Job Discussion Forums

[Mac]

After being at this college for 10 months I decide that I had enough. It started the first night I arrived at the college and the FAO said to me that if I broke anything I would have to pay for it. He also said that evening that I was not to complain about my teaching hours. He told my wife (who is chinese) that I would only have to take a 15 minute bus ride but in fact it was 1hour. LATER ON HE ADMITTED TO LYING to me because he needed to get a foreign teacher for the school. I asked the secretary of the english dept a few things that I needed he said he would do but he never did. I asked one of the deans of the English dept for a new desk so I could actually open some desk drawers. He and I proceeded to get into a heated argument. After that the english teachers would have nothing to do with me. The policy here is that you don't say anything you just keep your mouth shut and take it. Well I didn't take it and the never ending battles began. My teaching methods were attacked by the dept. My wife was told she was nothing but trouble because she helped me by calling the headmaster for help. I was never told when the bus schedule was changed by anyone in the dept. Not one teacher would tell me. I was the only foreign teacher at the college. The college started 3 weeks late and I was expected to make up the classes. In my contract it stated very clearly that any hours over 20 I was to be paid for overtime. I was teaching 20 hours a week. when I told them about this they tried(the English dept) to get my salary cut but without success. If they would have had it their way I would have been working a 40 hour work week and getting paid for 20 hours. On tuesdays and wednesdays I would leave home at 7:00 am and not get home until 6:00 pm at night. Most of the time was spent waiting for the bus to go home. This college doesn't care about foreign teachers at all. This has been the worst teaching experience of my 7+ years of teaching. My advice to you is to stay away from this college there are basically no facilities at the college. It is located in the middle of nowhere. Jining is in Shandong province. A small city 3 hours south of Jinan. there is nothin for you to see in this city whatsoever. Again my advice is to stay away from this college.

[Malsol]

Frankly speaking it appears that you are very capable at making mountains out of mole hills.

Your petty little problems are so really unimportant in the larger scheme of things and the indignities that many Fts in China face.

I sincerely suggest that you attend diplomatic school before you try another China post.

Sorry I just cannot be compasionate over such things as a desk drawer not opening so you declare war. Tsk. Tsk.

[Voldermort]

I have been in a similar sort of situation in the past. The school, desperate for a FT, says a few white lies in order to get you there. Both parties start off on the wrong foot. Then the most trivial of problems turn into contract breaking plots.

I'm guessing the OP has had a bad day, and probably been banging his head against his locked desk after a pointless discussion with his FAO about the missing chalk. "Why do you want chalk? This is China, we are poor! Besides, you are an Oral English teacher, so go speak!". 10 months in, 1 to go; hang in there.

My first day on my current job I found all my desk draws were locked. In front of my FAO I picked the lock. Nothing was said, but he has started keeping his wads of cash in a safer place.

[saint57]

Escalation of commitment is the phenomenon where people increase their investment in a decision despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong.

I hope you've learned a lesson.