Job Discussion Forums

[NathanRahl]

Well, my old assistant just came back from having to deal with some family issues. If you remember I posted earlier about my assistant being a real problem. I was told that she would clean up her act. Anyhow, I worked with someone else for just two days, night and day. I was very happy with the replacement they gave me. She did what I asked, and nothing else. She did not disparage me in front of students in chinese, as I found out later from students. She simply translated, did not argue, and did her job well. I asked the company to make her my new assistant, since she is at the moment in betwen jobs, I was told it would take some time.

Anyhow, my old assistant came back today, and I had high hopes that maybe she had, after all the talking from me and the company, clean up her act. No such luck. If anything, she was worse. Over translating, or a couple times not translating at all, not even including the rest of thingsshe has done. She is quite a nightmare, refer to my earlier post about assistants to find out more.

Anyhow, I took someones advice in my last post, and my next class, just got her the heck out of there, told her I needed her to do this or that with some words in the text book. this id not help though, since she never brings her's with her. In turn I ended up having one of my best classes ever. I knew she was a bad influence and caused chaos, but I did not know just how much until she was gone gone gone, and it was just me, and the students. There were only a handful of times they did not understand what I wanted, and, through body lnguage, using simpler words and ideas they did know to explain more complex ones they did not, they came to understand everything I wanted. Best part is, it really did not take all that long, and I think they learned more then if I had had someone there to easily translate it.

I am sure I will catch some flack though. You see, my assistant, whenever I ask her to do something she doe's not wish, quote's some rule from the company about how she can not, to get her way. I have just gotten tired of that, and have decided I have had enough. However, I doubt the company we work for will see it the same way. After all, they are paying her, I doubt they are comfortable with paying someone to do nothing. I realized today though, after that class, that I really do not need an assistant. My students are 17 and 18 years old. If I am creative, which I am, and use my imagination, I can explain things in others ways, but explain them nonetheless. I also think they would understand better in the end.

I don't know if this will fly with who I work for. However, what doe's not fly for me is having an assistant who constantly undermines me, is extremely passive aggresive, and honestly thinks that when were in the classroom, she runs the show. That just won't do, it creates disorder, and makes it a lot harder for the students to learn, which is my main concern. Talking to her doe's no good, she thinks this is all very amusing. However, if the company doe's tell me she must be in the classroom with me, and that I can't assign her some busy work, I can simply not use her, and let her sit in the back. It is really her fault, and yes, I feel a little bad, but I can not have this person constantly undermining me. I hope the problem is solved, but how knows. I kinda doubt it will be that easy, but you never know *shrug*.

Whoever said earlier in my last post that they do not see why I even need an assistant for students this age, I now see what you meant, and agree 100%. If your creative, and have a good imagination, you can find ways to communicate that will not only be memorable, but will stay with them far longer then a simple easy translation into chinese. Thanks all, and take care

[Shan-Shan]

I agree: it seems counterintuitive to have a translator in a language class. Are there two types of English abilitites? The first being English as English, the other English as translated into Chinese?

I had a student a year back who argued that while preparing for a presentation with a group of students, it was better to prepare in Chinese because "we can explain our ideas better to each other, and prepare more properly". Yet when it came time to present, no one could say anything. One from the group even had the gall to ask if he could use Chinese!

So long as the CET score is okay, nothing else matters.

[NathanRahl]

Yes, it seems more and more sensible to me now to not use her. I don't know how this will sit with the company though. I think a lot of it is just the status quo. People who have never taught thinking that you mustn have an assistant to teach english to chinese kids. Not necessarily. At first yes, of course you will need a translator, you still could teach it without one from the start, in theory, but lets say from the start youn need one. This far along, it is a hinderance I think. They have enough of a basic grasp that to translate now only sets them back. Yes, it will be harder without a translator, so what? Nothing worth doing was ever easy, and they will learn much better in the long run, I see that now.

Still how to convince the company I work for is another thing. Oh well one step at a time. I am trying to decide if I should kep sending her to the office, or just render her useless by putting her in the back of the room, and having her say nothing. Easier said then done though, she finds a way to distract the class even when I do not ask her to do anything.

Also, if you ask me shes far too familiar with the students. I don't think it is a good idea to be friends with your students, be too familiar and they treat you less as a teacher, authority figure, and more like their buddy. There is something to be said for boundaries and keeping ones distance. It's too bad most of those who they find to work as assistants are 20 year old girls, I suppose thats all they can find though. Someone older would be better though I think. Again, for high school, I am starting to think that an assistant is more of a burden, confuses the students too much, in more things than just english, and overall is just a bad idea.

[Steppenwolf]

Have you now taken to writing your diary in our forum? Keep up the work if you like - but you could write an installment a day saying the exact same thing using only ten percent of the words you used.

[vikdk]

Don't worry Nathan - for a long time posters have been giving dairy/case study type accounts here - sometimes with hillarious results. Just look at this from about a year back - one for the hall of fame

[poopsicola]

Yes, don't worry NathanRahl. You writing is absolutely atrocious but this is China and you are a teacher here. There used to be some old fa*rt posting here. I think he was up to about 9160 posts when he died or something. But, my God, if you could have read some of the long-winded tripe he used to post. You've got nothing on him - except so far your prolific posting rate. Keep it coming. At least, what you write is probably truthful.

[cj750]

[Outsida]

Oh, Nathan arrived in China, had a bad experience with a school, left, found a new job, had a pay crisis, suffered from a bad assistant and had a million other dramas happen to him - all in the space of like an hour! If only I was as full of... er, life.

[andrew_gz]

Yeah outsida,
funny thing but there seems to be a few forumites more familiar then their sign up dates would suggest