her medical assn registrations stamp and you should be good.
There are a lot worse places than Qingdao to start your China teaching career! |
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teenoso
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 365
Location: south china
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| Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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Look at other threads about the criminal check - sounds like it is a definite requirement for jobs in Qingdao. Mambawamba knows more.
The record check needs to be notarised , apostilled and goodness knows what by the Embassy, so this will take time. Also seems like the state background check is good enough, rather than the FBI one. But gets the ducks in line. |
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jm21
Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 406
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:44 am Post subject: |
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| teenoso wrote: |
Look at other threads about the criminal check - sounds like it is a definite requirement for jobs in Qingdao. Mambawamba knows more.
The record check needs to be notarised , apostilled and goodness knows what by the Embassy, so this will take time. Also seems like the state background check is good enough, rather than the FBI one. But gets the ducks in line. |
Well, I can get a notarized state background check in about 3 business days...it's the FBI check that's the problem. With that government shutdown they're about 8 weeks behind. |
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choudoufu
Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:58 am Post subject: |
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| jm21 wrote: |
| .... have no idea.... |
you should be allowed to get the physical at any doctor's office or
clinic. just be sure you can get a stamp or two to officialize it.
some embassy websites list specific hospitals for the medical....maybe
in korea? check the embassy or consulate website, download the
forms and instructions.
better yet, contact a visa agent. you can use any of the consulates in
the us. the agent handles this stuff daily, and will know the needed.
have your doctor mark "normal" or "not indicated" anywhere he/she
thinks is a stupid question. the entire test will be redone when you
get to china. bring your xrays if you don't want to get nuked a second
time. it's not to save money.....the entire physical costs around
300 rmb here.
and for that background check, i don't believe it needs to be apostraphied.
there was one dude getting the runaround from a
recruiter, kept getting new demands each time one was fulfilled.
apostraphied docs are for marriage certificates and birth certificates,
not for police checks.......not yet at least. |
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Bud Powell
Joined: 11 Jul 2013
Posts: 1736
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| Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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So...a teacher cannot travel and a traveler cannot teach? I would never have suspected that.
Please say that you're kidding. |
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fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| jm21 wrote: |
| Anyways, I have seen many certified teachers teach and many are not competent |
And I have seen many certified teachers who can teach and many are competent.
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
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jm21
Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 406
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| Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Bud Powell wrote: |
So...a teacher cannot travel and a traveler cannot teach? I would never have suspected that.
Please say that you're kidding. |
Was just poking a little bit of fun at a previous poster in the thread who labeled me as a "traveler." Perhaps my sense of humor is not up to par.
Fat Chris,
Of course there are good and bad teachers. My mom was a special ed teacher and I worked alongside from very decent and caring teachers. But there were also some really really bad ones, as well as some who should have quit long ago.
You may also notice that I poked fun at my own occupation, attorney, saying that a parrot could do the job if properly trained or some such. |
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Bud Powell
Joined: 11 Jul 2013
Posts: 1736
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| Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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jm21,
You seem to be so knowledgeable yet quite perplexed by things that shouldn't perplex you. You can produce a come-back to reinforce your integrity for every gaffe you make. Such as
My mom was a special ed teacher and I worked alongside from very decent and caring teachers.
You state that you intend to teach in China, and that you're doing your homework. The weird thing is that a lot of the obstacles you're bringing up are old issues and challenges that no longer exist for the majority of FTs in China. You make statements such as
Anyways, I have seen many certified teachers teach and many are not competent
and statements that few experienced teachers would make. You seem to possess broad knowledge, and your manner of speech indicates that your confidence level is quite high to the point of sounding naive. Perhaps it's your particular dialect of English.
Where were your parents born, my friend? And where were you born? I'm interested in linguistics. |
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jm21
Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 406
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| Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Bud Powell wrote: |
jm21,
You seem to be so knowledgeable yet quite perplexed by things that shouldn't perplex you. You can produce a come-back to reinforce your integrity for every gaffe you make. Such as
My mom was a special ed teacher and I worked alongside from very decent and caring teachers.
You state that you intend to teach in China, and that you're doing your homework. The weird thing is that a lot of the obstacles you're bringing up are old issues and challenges that no longer exist for the majority of FTs in China. You make statements such as
Anyways, I have seen many certified teachers teach and many are not competent
and statements that few experienced teachers would make. You seem to possess broad knowledge, and your manner of speech indicates that your confidence level is quite high to the point of sounding naive. Perhaps it's your particular dialect of English.
Where were your parents born, my friend? And where were you born? I'm interested in linguistics. |
I try not to offend people I didn't mean to offend. That can be difficult in the context of an internet forum.
There was a popinjay who posted lecturing me not being serious enough about teaching. So I, or so I thought, had poked a little fun at him in an effort to puncture the balloon of his ego. There seem to be many on this board who think being a teacher is a very important and professional job, far more important than it actually is.
So I said:
Anyways, I have seen many certified teachers teach and many are not competent, just as many lawyers are not competent. If I have learned anything in my many years of education and professional experience, it's that it's not that freakin' hard. You could train a parrot to be a lawyer given enough patience I'm pretty sure, and surely a monkey could be a better teacher than many I have seen.
Now, that was an attempt to be humorous and to offend said popinjay as mentioned above, but apparently it also offended some people who I had not intended to offend (for they had shown me no ill will). So for the sake of those people who took offense at the apparently bungled joke, I toned it down a bit. Again, you may note that I am making fun of my own current profession just as much as I make fun of teachers.
As to the other points: Yes, I like to discuss things even if I'm researched them; yes, I am perplexed by some things even after researching them extensively; and I grew up in Oregon in the Willamette Valley (though I doubt my writing reflects much on how I would speak in person). I admit to a certain amount of over-confidence, which I believe I mentioned, perhaps on this very thread. |
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Bud Powell
Joined: 11 Jul 2013
Posts: 1736
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| Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:17 am Post subject: |
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Double Post deleted.
Last edited by Bud Powell on Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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