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| Total Votes : 3 |
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Burl Ives
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 226
Location: Burled, PRC
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 Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 6:54 am Post subject: The inbetween of betwixt and the middle -- a poll |
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In China which do you choose, a good aircon or a great view? High salary
or input into course design? Decent location or good kids? Good collegues
or a great house?
And I'm not sure which of these goes into which category: a street-side
eating place or the canteen?
And I'm less sure of how you wade through the advertisements to pick out
the ones that might give you something like what you want. How many
schools just don't get themselves up on the internet? |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 9:00 am Post subject: |
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I don't believe YOU of all people have much of a choice here - I in any case seldom get to choose the ideal situation.
You can choose between very bad, bad, moderately bad, and so on... |
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Burl Ives
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 226
Location: Burled, PRC
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Roger wrote: |
I don't believe YOU of all people have much of a choice here - I in any case seldom get to choose the ideal situation.
You can choose between very bad, bad, moderately bad, and so on... |
What? ME! What did I do?
Anyway, ideal is a state of mind, even if people generally do agree on
what is and what isn't ideal. I used to live in a place that had some kind
of capital works project that took out the electricity city-wide in the middle
of the coldest months of the year: no heating for up to six hours each
day for about two weeks and houses where you saw your breath. At
least they only did it during the day and as far as I know no one died
and I still love the place.
But it's a journey, it's a process, and I can't go back... So how to go
forward?
This is job-related for it goes to the question of the employment
environment. Is it really a crapshoot or can one get a handle on where
and when to go...? |
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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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| i am loathe to leave Henan because every class...almost every class of students I have had I have respected and enjoyed. but....the grass is always greener... |
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Roger
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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I clearly phrased my reply wrongly, sorry!
Let me say it this way: If I am not thoroughly satisfied or happy, then I can't perform adequately.
If I have to teach well-motivated students who paid good money to a school that's scrimping and saving on aircon electricity bills and a proper infrastructure then my students aren't going to get their money's worth from me.
It's not their fault, nor mine.
The same is true if the school erects a shiny facade with all those flashy gadgets and ordering you to wear a business suit in classroom - but treating you as their company pet.
Let's face it - most schools don't "need" us for the purpose of teaching; we are decoration, marketing tools, main selling point.
Knowing that my input on teaching does matter could make so much of a difference... |
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Burl Ives
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 226
Location: Burled, PRC
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Roger wrote: |
I clearly phrased my reply wrongly, sorry!
Let me say it this way: If I am not thoroughly satisfied or happy, then I can't perform adequately. |
Okay, I see what you mean.
On the other hand, I have this idea that teaching isn't mechanical enough
to depend wholely on the state of one's body. There are the intangibles,
the generated awarenesses of the value to the individual of the thing just
encountered, and that stuff is sold through the spirit.
(It's all sparkly. There's a reason they use glitter stars in kindy.)
Then again, here's an over-intellectualiser alert: in fact I won't belittle
concerns about decent working conditions, I'll make fun of my own
overblown sense of mission -- it's a wearying thing. I'll say that, if the
union heard me talking about tolerating below-award conditions, they'd
tell me to go to Russia if I love the commies so much.
(It's just that as my living conditions have improved, my sense of
reward has slipped away.) |
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whitjohn
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Posts: 124
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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For close to a year, I have read and studied the posts on this board. I researched schools all over China and chose Kunming because of the size of the city and the weather/air quality. I am absolutely delighted with my location and plan to stay for the rest of my life. Kunming is a wonderful place and Yunnan has so many other interesting places to visit on my holidays.
I had been here for almost the 3 month limit of my business visa and had offers from three universities, thanks to making friends among the locals. I chose my school after interviewing the others because I was told the students came from small villages and poor families and WANTED to learn! I was given the corect info. My students are second year (20 year olds) and they are fantastic! They work hard, are interested and are fun to be with.
We don't have fancy equipment but the good old balckboard and crumbly chalk serve well.
My FAO and department heads pay me on time and rarely interfere in my lessons. They cooperate and are pleasant to work with.
Luck me...I'm in heaven and I love it! |
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