Job Discussion Forums

[Cubism]

Hi, glad I can talk about this. Similar situations? Advice?

A few weeks ago I started getting 1-ring calls and texts. Figured it was a student, so ignored them/turned off the phone. Once I wrote back, said quit bothering me, and the reply was aggressive. I showed them to an older student, who said, ignore them, it's a crazy man, spam them. I did, but I wonder are these kids so strange now that they'd hurt one of their FT's? With all the news lately about student suicides and violence, even killings...Just a thought.

Seems to me that when a society/uni allows its students to have great control over their keepers (us), maintaining an illusion: the return of childhood irresponsibility, said students might flex their muscles from time to time. I mean to say, that the students had everything or so they say, as kids. Seems to me that universities work on that feeling.

And again, my little problem: I can't tell the FAO's because they're too busy running around visiting their buddies, etc. Can't tell a Dean; the standard reply is "There's a perfectly good reason why the student does this. They're ALWAYS right. Students are what count, not teachers. It's YOUR problem."

I think I know who it is; I annoyed a student who said some very lewd things to me when my reliable student couldn't help me move some furniture and another one (psycho) offered. I thought all students were pretty sane. However, he's not, and so I got rid of him. He belongs in a psycho movie.

I'm becoming very interested in observing China, how this will all turn out. Hope it continues to be a place to make a living during the financial storm, and that the students don't turn nutty.

Thanks.

Cubism

[nickpellatt]

I wouldnt worry, although I can see it would be very annoying. I would suggest this is a childish antic and is unlikely to escalate further. If you were a 13 yr old and your high school teachers told you off you might be tempted to let his car tyres down, and keep knocking on his door and running off. This is probably the Chinese version.

Course, Im just guessing ... but you could buy a new sim card and then in the future, refuse to give out your number to any student.

Hope it stops soon though!

[brsmith15]

As with any spoiled brat, ignore it all. Don't give your energy to it. When the pea-brain tires of the game, he'll find another target.

If, however, actual physical threats begin, I'd contact the PSB.

[China.Pete]

Your post, OP, highlights a couple of problems. One is school administrators trying to curry favor with their spoiled students, perhaps in an effort to avoid complaints, which only ends up compounding the problem. The other is maintaining a respectful distance between students and teachers. We've all had students who had some psychological issues. So, why give your mobile phone number to students? Now that they've got it, all you can do is ignore/not answer the crank calls.

[evaforsure]

or forward the text to the dean...this way you have a solid history of reporting the infraction...

[Fred Smith]

I stopped giving my number out to students and only supplied it to the class monitors.

However, I found that the monitors will share the number as will the school office.

For my next job I plan to not reveal my phone number to anyone at my school and if they have it when I take the job then I will spend the money once I move in and buy a new sim.

Students seem to contact me often and many times for no good reason - to ask for leave usually. And that's not my call to give them leave or excuse them from class.

The worst is hours after an exam. The tests messages and calls about their score. And most of the time I haven't even looked at their exams and may not for several days.

To the op, I have also received threatening texts in the past and pretty much ignored them.

When you get the text there SHOULD be the phone number attached to it (look in message detail on Nokia phones) and with a number you can go to a China Mobile office and ask to find out the name of the account holder - assuming they have registered the number.

Once you do that and you have found out the sender have a calm and quiet talk with them in a public place and make sure to smile and tall the person that you really think they are great, clever, handsome, etc. And at the end make sure to tell them that it's not necessary to send those type of messages anymore.

[Cubism]

Excellent advice,and thanks!

I really liked the advice to ignore it, don't put energy into it.

The kid who helped me move furniture is best buddies with a volunteer in the FAO. This volunteer, back in Oct., went around slandering an FT with Islamic beliefs, all this sick-o sexual stuff. Went door to door. Then one day he went nuts. Screamed at me, shook his fists, threw me out of the office, "You think this is your office? It's not! It's MINE!" This was my introduction to the Spoiled Brat Generation I'd be teaching.

And there is another issue: the swinging parties kids expect FT's to have. A good female student was all bubbling over one day. She'd been invited to one of the vol's parties. To hear her tell it, it was just short of a hooking-up party, and the vol was chasing her. I stopped her soon into her recital because I never get involved in st love junk. But maybe encouraging this girl student to study hard, ignore distractions stuff more, made him hate me, too. Maybe she made it up, too...

I'm leaving in a few weeks, and will definitely get a new number. Nobody gets the new one, though I think the FAO will sort of demand it...Maybe I'll have two phones. A public one for the FAO and a real one, for me, no students or admin.

I have a horrible temper, which I keep under control. For a minute I thought of texting the offender: I consider turning this over to the PBS...

Thanks again.

Cube

[evaforsure]

[Hansen]

Noobie blunder #5--Give my phone number to students. LOLOLOL
Noobie blunder #6--Give my main email address to students. LOLOLOL

[Cubism]

I figured out the email thing, and give them a special one I never use. But having a cell phone was pretty new to me, so I've been sloppy. I just remembered that the furniture moving psycho put his number into my phone. Wonder what else he did to my phone...

Maybe I'd better get that new sim now. Wonder how I could remove any programming he'd done? And in the future, I'll get a new phone, a 2 card one.

Thanks,

Cubism

[Teatime of Soul]

Get his parents number and then forward his texts.

[theincredibleegg]

I still don't get why you guys give out phone numbers at all.

[brsmith15]

I guess we've all learned not to supply any phone #s, but I do give them my email address for questions and such. I even encourage them to email me if they want test scores or final grades.

Years ago I did get sort of an x-rated email from a female student who'd already completed my course, so she wasn't bucking for a higher mark. Imagine. At my age! Adds to the spice of life.

[mondrian]

[LongShiKong]

Were the 'aggressive' messages in English? If so, perhaps, the student was just trying out the language he'd learned from movies or, from other FTs. I've heard grade 3s use some pretty crude language.