Job Discussion Forums

[visa]

The English Department chairman, Mr. Wang, is an exceptional man to work for and deal with. The students are great, although their skill level poses a major classroom handicap. No contract problems, no late paychecks, no micromanagement, no evening or weekend classes, etc.

The foreign affairs officer is another story. In my letter to prospective teachers, my comments about her got harsher each time I had a major misencounter with her:

"Zheng Ping on the other hand, is a walking disaster and a reoccurring nightmare. She resists doing her job with all her might, and views any expectations of her as a colossal nuisance. She refuses to get organized, and refuses to apply an ounce of ingenuity or initiation. She does things whenever she gets around to - if she wants to. She waits til you've moved in to make sure everything works - or waits for you discover what works and what doesn't. She tries to connect, install, and repair things herself instead of calling a technician. She has a 1001 excuses, fains ignorance and helplessness, discounts the magnitude of the situation, and generally motivates you to avoid getting her involved. I frequently get tired of waiting for her and deal with something myself, and that usually means spending my own money. Her listening skills are good, but her articulation skills are on and off, and her vocabulary leaves much to be desired. So communicating with her can be frustrating for both of you. Never mind that she majored in English, has been in the foreign affairs office for 14 years, and has had regular, continuous access to native speakers. She's reckless. Her two middle names are but and can't. She makes simple situations complicated. She spends more time arguing with you than she would if she had simply addressed the issue. She is a constant source of vexation, frustration, and exasperation. She has a friendly, outgoing personality. But she is also rude, nosy, and argumentative. Fortunately, she will be your only major personnel problem. Apparently I've had enough feuds with her, complained enough about her, and used enough choice words about her with enough foreign teachers. Maybe the reality and pressures of life with the WTO and without the VSO are sinking in. Maybe it's the government's new 'no more iron rice bowl' policy. Maybe it's a combination of factors. At any rate, she's being much more cautious with new teachers, even wooing them. To the point that they have severely taken me to task. But I started dealing with her during the old era, when she wasn't motivated to behave. A couple of other teachers from the old era, who had been dealing with her much longer, didn't blink when I criticized her, although they weren't near as harsh with her. If you think I'm exaggerating about this particular foreign affairs officer, listen to foreign teachers from other schools talk about their foreign affairs officer."

I had occasion to deal with her much more than new era and old era combined: I offered to help her recruit foreign teachers. I spent many frustrating hours with her. She refused to absorb anything I taught her. I usually resorted to doing the work myself. This includes various ads and FAQs that are still on the Internet. She refused to follow my advice. She let countless candidates slip through her fingers through gross neglect and some of the most appalling apathy I've ever seen. This was after a period of drastic expansion, when 2000 English majors desparately needed teachers. She's the only person in China who didn't follow my recruiting advice and the only one who didn't get the teachers she needed. I don't mind spending time helping someone, but I don't like to waste time trying to help someone. And she wasted an enormous amount of my time. This in addition to the experience of trying to get her to help me with apartment problems, everyday activities, and required paperwork.

I left a large collection of movies with a teacher who emphasized movies as a language teaching tool. She left before I returned, so she told Zheng Ping that the bag of movies belongs to me. When I returned, one of the Chinese English teachers called Zheng Ping to say, "Where are the movies?" Zheng Ping said, "I don't know what you're talking about." She obviously hasn't changed a bit. Turns out half the movies were missing.

Yes, working for Nanyang Normal University / Nanyang Teachers College is a safe and enjoyable experience, but take no chances whatsoever with the foreign affairs officer.

[dreaming_saturn]

Thank you for the informative post, visa.

I am currently considering working for the Nanyang Teachers College and have recently been in contact with Zheng Ping. It's unfortunate that your experience with her was bad. Would you reconsider working at the school because of her, or do the pros for this position outweigh the cons?

I've been in China twice myself, but for short periods of time and close to Shanghai, where I assume life is much different. Anything you can tell me about the area and the school itself, particulary the students and the methods you used teaching them, would be greatly appreciated.

[visa]

She has other foreign teachers helping her with recruiting and might advertise using any of these formulas. I've never seen her display initiative or creativity except while in damage control mode, and oh what a busy, cleaver girl she can be then.


Nanyang Teachers' University
Nanyang Teacher's University
Nanyang Teachers University
NanYang Teachers' University
NanYang Teacher's University
NanYang Teachers University
Nan Yang Teachers' Univerisity
Nan Yang Teacher's University
Nan Yang Teachers University
Nanyang Normal University
Nan Yang Normal University
NanYang Normal University

Nanyang Teachers' College
Nanyang Teacher's College
Nanyang Teachers College
NanYang Teachers' College
NanYang Teacher's College
NanYang Teachers College
Nan Yang Teachers' College
Nan Yang Teacher's College
Nan Yang Teachers College
Nanyang Normal College
Nan Yang Normal College
NanYang Normal College

[Voldermort]

visa, I feel you are going a little over the top in trying to spoil the reputation of this college. This is the second Thread you have started on the matter, and in nearly all of your posts you do nothing but whine about them.

Get over it. You came to China and got screwed, that's life. Learn from this and move on.

[visa]

I got screwed again tonight, Voldermort.

Two of my former students took me to the train and bus stations tonight. They were freshmen when I taught them. They have since graduated with a 3 year certificate. Next year, they will get a 5 year diploma. On the way to the train station, they announced their intention to take the post graduate exam. Yet they had great difficulty explaining the train and bus schedules to me. These students are very dear to me. But the fact is, they are pathetically disfunctional in a language they will eventually study for 8 years.

The dean told me the condition for staying with the school: "Your approach will have to change." My approach was to desparately try to remediate these students and their classmates. Their pronunciation was torturous. Their everyday vocabulary was severly limited. Their attempts to express themselves were very frustrating, for me and even more so for them. The administration prevailed over me and the situation did not change. Therefore, they are responsible for what happened to these students. And, Voldermort, they are responsible for the reputation of the school. As is the FAO.

And it's not just me and my students that got screwed. Thousands of English majors are being screwed year after year. And they are not in a position to change the situation. They do not write curriculum, they do not set standards, and they certainly don't recruit teachers. Furthermore, they are sent into public schools to pass on the same tragedy to tens of thousands of even more helpless students.

Nice try, Voldermort, but I've had that voodoo thrown at me before and decoded it a long time ago. And when it come to warnings about this FAO, there's no such thing as going over the top. I've learned not to underestimate her.

[Brian Caulfield]

Visa, you have painted all the students with the same brush . There are
good students at NYTC . What is happening in China is that the high school's are producing better students . My freshmen are better thanthe third years students. I think also the students have too many exams and they can't possibly do well on them because they are peppered with errors in spelling and grammar . The students come to me constantly wanting to know the meaning of words that are not in their dictionaries . I tell them they are spelling mistakes.
My view of JP is not the same as yours . I too have had disputes with her . Like most Chinese she has selective listening skills . I think all FAQ's get their directions and job training from Beijing .
The problems occurring at this school are the same problems that occurr at many universities in China . The students know their English levels are weak . The teachers also know they are poor at English . The foreigner becomes the scapegoat for all their frustrations .
. They fish for complaints against the foreign teachers . They want a revolving door where foreigners are replaced yearly . It is nice to be able to blaim someone who is no longer there .
NYTC has one teacher here that has been here four years . This is unlike anyplace I have seen in China .
My attitude in China is not to take these petty things seriously. I plan to move on after this job . I know the next will place will probably have problems , usually it is housing . But the scenary will be different .
I will be told by students ,who have poor listening skills ,that my pronunciation is poor . I will be told that I am an alcoholic if a student sees me purchasing a beer at the local store . I will have people say I date prostitutes if I am seen with a Chinese woman .
You said one thing positive about the school . They pay on time . I have had problems with other schools over this . I think ESL teachers have three jobs that they must do constantly . First teach English , second collect your money for teaching English and finally look for a new job teaching English . If you are not doing these three things you wont survive .