Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

FAO - foreign affairs officer.

FAO's can play a large part in the welfare of foreign teachers in China.

How do you rate the FAO at the school you teach in?

A - Very good, and nothing to complain about

B - Good, and mostly nothing to complain about

C - Does the job, but without much enthusiasm and sometimes does not reply to messages or requests

D - Does less than the minimum expected of an FAO.

F - Does not meet the minimum standards expected of an FAO, and shows little or no empathy to some of the problems foreign teachers in China encounter.

I am guessing that most FAO's fall into the B category, but any input on this would be of interest.

Thanking you.

Ghost in China

[rioux]

So far a D.

But mostly for different reasons.

[nimadecaomei]

Can't rate someone you've never met.

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

A-. Nobody's perfect.

I've had past FAO's... well never mind.

[ghost]

[rogerwilco]

One problem that I have seen is that some foreign teachers "punish" the one person that will listen and understands English by dumping all their problems on them, typically the FAO.

Everybody needs to vent sometimes, but some foreign teachers expect the FAO to be their omnipotent problem solver, substitute mother, and shoulder to cry on.

[rioux]

It would be nice if FAO's didn't lie about the school and the conditions just to get teachers there.

When I asked one FAO as to why certain things weren't yet in the apartment even though the contract said they would be the response from the FAO was, "You Americans just always want to go by the contract."

[cdchristy]

From my experience, the FAO and Chinese bosses are very adamant about the contract when the teacher is perceived to be the one in the wrong. On the other hand, FTs are repeatedly asked to overlook contractual agreements when doing so favors the Chinese side. In other words, it can be very one-sided at times. FTs are asked to do this or that 'personal' favor for the sake of the business, but the FT is expected to business ahead of personal at all times no matter the reason.
For my part, I found this annoying, but I just tried to learn ways to politely stand my ground as much as possible. I also made sure that I fulfilled my end of the contract and made sure to remind them when necessary.
In addition to these comments, I would also say that FAOs are usually more focused on winning and keeping the good opinion of their Chinese bosses. Their goal is to be promoted, and in this top-down management culture, the FT is either at the bottom or completely out of the loop.

[rogerwilco]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

Unless the FAO is a ranking member of the Communist party, the school's director, or the dean of the foreign languages department, he/she can do very little to help you with your relationship with the school. The Foreign Affairs Officer is just that--- a foreign affairs officer. The FT is part of the school's foreign affairs. FAO's attend meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries seeking research partners, foreign schools seeking to establish sister relationships and other such things.

It took me awhile to figure out just how limited the FAO is in his ability to help with anything outside the sphere of his/her responsibility which includes the GENERAL welfare and safety of the FT (contractual obligations, apartment problems, violence against an FT, etc.). During my first gig in China, the FAO was a fifty-five year-old ranking member of the Communist party who was also the university's directress. Because of her party seniority, she could (and did) pull strings to do everything that she could to make her FTs happy. Most women in the party must retire at age fifty. At age fifty five, she was confident that she could work until she was sixty (and she did).

On my second gig, I learned just how little power and experience that the young bimbo FTs have. I also learned how devious they could be pitting one FT against another and bestowing the FT fink who reported every misstep ( both real and imagined) made by the other FTs with gifts and privileges not accorded to other FTs (bicycles, e-bikes, tickets to local theater performances, tickets to tourist sites, etc.).

Worse, sometimes the person who represents herself as the FAO isn't really the FAO but an English speaking mouthpiece who speaks for the real FAO who cannot speak English. (It sounds bizarre that this could happen given the fact that the FAO is expected to interact with those who speak English, the common international language).

I have learned to keep my distance from the FAO and any FT who spends an inordinate amount of time in the FAO's office. The FT fink tells lies and embellishes stories about other FTs to distract from his own misdeeds and shortcomings. I've told this story before, so those who have heard it before, bear with me. There was an obese FT at one of the schools who collected his monthly pay at a different time from when the others picked up their pay. I wondered why he picked up his pay at lunch time when the FAO's office was usually closed, so I took a walk to the FAO's office one pay day. There he was, sitting at a desk with a big bucket of KFC chicken, spinning yarns about his fellow FTs. After I witnessed this twice, I asked the FAO about it.

I asked her why she allowed the guy to stay at the school year after year. He wasn't even a teacher. She explained that the monthly bucket of chicken and his stories were just a form of entertainment for the office, and they kept him around for his congenial personality.

Right.

After that I distanced myself from the FAO's and prevailed upon them for as little as possible while drawing the boundaries between us (something that some FAO's appreciate for their own sake). I also keep my distance from the obvious nutcase FTs at my school and other schools. Many FAO's revel in gossiping about the "private" lives of their (and others') foreign teachers.

Avoid occasions that may provide fodder for gossip among other FTs that may find its way back to the FAO. (Some FTs enjoy meeting and developing relationships with area FAO's solely to feed their own egos. There may be tangible benefit to them, but it is negligible to the amount of power that such FTs wield over their fellow FTs.

My point is that one can influence one's comfort and satisfaction with one's FAO if he realizes just how little influence the FAO has within the school, even if he is a teacher at the school.

In short, ask for little beyond your contract and expect even less.