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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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 Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 11:24 am Post subject: |
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| I have, like others here, problems with classroom management. It is very hard to manage a class in China when you don't have a language in common or have formal authority. It doesn't make things easier when there's no definite plan for picking up weak students. So you end up with a bunch of kids whose English level ranges from 0 to 10. Individualized education, eh? |
looks like you have problems egg - with that list it looks like your job isn't exactly a professional set-up. However it seems you're not letting the classroom chaos ruin an exciting overseas holiday, you must be still enjoying yourself - but please remember others finished their holidays quite a while ago. If China ever becomes your home you may start to understand where some of the posts on these forums come from  |
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theincredibleegg
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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| vikuk wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I have, like others here, problems with classroom management. It is very hard to manage a class in China when you don't have a language in common or have formal authority. It doesn't make things easier when there's no definite plan for picking up weak students. So you end up with a bunch of kids whose English level ranges from 0 to 10. Individualized education, eh? |
looks like you have problems egg - with that list it looks like your job isn't exactly a professional set-up. However it seems you're not letting the classroom chaos ruin an exciting overseas holiday, you must be still enjoying yourself - but please remember others finished their holidays quite a while ago. If China ever becomes your home you may start to understand where some of the posts on these forums come from |
The legend of Vikuk.
The all-seeing foreign teacher.
Ready to hit any reply button on the internet.
P.S My classroom is not chaos, eventhough you want it to be. D.S |
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theincredibleegg
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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| englishgibson wrote: |
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Quote of the OP:
"Stupid" students (Way to go, teacher!)
- Low salaries
- Crap employers
- Other teachers (Your English sucks! You're unqualified! I'm better than you!)
Why are you teachers? Why do you work in a field that you don't even like?
my reply:
forgive me, but i don't feel you teach in china. and, the way you've put it is just like you feel bitter about something yourself.
there're many hard working teachers working for those "cr*p employers". why are they working for such employers is that either they haven't known prior to arrival on the job or have their own attachments/responsibilities in the city and few choices to search/travel around.
regarding "stupid students" as you've put it, there're many poor quality of students that teachers have to put up with just because parents want their kids to learn a language kids do not really like. some fts have to prepare young chinese for abroad studies and some of those young chinese are/can be really frustrating in the classrooms. yes, we are teachers and have got to exercise all the patience we have in order to somehow prepare such students to travel abroad.
cheers and beers to our OP who also sounds as bitter as we do
theincredibleegg wrote:
I check this forum once in a while and everytime i read it, there's always negative people here. You got screwed over by your employer? Fine, write about it. People need to know what to watch out for. But it shouldn't go through every post and be the overall spirit of your life (and this fourm).
Maybe i've been lucky and haven't seen reality yet. I don't know. I've been here for 1 year. I've never been cheated on my salary, visa or accomodation. My salary is above FT-average, my visa is legal and my accomodation is a spacy two room apartment. I don't live as well as i did as a teacher back home, but yet, it's pretty ok.
Again, regarding troublesome students. Have you tried working with difficult students in the west? This is pretty easy. The "only" difficulties in classroom management here are (1) language barrier and (2) lack of formal authority (we don't work with grades etc).
I'm not telling anyone to accept being treated like shit. Without labour unions, you have to stick up for yourself. But again, is it really THAT bad? |
yes, it sounds like you've been lucky.
i've got to prepare a few chinese high school grads for abroad unis every year. there's an outrageously high precentage of those that couldn't get to their chinese unis and so they've chosen my center and its courses. we also assist in choosing/suggesting western unis for them as well as in the process of their student visas applications. chinese parents love the idea and the fact that there's a help for their kids after all. so much for the "only difficulty" in our classrooms when students begin relying on their parents money and the chinese administrations' determination to get them abroad...with all due respect, yes, you've been in china for too short time and've yet to experience the culture 
on topic of salaries, china's economy has grown since 2000 so much although fts salaries are the same as it looks. private centers in mid sized towns offer just about the same 5000-5,500 monthly as in 2000. however, some chinese employees' incomes've risen and then there's this inflation that i see on daily basis when i go shopping. clearly, employers are unwilling to raise fts income and there is/will be no direction from the central government to do so ever on this one. who cares when we're preparing the new chinese generation to take over our posts anyway.
on topic of fts in china, i've seen all kinds, although my observation is that the better group of fts is gone. they've left with the changing trend in this lovely country. some employers've even begun fingerprinting their fts so are we surprised or displeased to see the amateurs in teacher offices 
cheers and beers to our experiences as well as opinions on |
Uhm, first off. I don't take offense in being attributed as a "freshie", "newbie" or whatever. It takes more than that to offend me =)
It surprises me that you write that the better groups of FTs is gone. Wouldn't development in China attract more professionals?
Anyway, it might be as you said. I haven't worked with many employers in China except for occasional tutoring sessions during my first month here. I guess i should consider myself lucky with the start i got. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:24 pm Post subject: |
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The legend of Vikuk.
The all-seeing foreign teacher.
Ready to hit any reply button on the internet |
Why so personal - the topic is bitter teachers - not bitter posters!!!
Have you tried to discuss your classroom problems with your employer? Has your Employer taken your arguments seriously? Do you feel you are an integral part of your school's staff - you know included in staff-meeting, asked for your opinion, able to make a serious input with regard to teaching plan and method? Are you provided with adequate resources to do your job properly????
These are those little niggling points that some of us other posters sometimes get bitter over - and are far worthier of a post or two - than some meaningless rant against a fellow poster you've never even met |
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loboman
Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage...
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| vikuk wrote: |
| Are you provided with adequate resources to do your job properly???? |
Main reason for bittiness. |
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theincredibleegg
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| vikuk wrote: |
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The legend of Vikuk.
The all-seeing foreign teacher.
Ready to hit any reply button on the internet |
Why so personal - the topic is bitter teachers - not bitter posters!!!
Have you tried to discuss your classroom problems with your employer? Has your Employer taken your arguments seriously? Do you feel you are an integral part of your school's staff - you know included in staff-meeting, asked for your opinion, able to make a serious input with regard to teaching plan and method? Are you provided with adequate resources to do your job properly????
These are those little niggling points that some of us other posters sometimes get bitter over - and are far worthier of a post or two - than some meaningless rant against a fellow poster you've never even met |
Yes & No.
I feel that none of the teachers - foreign or Chinese are given much influence.
They do however request my opinion on problems related to my work, such as classroom management. I actually managed to have the principal take in conversational English as a decisive factor in interviews.
I'm also assigned to extra-curricular tasks such arranging halloween festivities, train students for English contests etc.
I make all choices in terms of content and method. I would however want my classes to be better integrated with the Chinese English classes. My colleagues could be better at team-work. It's like people teach in their own little sphere.
I've had - and still have - problems with the school's logistics. I've requested those goddamn audio CDs for a month but they still can't manage to get them.
I have requested to receive more information about various things such as cancelled classes. It's better this semester. I guess it's hard to make information channels work when there is a foreigner with crappy Chinese involved.. I'm the first foreign teacher at this school so there is stuff that needs to be improved. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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Thankyou for your answer Egg - it will be interesting to follow your progress through the year, and discover if the level of job satisfaction gained from this employment will push you into sighning a second contract.
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I make all choices in terms of content and method. I would however want my classes to be better integrated with the Chinese English classes. My colleagues could be better at team-work. It's like people teach in their own little sphere.
I've had - and still have - problems with the school's logistics. I've requested those goddamn audio CDs for a month but they still can't manage to get them. |
Many of us have had this kind of problem - lack of teaching material and maybe no real curricula in place - a just turn-up and do-it type teaching scenario. Year after year of this type of unsurportive treatment may start to tire some teachers - and dare I say it - they could turn to places like Dave's in venting postal frustration, which could sound a little bitter.
By the way - do you get paid for those extra-curricula activities if they involve work outside your normal work hours. Some employers seem to assume that FT's will readily accept taking on these kind of chores on the side as a freebie - and when the FT refuses, and then is berated by the boss, so another little factor that starts to get the bitterness ball a rollin'. |
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mandu
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 794
Location: china
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| Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:08 am Post subject: |
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i suppose iam one of the lucky ones then.I have been in my job for almost 4 years.I get paid on time and my visa done.although my job does have some down sides to it.In general its a really good job.
my pay has gone up every year and Iam also the head teacher.Iam not bitter about my place of work.
I turn up to work on time i prepare well for classes and i work hard.
maybe people just have to change there mind set about the job. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: |
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| maybe people just have to change there mind set about the job |
Well lets hope employers are also a part of that equation |
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therock
Joined: 31 Jul 2005
Posts: 1266
Location: China
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| Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:50 am Post subject: Re: Um |
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| Anda wrote: |
| . So the job is turning out okay but it�s a lot of work as the way I teach requires four pages or more of handouts per lesson. So prepping is time consuming but I�m lucky as one of the Chinese teachers is doing some translating for me which is a big help. |
I hope you are getting paid a decent salary for all that preparation you are putting in.  |
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shuize
Joined: 04 Sep 2004
Posts: 1270
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:29 am Post subject: |
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As I've posted before, I've done several different jobs in my life but TEFL is the easiest by far.
I suspect that those who bitch the loudest have fewer life experiences to know better and fewer options to anything different. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:39 am Post subject: |
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| I've done several different jobs in my life but TEFL is the easiest by far. |
I think a lot of the bitching comes from folk who are looking for the professionaly challenging and rewarding - after all, for many of us, easy, and nothing else but easy, can get so darn boring, And there's also that small point about how many FT's choose to make their jobs so easy - by just following instruction regardless of how dumb they may be, not complaining, taking all what comes and not rocking the boat. And those employers who make your job easy - well as long as you follow their orders (which invariably just concern the hours you work - and who you teach) they'll leave you to get on with your job, since many of them just don't care
And when folk reply to this post with - why come to China for professional teaching values, stay at home for those - well let that serve as a warning to those considering China, and as an indicator to the type of employment you'll find over here. |
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loboman
Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage...
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:38 am Post subject: |
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| I think a lot of the bitching comes from folk who are looking for the professionaly challenging and rewarding - after all, for many of us, easy, and nothing else but easy, can get so darn boring, And there's also that small point about how many FT's choose to make their jobs so easy - by just following instruction regardless of how dumb they may be, not complaining, taking all what comes and not rocking the boat. And those employers who make your job easy - well as long as you follow their orders (which invariably just concern the hours you work - and who you teach) they'll leave you to get on with your job, since many of them just don't care Idea |
Yes these items can cause many fts to look at the glass as half empty and that can cause serious with those that think they can do it better.
Following orders can be hard when you just don't want to jump off the bridge because everyone else is doing it...
As far as boring yep, that happens also. |
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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 3:50 am Post subject: |
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Vikuk
| Quote: |
| I think a lot of the bitching comes from folk who are looking for the professionaly challenging and rewarding |
Definitely. I am interested in a rewarding job. Playing on the xbox is great as a relief on a vacation, but not a satisfactory challenge for day to day life.
I am making my highest salary ever this semester. And I am ready to quit now. Why? It does not allow for any teaching. My skills are not being used. |
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vikuk
Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 1842
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:15 am Post subject: |
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I guess some FT's would even take a paycut to get out of the trap of easy, just dont rock the boat and do as I say easy and yawwwwwwwwn more boring easy.
Of course its always nice to start a job with easy, but long term continuous, always the same easy, the kind of easy that means you just turn up, day in day out, and do your thing while not being allowed to give any deeper input into your job, is maybe the ambition of the tired - but how long does someone stay tired - what happens if you wake up????
I suppose some will tell the "wideawakes" to just give in and go home - which also tells you something about the mainstream EFL business in China!!!!!
PS - I'd like to stress there are good jobs out there - in all types of teaching. And indeed some of them aren't the great payers. What most people bitch about here - are those many jobs which don't seem to lead to much job satisfaction, since it often seems that you have to work through more than a handfull of them before you ever find anything good!!!! |
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