Job Discussion Forums

[xjgirl]

No technology in the classroom? sounds like a deal-breaker
No Peizheng for me

[MESL]

Oh, how could I forget.

The water is yellow. No, I don�t mean the Yellow River. No, I don�t mean Guangzhou water or the local town water. I mean the campus water. Not the piped in drinking water. The piped in washing water. So your clothes get a little dirtier every time you wash them. A few of my students even mentioned the yellow water in one of their classroom role plays. No one knows why the water is yellow. The pipes are cleaned often, to no avail.

Some of the students rigged the drinking water into the dorm laundromat. In the foreign teachers dorms, the water dispenser is next to the front door and the washing machine is on the patio. If you tried to rig the drinking water into the washing machine, it would be immediately visible to the dorm manager and the repairmen.

So plan on periodically hauling all your laundry to another town - or wear your clothes down pretty fast by using bleach in every load.

[milkweedma]

Thanks MESL for the links about this college. I just had an offer from them as they were advertising here on daves again. They sounded very good as they offered several referees (current teachers) that I could email about the college but after reading the TEFL forums postings I'm giving it a very wide berth indeed!

[MESL]

Most trains depart from and arrive in the Guangzhou East Station. It�s in Tian He, the central business district, and a long way from the campus. But trains to and from major cities stop in Huadu, which is about 20 minutes from the campus. The Huadu train station is walking distance from the bus that goes to the Pei Zheng campus.

[MESL]

Huadu is the Detroit of China. Because of its strategic commercial importance, it�s a good place to teach business English on weekends and during semester breaks.

Check out the Italian restaurant in Huadu. Quality food, large portions, fast service, free refills and ridiculously low prices. I don�t know the name. The foreign teachers at Pei Zheng just refer to it as �the Italian restaurant.�

[MESL]

milkweedma, I'd be interested in what these current teachers have to say. And I'll give you an impartial confirmation or denial.

[MESL]

There�s a big turnover here this semester. A lot of unhappy people are opting for another school. Others were involved in some kind of controversy and were not invited back. But there�s also a lot of people who are returning and haven�t uttered a peep of complaint. Some of them have been here for years. One of the first teachers I befriended here is a New Zealander with the longest longevity of any foreign teacher at Pei Zheng - 11 years and counting.

[milkweedma]

MESL, I didn't bother asking the referees any questions as the postings on TEFL Forums were more than enough to put me off for life.
It seems maybe three-quarters of schools/Training centres/Uni's in China have significant employment issues that make working at them unattractive for various reasons.
If you are there now, then some things must be ok or you're just biding your time untill your contract finishes.

[MESL]

There are foreign teachers who stay off the radar their entire time here, some of them for years. They keep their lessons conventional. They take their social life off campus or into their apartment. They don�t gossip. They don�t take sides in disputes. Most of the people in this category are middle age or above, serious, and married. They aren�t party animals. They don�t sing songs and play games instead of offering curriculum. They don�t date students. Etc.

[MESL]

For those who missed it. With some revisions and additions. And no, I didn�t make up the story about the FAO visa clerk - sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.


-- New university president. She came from Beijing and was appointed by the government, not hired by the owners or proprietors.

-- English Education Center Vice Director. There were rumors he fired EEC secretary 1 to hire his girlfriend. This suspicion was reinforced when she moved her desk into his office. But as the semester progressed, I saw a bigger picture. He�s been taking a much more active role in the affairs of the department. Observing lessons. Altering the curriculum. Issuing reprimands. Firing teachers he considers incompetent or insubordinate. Making Program B classes optional. Increasing the class size in Program A to 30. Next will probably be more paperwork sent to him about classroom activities, a dress code, etc. He�s already brought up the possibility of a dressed code in response to several complaints from Chinese teachers. (Indeed, some foreign teachers go into the classroom dressed like they�re at the beach. And some wears ties. What a contrast.) When the secretary�s desk was in the Program A office, she dealt directly with the foreign supervisors and the foreign teachers. Now she deals directly with him. So replacing the secretary and moving the secretary�s desk into his office was part of his overall efforts to gain more control over the classroom and more control over the employees.

-- Program A foreign supervisor. Been here a couple of years. Replaced a 5 year veteran. Well liked and universally respected. Model supervisor. Leaving at the end of this semester to spend some time in the States.

-- Program B supervisor. Was a teacher until this semester. Almost all the foreign supervisors start as teachers. This one�s been a controversy magnet. All other foreign supervisors, current and as far back as institutional memory provides, zero controversy. Nuff said.

-- Magick Caf� manager. 5 year veteran of the school. Was Program B supervisor for a year. Not offered another contract. Was told the decision was directly connected to his involvement with the Magick Caf�. The chief cook, who owned a caf� in New York City, who helped launch the caf�, and who has known the manager for many years, was given a choice between the school and the caf�. (Neither are the owners and neither draw a salary.)

-- The Foreign Language Department, by all accounts, is a foreign teachers dream. They hardly see the dean and pretty much run the show themselves. One source in FLD says you need teaching credentials to work in FLD, one says you don�t. Not sure which version is accurate. However, I can�t help but notice that of 80 foreign teachers at this school, the 5 in FLD seem to be among the most serious about teaching as a profession.

-- FAO/EEC staff. FAO Director. Been here only a few years. Fluent, intelligent, perceptive. FAO clerk 1. Head clerk and recruiter. 10 year veteran of the Foreign Affairs Office. Left. Pursuing a Masters in Teaching Chinese to Foreigners. FAO clerk 2. Replaced FAO clerk 1. Moved over after 5 years with the English Education Center. Also gone. Also pursuing a Masters in Teaching Chinese to Foreigners. FAO clerk 3. Handled visas. Gone. Reasons I never delved into. FAO clerk 4. Recently replaced FAO clerk 3. Called me after 10 a.m. one night - 6 times. FAO clerk 5. Recently replaced FAO clerk 2. Haven�t had much dealings with her. English Education Center secretary 2. Recently replaced EEC secretary 1. Immediately moved her desk into the EEC vice director�s office. Haven�t had extensive dealings with her.

FAO clerk 6. In charge of the dorms. Super. Knowledgeable and reliable. Usually handles dorm requests in day or two. Sometimes the same day. When I first moved in, I called her about half a dozen problems with the AC, TV, the mosquito net, and I can�t remember what. She was there in 10 minutes and knocked out every problem in 30 minutes.

English Education Center secretary 1. Gone. She was one of those people who�s in a position to make a lot of people�s employment experience either very difficult or very easy. She had a parade of 80 foreign teachers coming into her office requesting information and paperwork. She consistently responded courteously and accurately. And she did it day in and day out for 5 years. Really going to miss this one.

Except for the new arrivals, I can tell you that all these clerks were friendly, efficient, and fluent. Despite the amount of new blood, the office doesn�t seem to be in turmoil, although they don�t get things done as fast as the old regime.

-- A note about Program A and Program B. Program A is for freshman. They study nothing but English as freshmen. Program B is for sophomores and juniors. Program A students meet with native teachers twice as often as Program B students. Extensive English training and extensive time with native speakers is a big draw for the parents. It�s one of the reasons they are willing to pay 3 times public tuition. They will make their children take English classes even if the classes are optional. Furthermore, the school isn�t subtracting hours from the students� schedule just because Program B is optional. That time will be replaced by a class with a Chinese teacher, probably Chinese language or Chinese history. Classes with foreigners involve much less homework and a much more interesting environment. Plus, foreigners are not as harsh with grades. So I don�t expect more than a fraction of the students to drop their sophomore and junior classes with native speakers.

[MESL]

In an effort to raise the popularity and prestige of the school, the new president mandated higher standards, tighter control, and stricter enforcement. The pendulum has swung.

For foreign teachers, this means anyone who commits an infraction - tardy, absent, cancel a lesson, move a classroom without notice, switch times with another teacher without permission, conduct class in a dorm or off campus - is written up and uninvited. Same goes for anyone who raises a stink with management.

Next semester, expect people who come to class dressed sloppy to be targeted. Seriously, the way some of the foreign teachers here dress, I�d be embarrassed to be seen with them in public.

For the students, this means higher entrance exam scores, phasing out of the 3 year certificate program, and mandatory study hall every day at 7 a.m. and one evening a week. It also means enforcement of a dorm curfew, electricity cut off during the night, and appliances banned.

So the situation with the foreign teachers, the EEC staff, and the FAO staff is part of the bigger picture.

[MESL]

If it seems like I�m coming down hard on the dress thing, it�s because I am. They let us dress casual because of our cultural background and to compensate for some of the hardship of coping in a different culture. But casual is one thing, sloppy is another. This is employment. This is the workplace. Sure, dress casual. Sure, dress for the hot, humid weather. But don�t dress like a bum.

[randyj]

MESL, many thanks to you for a balanced, lucid, and well-written appraisal. In the past, I had always considered Peizheng on the basis of the frequent gripes posted, but now I can visualize the place better. Eighty foreign teachers! That's amazing to me. An organization would have to be gangbusters to accommodate so many! Thanks again.

[rogerwilco]

MESL,
What you have written seems fairly balanced and does not seem that bad considering the large number of foreign teacher.

[igorG]

I agree this forum's been an eye opener. But what does a real bum dress like? BUM is a trade mark of some current fashion trends. If you don't make it clear what i am to wear on the begining of the semester, then i'll go with the trend. If you restrict me, the local students of Oral English may get bored.

Recruiting seems to be the first step to any trend. What you are told or not may go with you during your employment appointment. It seems that this uni has got its somewhat "casual approach". You may be asked for something you would not know the reasons for. Well, if you weren't experienced. Here are some of the questions, prior to the employer's considerations, that are suggestive; 1) Is your wife Chinese? 2) Will you move in with your wife and child? 3) Could you send your daily photo to show your full figure for further considerations?

My observation is that if one sees some initial professionalism s/he may follow but if not....