Job Discussion Forums

[LarssonCrew]

Not sure how to put this, but today at school after some exhilarating lessons (�_�) me and a Chinese co-worker were sat in the office. After some banter, she throws a bottle at me, to which I throw back. Next, she picks up a pair of scissors, and comes towards me. I jokingly bare a defensive stance, and suddenly feel a searing pain in my left thigh, then my right.

So, I look down and she's clutching the scissors held shut. I cry out, and hobble to the toilet with the cleaner looking on and assuming I'm joking. By this time it's painful to walk, and I slip into the toilet, drop trou and example. One deep, deep hole on my left thigh, one average on my right. I re-trou, hobble back to the office close to tears, grab my bag and walk towards the elevator.

'I need to go to the hospital' I say, 'I can't teach.'

I meet a chinese friend, head there and have some tetanus shots and clean the wound, 390RMB down, I head for home.

I'm still in shock, my manager and other Chinese co workers have rung me to say 'She didn't mean it, maybe she messed around too hard.' but I find this hard to fathom. Never in my 22 years of living in the UK have I been attacked, or had anything done that ended with me being in hospital and with two blood stained, scarred up thighs.

What next, you ask? Apparently the owner of the school rings my friend and says because I left before I completed my final class of the day, I was to be stripped of all of last month's pay, yep, all of February should not be paid on the 10th because I missed one class.

Any thoughts? It's weird because if this had happened in an office in the UK there would be utter uproar!

I guess this is yet another reason NOT to work for KidCastle in Xi'an. :(

[Dedicated]

1. Go to the police (with the Chinese friend who went with you to the hospital) and lodge a complaint for personal assault.
2. If you have a Foreign Experts Certificate, waggle that at the police.
3. Say you will contact/have contacted the relevant (British?) Embassy
4. There are Chinese Labour Laws about payment of salary/sick leave.
5. Leave.

This woman sounds like a total psycho and should be nowhere near children.
I hope you are recovering. Take care.

[XiGua]

Wow. Sometimes the Chinese do play rough. You see it every day with the students mauling each other in their stupid tackle and throw you to the ground game. Have you talked to the girl that did it to you since then? See how remorseful she is. Maybe she was just too stupid to realize wtf she was doing.

If your school doesn't want to pay you a whole money because you missed one class because you were assaulted then is that somewhere you wanna be? That doesn't seem very safe. Especially if teachers are stabbing you. IF they do try to screw you out of a months pay I would leave the school and definitely press charges against the woman.

If you plan to stay there then I dunno if pressing charges against a Chinese teacher would be good for you. I'm sure the other teachers will take her side and say it was your fault and you'll have to put up with a lot of garbage until the end of your contract. Talk to the headmaster first and see what he really said. Think about the consequences of this before you decide to go to the police.

If the woman was really your friend she will be in tears as to what happened. If she's just some psycho Chinese chick then she'll have no idea something was wrong and then there's no reason to talk to her anymore.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

First of all, in my mind, in your own words....it seems so unfathomably unreal, it is hard to swallow as the truth.

I echo Dedicated's thoughts on this.

Keep any and all medical records, receipts, etc. Review your contract about injury, etc. Make sure you keep a good relationship with the Chinese friend who took you to the hospital.

As for your boss, he/she is breaking the law just to make (save) a bit of money. He/she cannot withhold money that you earned for work you have already done. It is illegal, especially under the circumstances of injury, and I would make sure that the media knew about it. I would make sure the boss knows that he/she will lose a lot of face if he/she decides to abuse your human rights all in the name of money.

Beijing would react unfavourably of any school doing this, because it will certainly cast China in a bad light if you send this story to the international media and complain to your embassy.

This sucks big time.... make sure that every website that caters to English teachers in China knows what your school is doing.

[donb2222]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
What type of bottle did she throw at you ?

[johntpartee]

[johntpartee]

I just realized, you posted about this place a while ago about some other bizarre circumstances. Why are you still there? I'm certainly not faulting you, but it's time to wake up and smell the coffee about this place.

[LanGuTou]

In my six years in China, I have heard many stories and witnessed many things. This incident, however, in my opinion reaches a new low.

You are saying that a Chinese teacher threw a bottle at you and then inflicted a serious physical injury on you with a pair of scissors and this school is trying to sweep it under the carpet as trivial banter and by-play?

The leaders of this school must be serious basket cases. I would demand that the school pay you all outstanding salary, and compensate you for expenses incurred for the medical treatment.

Then seek legal advice and/or consulate advice related to severing this contract. This behaviour is unacceptable even by Chinese standards.

[killian]

1) get the stabber locked up
2) contact the gov't
3) work on your defensive stance

it is just a fleshwound. keep teaching.

i've had knives pulled on me twice by students here but none ever tasted me flesh.

[johntpartee]

[Zero]

If she had snagged the large artery in the OP's leg, it would indeed have been "really serious."

[oldboy]

That is incredible. Good luck if you decide to fight. Post to let us know how it goes

[kukiv]

Use Dave's search function for Kid Castle Xian and you'll come up with the most bizarre set of reports - that start from way back. Anybody who ends up at this place - my sympathies. Anyone who carries on working here - after all the abuse that seems to go on - well I think you guys are not only a danger to yourselves - but also to any FT who thinks of following in your footsteps!!!!!!

Sometimes folk in these threads get knocked for being too critical over EFL jobs in China - but if you can still find employers in this game who try to penalize injured FT's (and we're not even going into the circumstances of injury) rather than showing at least a modicum of professional responsibility and care - then as far as I'm concerned its flashing red warning lights all the way

[jamesmollo]

I'm a bit lost for words! seriously!? were there any witnesses? If the accident occured in the workplace you should be compensated not have your salary witheld!
worse comes to worse blackmail the girl, or go to the police. Make sure you have photos of the injuries. I know of a FT who, after being attacked by a mob, broke some chinese guy's jaw and now is being forced to leave the country! go figure!
good luck

[gene]