Job Discussion Forums

[choudoufu]

[igorG]

Exclaiming emotionally is one way to participate. So, let's further polarized and explain rather than exclaim. Some American unis have policies to accept local whites for unequal SAT scores to African American or Asians, Chinese in particular. African American can get away with a score of 1,100 while local whites with 1,300 in some top unis. Chinese simply have to demonstrate a better grasp of the questions and score over 1,500 to be considered. There also are scholarship schemes that are yet another subject of attention.

[Miles Smiles]

[whitehouse]

your whining is groundless----IgorG

Why I have only made about 20 blogs in 4 years is because this is often the standard of debate on this particular site. "Whining" is an entirely unecessary description of what I wrote and has a slightly abusive tone from someone who is looking for a juvenile arguement rather than debating an important issue.

[whitehouse]

The fact that foreign teachers and professors try to help them should be hailed, not despised.----IgorG

I know that foreign teachers, who may be competent or completely incompetent, are influenced to take a job by more than generosity and the unecessary whine quoted above is a very limited version of the truth . It makes me wonder where this writer is coming from.
Those who teach foreign students on foreign university projected courses receive ,often , in excess of 20000 rmb per month plus paid for apartment and a free trip home. Don't tell me that their pay has no influence on their wish of where they work.

[igorG]

So, you are complaining about high FTs salaries which in my view are deserving for prep programs to western unis. What I still don't understand is that you have not followed up on the reasons for your accusations below. This isn't a "juvenile arguement" but debate in response to your allegations and my pitch is only a reflection on your presumptions about FTs on mainland China. Have a good look at it again and then please reply accordingly.

[igorG]

[santi84]

I teach English in Canada, so I am used to dealing with these students here rather than back home.

A lot of the students that come here are highly unmotivated. They tend to be rejected from the more prestigious schools in China (or Japan, or whatever) and dare I say... are often a bit of a "problem child"? Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled with money and the attitude to go along with it.

I taught in Vancouver, which has reached 35-40% Chinese population (immigrants or ethnic origin). The Chinese students here do not go outside their circle of Chinese friends, they stick to Chinese-only areas (hey, even our street signs in Richmond are in Mandarin), and do not make much of an effort to speak to anyone. Likewise, English-speaking students don't reach out to them either.

I can't really blame them, I know what it's like to try and assimilate into a foreign culture when you have poor language abilities, but parents aren't here to supervise and it is human nature to take the easy way out... if you want your kid to learn English in Canada, send them to the Yukon or Red Deer, Alberta. Don't come to Vancouver and Toronto (and or heaven's sake, not Montreal!!), just because the universities are prestigious.

[Miles Smiles]

[whitehouse]

It's the subjects and their poor interest in anything----IgorG

That is just his opinion. (I will not call it a whine because I see no point in getting offensive and arrogant) I have had classes of 500(3 times 160) in Chinese universities where the students come and are quiet and attentive and are interested.
I never made any criticisms at all to high salaries of teachers as long as they are earned. My British boss of the Chinese part of the university, I first mentioned under this topic, was on 60000 pounds a year and good luck to him. IgorG suggested that teachers are doing Chinese students a favour by teaching them. I think this is ridiculous. So it is not because of the high salaries that the teachers are there?
I think what is demonstrated here is a bad attitude to Chinese students.
If the teachers are incompetent(like related to the MCQ test I mentioned earlier) then Chinese students are not getting a fair deal. If foreign teachers have a bad opinion of Chinese students, that I think, is a problem and the teacher concerned should move on to somewhere else.I moved on not because I didn't like Chinese students but because I didn't think much of the educational management operating in China(foreign and Chinese). Too often they are after a fast buck in my opinion. The problems are not in the classrooms; they are in the offices.

[igorG]

[Miles Smiles]

Schools set their own minimum standards for American citizens.

I don't know that separate standards exist for foreign students. Besides, admission to a foreign school is a privilege, not a right.

[igorG]

[whitehouse]

Another rant from igorG. The 1470th since Aug 2010. That is nearly 200 a month. Or 7 a day. or one nearly every 3 hours. Trying to stir things up.

[igorG]

Let's keep it on the topic, shall we?

Chinese parents that invest in their kids' western education don't gamble because their kids have been great students. More often it is the exact opposite. Given the circumstances, FTs do their best they can on mainland and western universities do likewise their best to accomodate as many of them as they can. If this is the best approach to the education is hard to say, although my view is that it isn't.

Chinese parents ought to realize that their kids' education begins from the day one their kids were born. Many are too busy and they either put too much trust in their manipulative educational system which is becoming outrageously expensive or they remain with no choice as they spend an enormous amount of hours at work. Kids at pre-school level memorize songs and recite poems in front of cameras to show how great the kindergartens are and that sort of ambition carries over to primary education where kids are crammed with much more than just the amazing characters. There is little if any emphasis on creativity, communicative ability or social skill and local youngsters at the age of 12, 13 or 14 are completely out of touch with the world their parents want them later to study in.

In my conclusion, the gamble begins at an early age and on mainland. Later, it's just buying tickets out of trouble, although in some cases it is a purposeful journey of rich or influential party members' families.