Job Discussion Forums

[Leprecoon]

I'm thinking of leaving my University teaching post in Jan/Feb and finding another one, and was wondering what my FT peers have to say.

The Uni I teach at is a private one, ie. the students all pay to study instead of getting a place through the usual entrance exams. This tends to attract lazy students from rich families, although there are exceptions to the lazy part. Also many of them never come to class, or come and read the paper etc. The school turns a blind eye to this kind of behaviour, and everyone duly gets their certificate at the end.

This doesn't extend to the teachers, and in fact if I miss or am late for a class (or re-arrange the schedule in any way) I'm told it has serious consequences.

Finally, there is nothing on the campus at all- no coffee shops, nowhere to meet people and hang out. It's completely dead. The only things to do are play basketball, or sit indoors and play internet games.

I could go on. There are a million other reasons why this job sucks, and I bet you've heard them all before.

BUT, I signed a contract for a year. Should I jump ship and leave them to find a new teacher for next term? And if I do what are the consequences for visa etc, and future employment in China, if any?

Any opinions welcome...

[Lobster]

The motivation of the students is not your problem. If you have a few who are interested in learning, you can focus on them. As well, whether they receive a certificate/diploma should also not concern you. The isolation and lack of entertainment on campus should also not bother you, as you're just there to work. An inability to rearrange the schedule is a typical thing you have to live with. So, unless you aren't getting paid as promised or are being abused in one way or another, I think you need to deliver the services you agreed to when you signed the contract. Sorry, grin and bear it.

RED

[Gregor]

I voted for sticking it out, just FYI.
Does your contract have a clause (as mine does) for leaving early? If so, pay what needs to be paid, give the notice asked for, and do it within the confines of the contract you signed. You gave your word. You should be honor-bound to keep it. As far as I'm concerned, if you have done what the contract says that you can do to get out of it early, then you have honored that contract by doing so, even if you leave before the year is out.
Still, the school might not see it that way. So be prepared for that possibility as well.

What will that mean for future employment? It depends. How much experience have you got as a teacher? What are your qualifications? How far away do you want to go from your current job and city? Don't tell me; I ask these questions rhetorically. If you have an otherwise good CV, maybe you'll have no trouble. On the other hand, how much guanxi does your current employer have with the FT authorities?

Just to give you the wisdom of my experience (which you kind of asked for), I suggest that you finish the contract, and do it for your own good. You don't give a lot of information, but it's very possible that some of this has to do with culture shock. An unfamiliar place, nothing to do for fun, possibly no one to talk to with the same cultural references that you have from growing up in your country...all of this can be a serious drag. But you can get a lot out of it if you make the effort. Study Chinese in your spare time. Even if you don't have any materials readily available, you have all the materials you NEED right there, in the native speakers. If you are truly cut off from your own culture, then it's a fantastic opportunity to learn THEIRS, and it can enrich your life if you choose to do so...and you will have honored your word at the same time.
Let us know what you decide to do. I, for one, am interested.

[Steppenwolf]

And what makes Leprecaun think he will find better students at public universities?

[vikdk]

[Leprecoon]

In the past I have worked for other Universities in China, and the students were much more eager to learn. Best experience: Liaoning University, in Shenyang. Poor University and ridiculous Foreign Affairs dept, but absolutely brilliant students.

I think the students usually more than negate any frustrations with the Foreign Affairs department- that's usually how it works, right? I guess I just lucked out this time! In fact today... not a single student turned up for class.

Then later this morning, I got a message from the Wai Ban - 'We had a thanksgiving dinner last night (which they didn't tell me about!!), I wanna express my thankfulness for your hard work...'

Haha. This post is too surreal!

I think I will stick it out though. Xian Ku, Hou Tian.

[prof]

[Hendahu]

OP ,I am in Wuhan at a public Uni. It is not too much different. Many unmotivated students and a FAO who is a complete and total non english speaking idiot. However, I do make my own fun...there are things to do after class. I agree with the masses and voted that way, stick it out. You will be a better teacher for the experience. The challenge is the key. Forget the grades, they do not matter anyway. Have fun with it. If the class does not like traditional english class....go nuts. It is not like you can hurt their progress. ....challenge yourself as a teacher....you will be better off at the end of the year.

[MITCH]

OP wrote:

[China.Pete]

"If they all don't show up it's your fault. Because you let it get so bad." --Mitch

As much as I agree with what you are saying in theory, and actually try to use it in practice, it cannot account for the range of teaching experiences found in China. I'm speaking, in particular, of certain private institutes of higher education populated almost exclusively by washouts from China's less than ideal K-12 schools. Many of the students don't want to be there, and have a variety of learning-avoidance mechanisms to deal with their circumstances, practiced both inside and outside the classroom. Ironically, the more effective you are as a teacher in trying to get such students to learn something in class, the more likely they are to take the only practrical alternative left to them--skipping.

"You are sometimes signing a year of your life away to something most of us would consider as boring drudgery--drudgery that�s made no better because its located in China." --Vikdk

It's a bit like being a foreign-service volunteer. Sometimes it's a wonderfully productive work experience, with only the minimum of frustration, made all the more exciting by living and working in a foreign country. Sometimes it's just a cultural experience, with very little else to show for it. A lot of it has to do with where you end up, and what you're able to make of it.

[jeffinflorida]

My 1.3 cents is: do what makes you happy. If you are happy in your current school and there are things to keep you interested in the area then stay.

What you describe is the typical school in China - be it private or public. The Chinese students are not high grade anything - except lazy. Their parents pay, they show up or don't show up, the take exams - pass or fail, cheat or not, they pass and get the paper that their parents paid for.

it's the way it is. The FT is like the stray dog, don't expect any thanks put maybe you will get a pat on the head once in a while and a bone with a little meat on it. If you run away, they really don't care. you can be replaced easily.

I ran once from a uni. Nothing happened. I was at that uni once visiting a friend of mine who still worked there. Ran into dumb fao chick at the bus stop (she looked pretty hot that day!). Her eyes opened like she saw a ghost. I politely said hello and told her how pretty she looked that day. She said hello cooly to me. I heard she got into alot of trouble when I took off and lost much face.

To sum it up, you, we, me, all fts, can never change the good ol boy cummunist system. the students will get the degree they paid for - most never really earn it.

You make your decision on your level of happiness at your hours, your pay, your friends you made at that school or in that city, not on the perfomance of the students or the way the administration lets them all slide.

If you can live in realitive happiness, then stay. Remember, your next school could be worse...

[NathanRahl]

Hmm, I say you need to stick it out. You sound rather negative to me, something I divined from our short discussions off forum, where you accused me of "chickening out" in regards to our meeting, which made no sense, but was a negative inference, someone assuming the worst.

You have to be realistic about your situation. I also wonder if you actually "stuck it out" at these other universities you worked at. Did you stick around, or duck out on those contracts as well.

Whether you like your job or not really isn't relavent I think, you signed a contract, made an agreement, so look at the up side, and not the down, you'll be better off for it.

[Mister Al]

Your choice.....But I'd stick it out, unless you're getting really shafted that is. At the end of the day you'll feel better for having done the right thing.

[Leprecoon]

Thanks for the advice NathanRahl, it's nice to see someone putting their money where their mouth is:

Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:03 am

[furiousmilksheikali]

Is there any provision in your contract for giving two week's notice or a month and then leaving? If so, you would not be breaking a contract.