Job Discussion Forums

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

for those who dont give their number to anyone at the school, how do you inform your classes of changes to the schedule, or let them know you're going to be late, or the room number's changed, or you need a monitors help in booking a multimedia room for a future class and that person just isn't around at that moment?

i also email the classes every week on various topics, but i need to text message or call the monitor to make sure at least some of their classmates read the email (in the case of smth more important).

I give my number to the monitors and only on one or two occasions has it been abused. the students here are generally respectful of not calling me (they hear enough of me in the class probably anyway). and those monitors have been invaluable to me over the past few years.

[eclectic]

If I got an aggressive message from a spoiled brat student anywhere in the world, I'd figure out who it was, corner him (or her) and demand to know what the deal was.

If there was even the slightest hint of disrespect or hostility, I would beat the living stool out of him AND his intestines, then hoist him over my shoulder and bring him straight to his parents' house, with a rose stuck between his teeth.

And guess what, guys, I ain't kiddin'. They can shove the job.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[Dan The Chainsawman]

I'm lucky my job doesn't require me to give out my number. I'd give them the number to a cruddy phone and then proceed to turn it off for the rest of the semester.

The only way my boss has to get ahold of me is to call the apartment I live in, or drop me a message on facebook.

She normally does that as I never answer the apartment phone.

[dajiang]

So, OP: lesson learned?

Just be a professional, meaning you don't have to be their friend.
You don't need to give out phone numbers or email addresses.
Make a new email address if you want to, just for the school. It's free after all.

[Cubism]

That's what was so creepy. Sometimes it would be sentence by sentence translation. "Do you know what this means? If not, use a dictinoary!" (I told kids a lot in class to use dictinaries. I wondered if it was a st of mine.)

Sometaimes it would be a page split: half Chinese, half English.

However, a wonderful thing happened: I lost the phone. Borrowed a st's phone, then I changed to a different part of China and bought a new phone.

Believe me, I won't give my # to any st's here and very few others. Also, I won't let sts in my flat and I'm just a lot more private, in general.

I don't particularly like the skeptical attitude that I developed during the ugly phone calls issue, but I'm trying to transmute it. (Do you know what I mean? Change that attitude to something good, something workable.)

I do like having become more aware of how things really are, though. I'm pretty much a bookworm w/ no social skills.

Thx again, Cubism

[Dagmar]

I keep a very strict line between them and me - and what is my space and what is their space. I make my friends amongst STAFF only... there are always Chinese staff- office, administrative and teaching, who like to improve their english and language and on the whole I find them to be extremely good friends, though at first one has to try hard at 'making' friends, but then that is the case back home too. My best moments in China have been due to my wonderful ADULT STAFF friends out there!!
Friends don't come easily, they have to be worked at. Maybe easier for me, as I am just a little older than most of you, but I too have had some weirdo experiences. One year, back a few years, a mature (late twenties) student tried some strange antics, eyeballing me when others were talking, etc etc...I merely cut him out of anything other than work though his english was actually very good and I would have enjoyed normal conversation and discussion including him.
Thank you very much, can do without that...
At the last college, resident on Campus, which was good fun and I really enjoyed, as we teachers supported each other through all things, we had student ''visitors''- so I put up a notice: Sprechstunde...6.30 to 7.30p.m. only ...after that no matter how hard they knocked, no answer. Teachers have a right to cook, shower, wash and rest too!
The key is to remember we are their superiors. Sorry, sounds bad but it is true, I always say: when you have done as many years at Uni as I have, then you might try to be my equal, though you would have to go some to catch up on my experience - until then......Phone numbers?- don't even dream it.
AFTER I LEAVE OR THEY LEAVE I give a very few favourite pupils my email but that is all. Mindst, I have my own opinion anyway about all this phoning. Strictly banned in my classrooms, along with chewing gum and swearing. IF they use mobiles, I confiscate and they stay on my desk until the end of the lessons. I learnt very quickly when three boys came up with the same wrong answer, the many uses of phones, texting each other questions, then one stupid student leads all the other stupid students to stupidity!!
Only the admin are given my FLAT phone number for if and when they wish to contact me, but not even they get my private number, when I have gone out, I do not need contacting, thank you very much. I am out to relax and enjoy myself..If I wish one of them along, I ask person to person only but I never do, only friends are given my private number.... Much as when I stand by the sea side watching a beautiful sunset, I do not need people coming up to me asking: may I practice my english on you. NO you may not - I say, ...you may chat to me about the city or yourself, but that is all! If I decide to sketch people in the centre or restaurant or what ever, then I know they will come and look, but they are not students!- I THOROUGHLY ENJOY THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION IN ALL ITS FORMS, watching them gambling, joining in the exercises etc and the teaching is my job, not my life there. At home I run a successful tuition business, so I am used to being professional and keeping that professional distance!