Job Discussion Forums

bdawg · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 526 Location: Nanjing

What would happen if you did this in the States?

If you ran off with pile of cash over a tiff regarding one or two days of make up classes?

I agree with Babala...a few folks here seem to be cheering you on...I'm not too sure why...but I think your just helping to further reinforce the negative image of foreigners in China.

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

jeffinflorida · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:48 am Post subject:

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

i can certainly see where jeff is coming from here and understand his anger. in my case, after getting nowhere verbally, i handed in a memo to the school where i work demanding (mildly) that they give me some essentials that day without delay (textbooks, schedule, place to access internet, portable cd player blahblahblah among other things.) i also gave them three days to furnish my apartment and get my ass into it. on the day i handed in my memo, i was paid and they sorted out 3/X on my list of immediate to do's. for that i was grateful and willing to compromise a bit with them. however since then, they've pulled a disappearing act and my apartment is "still being furnished" four days later, i still have not had a hot shower in three weeks, (except for the ones i had in beijing last weekend) and have nowhere to wash my clothes properly. and the person in charge of sorting it out for me wasnt in town today to take my calls.

interestingly enough, our other FT called the foreign affairs office in town here and reported the school for some alleged violations of his contract. this was brought to my attention by the FAO the other day and all i could think of while listening to the story was "maybe its about time and maybe you're being sent a message here." if other teachers go through similar instances then i'm surprised more FTs dont just pack up and leave....

instead of FTs giving foreigners a bad name, maybe we should be thinking that some schools and their employees are giving china a bad name.....

jeffinflorida · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:23 pm Post subject:

mmm... pancakes · Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 92

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

therock · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: China

We should do a topic poll, on Jeff - Do you agree with what Jeff did? Also should Jeff give his airfare money back?

I vote disgree with what he did.

I vote Jeff shouldn't give the money back.

jeffinflorida · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:20 pm Post subject:

clark.w.griswald · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2056

I also find Jeff's comments and actions to be offensive to the rest of us.

There was a thread and a poll a while ago about the payment of airfare allowances. The OP posted this poll as he believed that schools should pay airfares upfront or at least upon arrival in China. Jeff was the only one to post that he had received his full airfare reimburement upon arrival, and he noted how happy he was about this. His case was certainly the odd one out as most people either got half upfront and half at the end, or all of it at the end. I suggested in that thread that the reason that most schools don't pay upfront is that they have probably been burned in the past. Future teachers at the school where Jeff was working, now only have Jeff to thank for the fact that airfare allowances are very unlikely to be paid by that school in advance! Thanks Jeff.

This is the thing that really stinks in my opinion. Here we have a school that was trying to do the right thing and they got screwed for it. I hate it when I hear that a foreign teacher is doing the right thing and gets screwed by a school, and I feel equally bad about a situation when a foreign teacher screws a school. This is effectively what Jeff has done. Let's face it, very few schools in China are perfect. Jeff's school was not perfect, but I don't see that they were dishonest. I don't see that they stole from Jeff. I don't see that they lied to him for their own benefit. I do however see Jeff lieing to them for his own benefit and stealing money that is not his. It seems to me that Jeff's decision to steal from the school invalidates all the wrongs that they have done in my opinion and means that Jeff is in the wrong.

Jeff you talk a lot about morals, yet you exhibit so few yourself. If you no longer wanted to work at that school then you had the right to leave. Despite your attempts at justifying otherwise, you had absolutely no right however to take money that was given to you in good faith. What you have done and attempted to justify is exactly what bad schools in China do? They are dishonest, they cheat legitimate teachers, all based upon the fact that the teacher could have cheated them if given the chance. This is wrong and counter productive to improving conditions here in China.

All the other stuff that you waffle on about in an attempt to justify your theft of that money is just that - waffle. You are a thief. A foreign thief. And your actions just serve to give us all a bad name.

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

Starry Night · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 1:04 am Post subject:

jeffinflorida · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 1:26 am Post subject:

To all those who don't agree with what I did **** YOU. I don't really care about what you think.

Report me to the PSB, give it a shot if it makes you feel better.

Maybe I'll report you to the PSB for that bag of dope in your backpack.

And, by the way, the school has never asked me to return any monies formally or otherwise.

YearOfTheDog · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:43 am Post subject:

Babala · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 1303 Location: Henan

Jeff, I am neither a do-gooder or a bible-thumper as you implied. I do however know right from wrong. I think your last post sums up your maturity and temperment. You tell others they have no right to judge you but then why did you post it in the first place. I guess you were looking for the slaps on the back you feel you deserve.