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davesesl99 · Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 20

Protect your career in Beijing

If your considering working in Beijing be aware of the damage it can have on your career. A recent new story in a foreign newspaper explains how authorities plan to fine people for sending mobile text messages that are rumors or threaten the security of the nation. As part of this, you must acknowledge that people are secretly monitoring all your mobile messages, and what is not said is that this information is shared with a network of people throughout the city. The result, you have students and coworkers equipped with your private communications with people. As I have seen it, these people go on to smear you and harass you with this information.

Students will sabotage lessons by repeating a teacher`s private messages out loud to distract the teacher or will ask questions based on messages they have secretly spied to try to make the teacher contradict themselves and lose face in the class.

This case was in Shanghai, and serves to comment on the nature of the student market, which is similar to Beijing it seems. A well qualified foreign teacher with two masters degrees in education was nearly fired from his job because some students didn�t like his look.

The requirements of a successful lesson has nothing to do with TESL concepts. The objective of making students happy results in things like slanderous comments of other teachers, all in the name of entertainment. Some successful teachers are least qualified and lack greatly in content but are popular for how they look. One teacher in Corporate Training at a large foreign company in Beijing was writing and saying that a fellow foreign trainer was �stupid�, as part of the entertainment theme of the class.

The collusions go beyond monitoring text messages and include planned situations to smear people so onlookers can say they heard it and then selectively spread the word to sabotage the teacher`s success. A senior person at large well known chain school at Guomao in Beijing took the liberty to publicly and wrongfully criticize a senior foreign staff member, saying that they were unprofessional. With an elevated voice and speaking out of the doorway so all passersby and those nearby can hear, he made a slanderous comment about the foreign staff member. Later on, in a different job the same teacher received feedback from a potential student that they were unprofessional! This feedback is in contrast to students saying this teacher is the best trainer they have ever had.

The schools and businesses are taking no action to protect their teachers from these attacks against them from rumor-monger and jealous students. The teaching has nothing to do with ESL fundamentals and is focused on entertainment.

The legal names for such things are liable, slander and collusions to harm. Any comments about your career inso far as your performance may come from a business with no code of ethics and absent of any business and social values. It is clear that such performance feedback is not valid and worth nothing for the environment it takes place in, but it is still your career after China.

vikuk · Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 1842

OP is non-native English speaker - beware this post - flame inciting - best to ignore!!!!

lostinasia · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 466

Yawwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

johnchina · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 816

Scaremongering! If anyone truly thinks my messages (usually "free friday?", "c u at 8" or "chaoyang park or sanlitun?") are worth monitoring, then I have no hesitation in saying that they are freaking nuts.

Ahchoo · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 606 Location: Earth

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

Am I alone in suspecting that the OP had enjoyed a rather good lunch before writing that?

lostinasia · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 466

Only to be fair - the story is true. It was in China Daily a few days ago and in the U.S. papers and BBC 2 days ago, I believe. Can't find the links now, but you can find the info easily I am sure.

They will be monitoring to ensure people do not spread lies, rumors, and the like. However, the ridiculous scenarios in the original post are complete garbage.

Shan-Shan · Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 1074 Location: electric pastures

AussieGuyInChina · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 403

Problems with a gym, problems with a hospital, problems with a computer store and now problems with (apparently) EF and Clark Morgan Training. Perhaps the OP will fair better in Taiwan.

Anda · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2199 Location: Jiangsu Province

Ah, I knew that I had a reason for choosing a small country city and not having a hand phone. I had one student slam the classroom door today when he walked out in a huff after being told that he was a waste of his parent�s money. I don't worry too much on being popular if my students don't try their hardest in class.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

On more important topics ... hey Sham Shan, looks like you've lost soem weight, good for you

Oh the topic

Every country with enough money monitors your messages to some extent or another. Companies are required to keep comminications for a certain period of time

Anda

ispeakgoodenglish · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:03 pm Post subject:

kungfucowboy83 · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 479

how does the government monitoring your text messages translate into students getting ahold of them?

davesesl99 · Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 20

Who is OP? and where are the names of Clark Morgan and EF Engllish used at this site? A search of posts doesn`t show the names of these companies. This isnt to say that they are not involved, but why does Auzzie guy use these names?

Fair to say that most negative posts to this string indicate that the authors dont have much of a career to protect. Happy ESL in China to you! A 'your welcome' to the over 200 people who have read this post and not answered to keep from being unfairly harrassed.

johnchina · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 816

Disgruntled Chinese Secret Service guys and gals selling them on eBay?