Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

Now don't get me wrong. The weather was hot and sticky (yet a few days of surprisingly cool, rainy stuff). The students were equal parts bored, then rowdy, then playful, then fun, then rowdy again, etc. The school camp organizers were, you know, SOMEWHAT organized but there were glitches along the way as is usual with summer camps.

But why was it the best ever? My schedule. I got paid a goodly enough sum for 3 weeks of anywhere from 0 to 4 classes a day. I taught Math and English and had reasonable texts to follow but was able to deviate enough to play games and watch DVDs and what-not. One day all my classes were canceled as the kids would go out of town to a dinosaur park somewhere and I wasn't expected to go, unless I wanted to. One morning I had only one class because my other class went somewhere for some sort of competition. That afternoon was a trip to a water park that I didn't have to go to. This was typical 4 or 5 times throughout the 3 weeks. Oh sure, I had a bump or two along the way, but mostly it was smooth sailing. The closing ceremony was a blast and I didn't bond enough with my kids to feel melancholy on that final day (well, there was one kid who came up to me and asked me: "Will you forget me?" - - I don't think he knew the word "remember" so he did the best he could. That made my heart flip-flop for a moment. Of course I wouldn't forget him! His English name was the same as mine!). The TAs were nice and helpful and I felt REALLY bad because they were each paid a whopping 300 yuan for the entire 3 weeks and they were at the school 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. But that is something beyond my control.

So - - overall, a pretty good 3 weeks. Oh, I forgot to mention, NO WEEKEND and no EVENING hours!

[Anda]

Um, I got five weeks of 20 hours a week and things have gone well. I've also have a students that I preparing for an overseas Uni on top of my 20 hours a week currently. Plus I've also got a three day trip somewhere with everything paid for. Life is good at the moment.


I must go and get a massage by my regular pretty young lady now between my morning and afternoon block of lessons.

[eddy-cool]

I am doing summer camp for the second time at the same school.

FTs have got 4 periods of teaching to deliver, five days a week,
as follows:
Two periods to their own class in the morning, following a textbook;
two periods in the afternoon, to SOMEONE else's class, roating from one class to the next.

That may sound a little daunting but you quickly get used to it. You discover the hugely different levels the kids have (who are banded and classed according to their aptitudes, not ages). You consider your own class your darlings.

We put new classmates through rigorous interviews before assigning them to their classes. That's when we discovered individual teaching styles. SOme of my colleagues always put the same hackneyed questions to the students, others were more flexible.

Our TAs read and prepare the chapter from the textbook during the first period; we do the rest. The 16 kids of my class are between 11 and 15 years old, and apart from three =semi-comatose, playful or absent-minded boys, the whole rest of them are cheerfully cooperative and diligent, never failing to do their homework.

Lunch and dinner are organised as students-with-their-teachers gatherings so the banter can continue in English...

Yesterday students did performances - some reciting poems (in Chiense), others telling jokes (in English), while still others did a sketch or some acrobatics.

I seldom enjoyed my work more than during these past weeks. Pay? I get 50 kuai a period plus a little bit else (housing and visa assistance), but my main motive for joining them was - to be busy (holidays can be oh so boring...).

[Kootvela]

My last summer camp was not a language one but I had an hour or two every day just for their amusement. That wasn't too bad except that the pay could be better for classes of 32 kids!

Anyway, the best camp ever is a camp that is over.