Job Discussion Forums

[weigookin74]

For those of you doing the public school gig, how do you find it?

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

Universities with an English department and an English Major program have been pretty good. Salary is MUCH less than that at a mill. Overall, it's a pretty good experience in Jiangsu.

Two-year vocational colleges are spotty. Pay is generally the same as at Universities. Colleges that actually have an English program in place have been good.

A problem common to both is that many are undergoing the long, painful process of moving from one site within the city to another out in the boonies. You'll be required to teach on both campuses in all likelihood.

Try to find a school with an older FAO, not one who remains a recluse and employs a 28 year-old bimbo to do his work.

[Shanghai Noon]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

LOL!

Ain't what it sounds like! My experience with the young bimbos is that (according to Chinese teachers) is that they pay to get the position, and they tend to abuse the system as well as the FTs.

The older the FAO, the greater her seniority within the party, and the greater her desire to retain the perks of belonging to the party. They tend to take better care of their FTs.

I worked for a female FAO who was 55 years old. The traditional retirement age for women within the party (as i understand it) is 50. She retired at age 60. She referred to the city as "my city," and I believe that she probably had more clout than the mayor. She took the FTs on trips, Communist Party Christmas parties (!), and special televised events at which she sat front and center while the mayor sat five rows behind her. I just mentioned that a light at the FTs' apartment entrance would be a good security idea. Bang. The next day, we got a nice bright light over the door.

Another older FT enjoyed riding the city bus while the Chinese teacher had their own charter bus. We'd talk about the school. She actually listened to my ideas.

My experiences with the young FAO bimbos have not been good. I've had more late pay issues with the young bimbos, and problems with them gossiping with former teachers from their schools. In my experience, the younger ones tend to cross the line socially by encouraging gossip and by lying about school policies, among other things.

[thechangling]

[weigookin74]

This is good advice. But does this relate to universities or to public schools?

In the meantime, I found some of this info about teaching in general if it helps any of you.

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/checklist.htm

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

They're nice check lists, but the OP asked for experiences in public schools.

BTW, public universities are bound by pretty much the same rules and restrictions as Chinese public high schools.

[Shanghai Noon]