Job Discussion Forums

[englishgibson]

I know that we've been whining on forums just about everything, and this might to many be yet another whiner, but I'd like to give it a try and open up a discussion with respect to the management techniques of especially academic affairs in Chinese schools/centers.

From my experience, Chinese public schools have their qualified academic staff and authorities approved material geared towards their exams. Foreign staff gets their "oral" role there. This role is at times supervised by the Chinese qualified and experienced staff. They provide us with suggestions or ideas to improve our "oral" role when necessary. Sometimes, they observe our lessons too. In some instances, they have their "eye" from out of our classrooms to provide their feedback to schools superiors and to insure the quality of our "oral" roles. How do you guys cope with your "oral" roles on your jobs in public schools?

Speaking of private language centers that I have worked with for past 5 years in China, there are some interesting techniques of the managers. One is that of a trust in a Chinese employee as oppose to a trust in a foreign employee, but this one I'd reserve to discuss later on. The word or shall I say view of the situation/class/lessons of a Chinese employee over a foreign employee's view is seemingly stronger to the Chemployers.
Students feedback (personal touch) on lessons often put the teachers in a position to have to justify themselves. At times, FTs are directed to adjust to the Chinese classrooms rather than the students are told to adjust to the FTs and the western style of teaching. One management technique that I have often seen is that a Chinese is put into the leading academic position supervising a foreing academic product that the Chinese has a little clue about. Have you experienced such practices yourselves?

Now, in some western managed language centers, where the employers still are Chinese, a foreign academic manager gets his/her authority. However, and from my experience, there's an "eye" over the foreign manager's" shoulder in some way. This "eye" with its views will often matter more than the academic prospective of the foreing supervisor. Anyway, I am wondering about your experiences.

Peace to Chemployers
and
cheers and beers to all hard working FTs in China

[abusalam4]

I am sometimes wondering whether these private language schools in China have a decent management at all - they may have a management to make money onj the students' and their teachers' back but this certainly does not include decent academic management. In case of the latter, there is nothing at all - mostly!

Henry Kissinger should come and lecture there.....dear Old Henry is currently doing so at Beida...why not somewhere else?????

[clark.w.griswald]

I agree that generally speaking Chinese management and adminsitration at most schools is lacking from a Western perspective. Although it can certainly be said that as you are a foreigner living in China you should adapt to the way things are done here, I think that it is also fair to say that they are employers who choose to/need to employ foreign staff so they should make themselves more familiar with the needs of foreigners.

To me there are two main problems faced by local management:

a) cultural differences;

b) lack of ability

An example of a would be the requirement by management of the foreign teacher to work the Sunday following Christmas Day to make up for the fact that the school was gracious enough to give the teacher Christmas Day off while all the other staff were working. Chinese consider that work comes first and that days off are a priviledge offered by the employer rather than an empoyee's right!

An example of the second would be the general inability for management staff to understand that the above is a problem when it is raised as an issue by the foreign teacher, and actually find a way to resolve the problem rather than letting the resentment to that issue snowball.

Things are improving but only slowly. Very slowly.

[abusalam4]

Yes, Clark, I can agree with what you said.

But it is not only the question of a Chinese-managed school to meet such individual needs of foreigners with Western holidays as you describe them. There are other things like getting a timetable together for all the classes that each teacher (Chinese and foreign) has and which place you got to teach that class.

From my experience in China it seems that they are not even able to do that sufficiently well - at our school, we normally had quite a mess at the beginning of each semester since the person in charge (Vice Dean) was not able to manage all students and teachers meeting in terms of times and places set. He regularly needed assistance from one of us FTs to get a plan that actually worked done.

My quetion I would ask is from a Western perspective but I cannot see why it should not apply to China as well: If people turn out to be incapable to do their job properly and fail in achieving what they are supposed to do, why should they be left in this position instead of being removed from it? Because they are party secretaries? If so, we have seen in Eastern Europe that such people were made left to go after the wall and the iron curtain came down. My assertion is that it is high time that the same happens with respect to China as well - life for Chinese and FTS could be such much easier then!

[cj750]

[CJF]

Slightly off topic, I'm not sure that the relatives of those incinerated by
Kissinger, Nixon et al in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos would agree about the term "Dear Old Henry" as mentioned in a previous post.

[A'Moo]

[jammish]

The schools I have worked for have always been good about granting Christmas Day off without expecting any make-up day. What peeves me more is the crappy organisation in other areas in other schools (but not my present one): meetings being called with 10 minutes to go (or rather the FT is only notified with 10 minutes to go), never knowing when the holidays are starting, etc. The truth is that the Chiense teachers know this info well in advance, it is just the FTs who are treated like this.

[englishgibson]

Well, I think that those problems we are hinting at might differ from school to school and then the Public Schools and Private Centers need to be looked at differently.
Jammish, you work at a Public School, don't you? Christmas Day's given off to many FTs, although be aware that some might be required to "monkey around the trees" with their Santa costumes on that very day Then, I relate to your "10 minutes notice for meetings". It often happens it Public Sector, but Private Schools aren't exempt from that one either