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DosEquisX
Joined: 09 Dec 2010
Posts: 361
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 Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 9:09 am Post subject: |
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Pros:
-Foreign teachers are great at my school in terms of their job. All but one of them have teaching experience either in their home country or in China. None of them are the weird types that seem to find their way into nearly every uni in this country.
-Each teacher has a handler to take care of any issues that the teachers cannot take care of by him or herself.
-The administration is surprisingly competent and is quite good about notifying teachers about important events in advance. They are always trying new things to improve the teaching and listen to the foreign teachers for their feedback.
-Like most uni jobs, the hours are low and the pay is sufficient for my lifestyle.
-I have a well-built, large apartment on-campus. It's large enough for two people without a problem. Some even have a kid or two living with them.
Cons
-The teachers here are pretty boring. Nearly all of them are married and a few have children. Unlike my last school, I don't have students jumping at me looking to go out drinking or play badminton.
-Social life in general is pretty bad. I've gone months without seeing some of the foreign teachers on this campus. Even when I do, it's really impossible to connect with them at all given our life situations. It was really easy for me to call somebody on a whim to do something in Wuhan. Here it really isn't.
-My location on campus is pretty bad at the moment. My apartment building is right next to some major construction site. Seems that they will finish soon though.
-There's really a lack of things to do on campus. For example, there are nearly 50,000 students and only 4 badminton courts. It's not common to have 50+ students waiting to get into a game.
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With a sociable group of teachers, this would be a great job. Most of the problems that I have are related to the social atmosphere created by the teachers rather than anything else. |
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Asiateacher
Joined: 03 Apr 2013
Posts: 22
Location: Shenzhen, China
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| Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:11 am Post subject: |
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| Negatives: disgusting foreign teachers! What's up with these guys!??!?! |
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Nonomi
Joined: 14 Jan 2013
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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| kungfuman wrote: |
Worst part of my job is that some of the other foreigners are ex-convicts and some just plain dirtbag child molesters.
Other than that I like my job. |
I used to not believe things like this but now I see it with my own eyes.
It's hard to take because all of the foreign staff see the person in question for what he is but somehow the Chinese don't. Fear of 'kill the messenger' syndrome I guess is what keeps us quiet. But we have devils among us, that is for sure. I wish China would require criminal checks. Will that ever happen
But as for the topic. The best thing about my job is the pay. Hours are long, curriculum is non-existent, vacation is minimal. But there's lots of opportunities for overtime and they pay well. For China at least. |
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it'snotmyfault
Joined: 14 May 2012
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:01 am Post subject: |
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Pro's, some of the funny things the students come out with.
Me: Do you ever cry Kerry?
Kerry: I never cry.
Me: I don't believe you, when was the last time you cried?
Kerry: Yesterday.
Me: Yesterday!!! You just said you never cry, why did you cry yesterday?
Kerry: I was too happy!
Asking them to think of how technology has made us lose lots of problem solving skills.
One girl said "you mean like the Chinese teachers who always use PPT and don't know what to do when there's a power cut"
That girls got potential. |
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litterascriptor
Joined: 17 Jan 2013
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:11 am Post subject: |
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| it'snotmyfault wrote: |
One girl said "you mean like the Chinese teachers who always use PPT and don't know what to do when there's a power cut"
That girls got potential. |
Treasure her, she's a keeper.
Pros:
My students a fun, friendly, and about half the time eager to learn.
I have small classes.
My school opened only a year ago so my classload is still light.
Great pay for low hours. I teach 11 hours a week or so and get paid 7500 rmb for it. Lots of extra time left over to make that number go up.
cons:
Lack of holiday.
Working weekends.
Boss who doesn't speak english keeps overturning my directions to teachers and she does this with no teaching experience. |
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Professional TEFLer
Joined: 09 May 2013
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| kungfuman wrote: |
Worst part of my job is that some of the other foreigners are ex-convicts and some just plain dirtbag child molesters.
Other than that I like my job. |
Damn! I've often heard that a lot of "TEFLers" are either the back packer, unprofessional types or criminals. But how can someone with a record even get a passport?? |
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Javelin of Radiance
Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Having a record doesn't prevent you from getting a passport and traveling. Being on parole, probation or having outstanding warrants or judgements might. |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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I knew a guy in Fujian who would talk about wild crap when he was wasted. One of which was his prison time. Seems he did 8 years for manslaughter in the US then got a passport and went to China for about 5 years.
i did a background check on him one day. He actually did 8 years in prison. |
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Professional TEFLer
Joined: 09 May 2013
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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| kungfuman wrote: |
I knew a guy in Fujian who would talk about wild crap when he was wasted. One of which was his prison time. Seems he did 8 years for manslaughter in the US then got a passport and went to China for about 5 years.
i did a background check on him one day. He actually did 8 years in prison. |
Wow! I always assumed that if one had a felony record he/she would be unable to attain a passport. That's crazy. |
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Professional TEFLer
Joined: 09 May 2013
Posts: 77
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| Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Javelin of Radiance wrote: |
| Having a record doesn't prevent you from getting a passport and traveling. Being on parole, probation or having outstanding warrants or judgements might. |
Unpaid child support will get the passport taken away form one. So I guess one of the CONS would be working with potential ex-felons. |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| Professional TEFLer wrote: |
Unpaid child support will get the passport taken away form one. |
Not taken away - just not renewed until an agreement is made with the state where the judgement is made. |
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litterascriptor
Joined: 17 Jan 2013
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| Professional TEFLer wrote: |
| Javelin of Radiance wrote: |
| Having a record doesn't prevent you from getting a passport and traveling. Being on parole, probation or having outstanding warrants or judgements might. |
Unpaid child support will get the passport taken away form one. So I guess one of the CONS would be working with potential ex-felons. |
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130213005641/fallout/images/d/dd/Oh-you-93067263235.jpeg
I heard of a guy in Ningbo who got outed on one of the expat foreigners for being a paedo, not sure what happened to him after that. |
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NoBillyNO
Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 1762
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:42 am Post subject: |
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There is nothing in U.S. law that prevents most felons from receiving a
passport -- unless the terms of parole, probation or sentencing deny
the person a right to a passport or international travel.
The issue is a matter of the
parole conditions, not of the law regarding passports.
A passport is a document that certifies a person's citizenship. It is
not a guarantee of character or anything else; it is basically an
identity document. In fact, the passport form doesn't even ask the
applicant about criminal history.
Traditionally, there is just one type of felony that would prevent the
person from getting a passport. A person is ineligible if he or she
has "been convicted by a court or court martial of competent
jurisdiction of committing any act of treason against, or attempting
by force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States, or
conspiring to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force, the
Government of the United States."
A more recent U.S. law prohibits the issuing of a passport if a person
crossed an international border to commit a felonious drug offense.
(In some cases, a passport can be denied even if the offense was a
misdemeanor, provided the person crossed an international border to |
| Quote: |
Mandatory Denial. Passports are issued to
applicants as a matter of course in all but a few
rare situations. Except for direct return to the
U.S., the law provides that a passport shall not be
issued to an applicant subject to a federal arrest
warrant or subpoena for any matter involving a
felony. Furthermore, a passport shall not be issued
where the applicant is subject to a court order or
condition of parole or probation which forbids
departure from the U.S. Passports will also be
refused if the applicant has not repaid loans
received from the United States for certain expenses
incurred while the applicant was a prisoner abroad.
Nor will a passport be issued if the applicant is
under imprisonment or supervised release for any
conviction, at either the state or federal level,
for a felony involving a controlled substance.
Discretionary Denial. In any case, including for
direct return to the United States, a passport may
be refused where the applicant has not repaid a loan
received from the United States to effectuate his
return from a foreign country, where the applicant
has been declared incompetent, or where a minor
applicant does not have the necessary consent of
legal guardians. Moreover, a passport may be
refused if the Secretary of State determines that
the applicant's activities abroad are causing or are
likely to cause serious damage to the national
security or foreign policy of the United States.
Finally, a passport may be refused when the
applicant is subject to imprisonment or supervised
release for a misdemeanor drug conviction, other
than a first offense for possession, if the
individual used a U.S. passport or otherwise crossed
an international border in committing the offense.
Revocation. A passport may be revoked, restricted,
or limited where the national would not be entitled
to a passport as described above, or where the
passport was obtained by fraud, or fraudulently
altered or misused. Unless specifically validated
therefore, a U.S. passport shall cease to be valid
for travel into or through any country or area at
war with the United States. U.S. passports may also
be invalidated for travel through areas in which
armed hostilities are in progress, or where there is
imminent danger to the public health or physical
safety of U.S. travelers. Such determinations are
made by the Secretary of State and are published in
the Federal Register. |
Source: U.S. Report under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/law/Covenant94/Specific_Articles/12.html |
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Javelin of Radiance
Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:14 am Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of your current job. |
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| lemak wrote: |
| McLoo's (for lack of a better word) nitpicking made me wonder if there are actually any perfect jobs out there. Curious how everyone would rate their place of employment. What are the positives and negatives.... |
Pros:
1. Good housing, close to the teaching building, good pay and benefits, low stress, do your job and no-one bothers you.
2. Decent students. Decent in that some of them are enthusiastic and good learners (though not all are), and none of them cause problems.
3. Good admin staff and no problems with RP renewal, other problems like stuff with housing are usually sorted out quickly.
Cons:
1. School can be anal about following rules. One example: In order to change a classroom you need to make a request a couple or more days in advance. If you show up to teach and something in your room malfunctions it's almost impossible to change rooms on short notice because you didn't request it in advance. Can result in holding a class where something (fans, projector, computer, drapes) is broken while another perfectly serviceable room sits empty. Frustrating but can be worked around.
2. Have had to work with a couple of FTs of very questionable character. People whose attitude about everything is negative, or heavy drinkers leading to hungover teachers who do next to nothing in class, or who don't show up at all. By the time the school realizes how bad these people are they've usually moved on to another school by themselves. No ex-cons as far as I can tell but losers nonetheless. |
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Toast
Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 428
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| Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:32 am Post subject: Re: Pros and Cons of your current job. |
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| Javelin of Radiance wrote: |
| In order to change a classroom you need to make a request a couple or more days in advance. If you show up to teach and something in your room malfunctions it's almost impossible to change rooms on short notice because you didn't request it in advance. Can result in holding a class where something (fans, projector, computer, drapes) is broken while another perfectly serviceable room sits empty. Frustrating but can be worked around. |
This is actually written into the contract at my school now. "It is prohibited for Party B to change classrooms without prior written permission from Party A. Breach of this regulation will result in official warning and / or sanctions"
Which, yeah...is great until you realize the 90 minute listening class you're about to teach has just had the speakers blown out by Ting Ting listening to 200 decibel K-Slop in the break time.
Whole row of unlocked empty classrooms with working speakers and an entire lesson plan which needs speakers....it's a no-brianer what gets done, official warnings and / or sanctions be damned. |
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