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[MESL]

BIG CHANGES AT PEI ZHENG COLLEGE


Pei Zheng College will soon become a university. This means they will be governed by the Ministry of Higher Education, not the founders or a board of regents. The school will also change its name because of a lawsuit filed by the owners of the name Pei Zheng. Pei Zheng is a chain of middle schools owned by people in Hong Kong.

New university president. She came from Beijing and was appointed by the government, not hired by the owners or proprietors.

FAO clerk 1. Head clerk and recruiter. 10 year veteran of the Foreign Affairs Office. Left. Pursuing a Masters in Teaching Chinese to Foreigners.

FAO clerk 2. Replaced FAO clerk 1. Moved over after 5 years with the English Education Center. Also gone. Also pursuing a Masters in Teaching Chinese to Foreigners.

FAO clerk 3. Handled visas. Gone. Reasons I never delved into.

FAO clerk 4. Recently replaced FAO clerk 3. Haven�t had much dealings with him.

FAO clerk 5. Recently replaced FAO clerk 2. Haven�t had much dealings with her.

FAO clerk 6. In charge of the dorms. Super. Knowledgeable and reliable. Usually handles dorm requests in day or two. Sometimes the same day. When I first moved in, I called her about half a dozen problems with the AC, TV, the mosquito net, and I can�t remember what. She was there in 10 minutes and knocked out every problem in 30 minutes.

Except for the new arrivals, I can tell you that all these clerks were friendly, efficient, and fluent. Despite the amount of new blood, the office doesn�t seem to be in turmoil, although they don�t get things done as fast as the old regime.

English Education Center secretary 1. Gone. She was one of those people who�s in a position to make a lot of people�s employment experience either very difficult or very easy. She had a parade of 80 foreign teachers coming into her office requesting information and paperwork. She consistently responded courteously and accurately. And she did it day in and day out for 5 years. Really going to miss this one.

English Education Center secretary 2. Recently replaced EEC secretary 1. Immediately moved her desk into the EEC vice director�s office. Haven�t had extensive dealings with her.

FAO Director. Been here only a few years. Fluent, intelligent, perceptive.

English Education Center Director. Hardly ever has any dealings with the foreign teachers.

English Education Center Vice Director. There were rumors he fired EEC secretary 1 to hire his girlfriend. This suspicion was reinforced when she moved her desk into his office. But as the semester progressed, I saw a bigger picture. He�s been taking a much more active role in the affairs of the department. Observing lessons. Altering the curriculum. Issuing reprimands. Firing teachers he considers incompetent. Making Program B classes optional. Increasing the class size in Program A to 30. Next will probably be more paperwork sent to him about classroom activities, a dress code, etc. He�s already brought up the possibility of a dressed code in response to several complaints from Chinese teachers. (Indeed, some foreign teachers go into the classroom dressed like they�re at the beach. And some wears ties. What a contrast.) When the secretary�s desk was in the Program A office, she dealt directly with the foreign supervisors and the foreign teachers. Now she deals directly with him. So replacing the secretary and moving the secretary�s desk into his office was part of his overall efforts to gain more control over the classroom and more control over the employees.

Program A foreign supervisor. Been here a couple of years. Replaced a 5 year veteran. Well liked and universally respected. Model supervisor. Leaving at the end of this semester to spend some time in the States.

Program B supervisor. Was a teacher until this semester. Almost all the foreign supervisors start as teachers. This one�s been a controversy magnet. All other foreign supervisors, current and as far back as institutional memory provides, zero controversy. Nuff said.

Magick Caf� manager. 5 year veteran of the school. Was Program B supervisor for a year. Not offered another contract. Was told the decision was directly connected to his involvement with the Magick Caf�.

A note about Program A and Program B. Program A is for freshman. They study nothing but English as freshmen. Program B is for sophomores and juniors. Program A students meet with native teachers twice as often as Program B students. Extensive English training and extensive time with native speakers is a big draw for the parents. It�s one of the reasons they are willing to pay 3 times public tuition. They will make their children take English classes even if the classes are optional. Furthermore, the school isn�t subtracting hours from the students� schedule just because Program B is optional. That time will be replaced by a class with a Chinese teacher, probably Chinese language or Chinese history. Classes with foreigners involve much less homework and a much more interesting environment. Plus, foreigners are not as harsh with grades. So I don�t expect more than a fraction of the students to drop their sophomore and junior classes with native speakers.

The Foreign Language Department, by all accounts, is a foreign teachers dream. They hardly see the dean and pretty much run the show themselves. One source in FLD says you teaching credentials to work in FLD, one says you don�t. Not sure which version is accurate. However, I can�t help but notice that of 80 foreign teachers at this school, the 5 in FLD seem to be among the most serious about teaching as a profession.



All pros and cons listed at this link still apply.


http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=944040

[catinthehatter]

Not really sure of the point of your post. So, it'll become a university in name... okay...?

[Cairnsman]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=89087