Job Discussion Forums

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

My school is one that requires office hours. They don't check that much but they do keep tabs on people. My students finish at the end of this month but I have to keep full time office hours in June which is stupid. Maybe a staff meeting here and there.

They don't really seem to care what you do at the office though. Plenty of people watching movies, playing video games, etc.

A couple of the more daring people take half days when they shouldn't. If they catch you they will dock your pay but you won't get fired or anything (though they'll say they will to scare you).

Private high school.

EDIT:
My pay is good and will get better next year, but I am starting to consider a uni gig so that I have time to run a tutoring business with my girlfriend on the side. She was offered a gig tutoring a few days a month that paid more than her current full-time job. She didn't accept because she thought it was too good to be true but it turned out to be real. The guy is paying like 2/3 of his income towards English lessons. She just couldn't believe someone would pay that much of their salary for classes.

Deats · Joined: 02 Jan 2015 Posts: 503

People needing English for something will pay whatever it takes for English lessons. I.e. for their child to pass IELTS, get into a foreign school, a university entry exam etc.

One student came to me 7 days a week for a year. An hour every week night and 2 hours on Sat and Sun. It worked out as she got into a top school in Singapore. Her school teaches the British curriculum with all lessons in English. She will no doubt get into a top uni and from there get a well paid job either overseas or in China.

Investing wisely in education is well worth it. Yeah they spent a fortune with me, but at least there was an end result and tangible benefit.

You only need 1 student like this and you double your 'average' uni salary.

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

This guy works 2-3 minimum wage jobs and the kid is like 5yo...

Son of Bud Powell · Joined: 04 Mar 2015 Posts: 179 Location: Since 2003

Some responses in this thread give me the feeling that one person did a lot of reading in the forum, arrived at some faulty conclusions, became an expert on teaching in China, then stayed home.

Deats · Joined: 02 Jan 2015 Posts: 503

The guy is very smart, because learning a language from a young age is the easiest way to do it. My wife taught a 5 year old boy for 3 years and by the time he was 8 he was amazing. He also watched loads of cartoons and played on the BBC kids website. At 5 a kid is a sponge. I'm hoping our daughter will pick up Mandarin and Cantonese from hearing it - will probably also pay for a tutor for her.

The father also realises that his kids are the ones who will pay for him in old age. His future is through his child.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

OK. So this guy maybe makes $1,000 per month working 90-100 hours per week. He spends maybe $700 on English lessons (30 hours per month or so). One year of tuition, room, and board at a western university is maybe 5 years of his income. It is basically impossible for him to afford to send the child to a western uni. It is highly unlikely English will be tested on the Gaokao by the time his child takes it. How is that a better investment than quitting his second job and spending time with his child?

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Is the tutoring gig oral or written or both?
The Gao Kao hasn't ever tested Oral.
Focusing on getting into an overseas U and skimping on Gao Kao, may mean no uni at all if the overseas idea doesn't work out.
This thread raises an interesting question: Do we as FTs have any responsibility to point out errors or pitfalls to those we are tutoring or being paid to tutor?

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

I may not have read far enough back in the thread but the 'gig' I was referring to was the one where a not-wealthy guy was paying lots in the expectation that English was the mother lode that would set up him and his family.

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

Deats · Joined: 02 Jan 2015 Posts: 503

You are totally wrong hdeth. So, I will enlighten you.

There are MANY scholarships overseas - especially in the UK. China signs trade deals and in return UK universities offer a set number of FREE places for Chinese students.

My wife was best friends with a girl at uni who used to help us with different things and she got to practise her English with us. When we met her, her English was appalling. It's better now, but still not great.

Anyway this girl got offered a free placement with grants of about $20000 a year and free housing at Aberdeen uni in Scotland. In true Chinese style, her boyfriend wrote her dissertation for her. All she had to do was pass IELTS at 6.5 to gain entry. I think she ended up with 6.0 and couldn't go. She was not an exceptional student.

My wife is native Russian and dreamt of studying in the UK. She looked at all the unis to try and find a scholarship somewhere. Impossible for Russians. Even though she went to the second best uni in Russia (the same as Putin), passed her degree in linguistics with flying colours and scored 227/230 in the CPE (this is the Cambridge test that is the hardest a non native can take - way harder than IELTS). What else can one do to gain a scholarship!?!? In my opinion this is disgraceful, but it is all politics. Just because China signs off on a trade deal, their people get the free uni places... then get kicked out for plagiarism and being unable to cope with writing essays in English...

Anyway, the whole point of this is to stress that there are plenty of places for Chinese to study for free in western unis.

Failing this a successful English speaking tour guide would make WAY more than a road sweeper.

hdeth · Joined: 20 Jan 2015 Posts: 583

How many spots are there versus Chinese students seeking them? In 10 years I imagine there would be millions seeking those scholarships. There can't be that many of them. And often scholarships have GPA requirements which might be hard to meet. What's the chance of a normal Chinese person getting a free education in the UK? It cannot be that high.

Even my really exceptional students didn't get much in the way of scholarships. Maybe $5k here and there.

I don't know about the UK, but $20,000 is only about 1/2 or 1/3 of the tuition Chinese students pay in America. You're still talking about a ton of money.

If there was an older kid who was a good student and really wanted to study in the US, and the parents had some way to scrape together a big chunk of money, then yes, it might be money well spent. A parent spending 2/3 of their income on English lessons for a 5 year old does not make sense to me.

Then you have to consider how much better of a job it will get you. Many of the Chinese admin here have western educations (even a couple Ivy League) but most of them are paid similar to what my girlfriend's brother makes (who dropped out of high school).