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Sean1009
Joined: 17 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 7:27 pm Post subject: Working in Songyuan |
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Hello Forum,
This is my first post on eslcafe. I was wondering if anyone has worked for or heard anything about the Songyuan Earth Village Foreign Language School. They have offered me 6000RMB per month, with free accommodation and utilities. I know it may not be much money, but I was thinking that it might not cost much to live in Songyuan, being so far away from the larger cities. Should I ask for more money or is this enough to live comfortably in Songyuan? I have searched the forum for info on this and I have not found anything about the area in terms of cost of living, or quality of life for teachers. Thank you in advance for any advice you may have on the subject.
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Sean1009
Joined: 17 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:04 pm Post subject: some research |
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Anyone interested in Songyuan Earth Village Language school should check out this site.
http://teachertony-tony.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-time-in-songyuan.html
From what I've read on here, this is normal behavior for headmasters in China. I think I will forward this article to Simon and see what he thinks. lol. |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:34 am Post subject: |
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Wow, what an interesting and, sadly, common story! The last paragraph:
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Most of local people are very honest and friendly excluding the 3 or 4 who mugged me one night as I walked home. They are traditional people very few speak English, most know none at all. This makes shopping and eating in a restaurant very difficult. A lot of local people have a disgusting habit of spitting, urinating and emptying their noses anywhere, including in restaurants. The weather is very cold in the winter sometimes lower than minus 15, and very hot in the summer. The heating in your apartment is not controlled by you, it is controlled by the calendar. It is turned on and off at a set date regardless of the temperature outside, so sometimes you are in your apartment, it�s so cold you have to wear your outdoor clothes. |
. . . is so much the same as many we've read here at Dave's and elsewhere. It just doesn't change anywhere. The not-speaking-English bit I understand. There is absolutely NO reason that Chinese people MUST speak English in order for their foreign visitors to feel more comfortable. However, what the hell are we doing here in these far flung cities when the learning of English goes in one 10 year old ear and out their 18 year old ear.
However, here's a newbie to China making the EXACT same observations about disgusting behaviors such as the spitting, urinating, etc., the heating situation, the crummy classrooms, the lying administrators, the failed contract negotiations and agreements and on and on . . . and on. And there are STILL defenders of everything China that would read this blog and turn it around on the blogger.
Certainly we should expect roadblocks and obstacles when coming to any foreign country but isn't it the host school's obligation to make these hurdles a lot smaller? Why-oh-why do we STILL read accounts such as these where the school leaders don't want to honor a contract, where EVERYTHING discussed needs to be in writing and that STILL isn't enough? Why hire foreign teachers in the first place if you don't want to have a genuine "spirit of cooperation"? Does the Beijing government mandate that even the poorest, most run-down schools have to hire foreign teachers and these small school leaders follow the mandates begrudgingly? Is that why they try to cut corners and keep monies and lie through their nicotine-stained teeth? Do they really dislike the foreigners so much but are doing the bare necessities their great and powerful leaders tell them to? Do these leaders feel outclassed? Overshadowed? Less important when an FT shows up and all eyes are on him or her?
*sigh!* What a world we live in. |
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Sean1009
Joined: 17 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:33 am Post subject: nightmare stories :O |
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Yes, the nightmare stories from China are almost discouraging me from teaching there, but I haven't given up yet. Are there any honest headmasters in China? I don't know, but I will soon find out for myself.
It seems this information is hard to come by, and I am beginning to understand why. To me, it sounds like the foreign teachers in China have adopted the "every man for himself" attitude. If everyone shared their stories, bad and good, it could begin to shift the general atmosphere in China's EFL programs towards honesty and integrity. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:41 am Post subject: |
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I would also like to mirror Kev's comments - regardless of the validity of the story, it does seem like the account of a very typical China teaching experience - beware!!!!!
The problem with the info on Chinese schools is -
- most FT's never report on their schools
- their are such a vast number of schools - with so many new springing up or old schools changing name - that being able to monitor whats going on, and being able to obtain specific up to date info - is well on impossible
- schools change management as quickly as they change their FT's. New management may destroy a good working place almost instantly. And since management change is nearly always something to do with the never ending quest to improve profit - rarely does a change in that direction better the lot of the poor old FT.
Always the best is to get in touch with current and past teachers at a school - if your prospective employers can't put you in touch with them, then move on to another offer  |
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2blueballs
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:51 am Post subject: |
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Well to avoid the "every man for himself" attitude... i thought i would share some of the good. To be clear from the start, i am not currently working at EVFLS but rather the Joy School that it is partnered with in the above link. But i do deal with both Simon and Kevin. I have been in China for 4 years and at the school for a year... and recently renegotiated a new contract for my second year. The school and management has been great to me since i arrived. Pay has always been on-time and in full, the school has provided everything i need in my apartment free of charge (and not deducted from my pay), utilities and rent are fully provided, hours never exceed what has been contracted for unless i agree to overtime, the school has a legit license and processed my Z-visa in a timely manner, and the list can go on when i compare my situation here to some of the horror stories you can read.
Just thought id pass that along to put some balance on here. |
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