Job Discussion Forums

chryanvii · Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 125

My school requires that I make up classes at the end as a result of the holidays. I have to check with the students to see what time they have available, and schedule the class according to this.

I am reconsidering teaching university, however, I want to know...do most schools require making up classes at the end, or is this just some strange fluke with this school?

Additionally, do you have to keep track of the weeks and holidays yourself, or do your schools give you some kind of schedule [including holidays] at the beginning? I have to always ask my students about the schedule, as I have no idea. "Do we have class this Monday?"

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

universities will have official holidays marked on the schedule
they 'should' give you at the beginning of the semester.
sometimes these holidays must be made up, as directed by
the provincial education department. you will (maybe) be
told about the make-up 3-5 days before the holiday. the
make-up day is usually on the weekend just before/after the
holiday.

in case of the official make-up day, your monday classes for
example, could be held on a saturday. no scheduling conflict
for your students.

if there is no official make-up day, then make-up is often not
required. at our school, it's up to the discretion of the teachR
if and when to schedule make-up.

we do the make-up on our own here, as the majority of
holidays fall on monday. thus at the end of the semester,
most classes would have met 16 times, whereas the monday
class would have met only 12 times.

you need to keep track. the school won't do it for you. c'mon
this here be china! planning? scheduling? bwahahahaha!

teachaus · Joined: 04 Apr 2009 Posts: 54

My timetable which I got at the start of the Semester included the "Official Holidays" which for us meant the holidays that are actual holidays rather than holidays which are made up by working either the weekend before or the weekend after. The "offical" holidays are made up at the end of the Semester and shown on the timetable at the start (it showed the weeks that each class met in). So my Monday classes finish in Week 18, while my equivalent classes on other days finish in Week 16.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

It's going to be different at different schools. For foreign teachers at my school, there are two types of holidays: 1) longer holidays like National Day when you have to make up, say, a Tuesday class on a Saturday or Sunday and, 2) one-day holidays like the Double-Fifth (Duanwujie) that, this year, fell on a Monday. Tough luck Monday class, you lose, no make up.

Guerciotti · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:13 am Post subject:

My university notifies us of the make up schedule about a week before each holiday. I think this semester we had one or two actual days off as opposed to days off with make up classes on the weekend before or after the days off.
So as far as I know it's not unusual to have make up classes for days off.
That doesn't mean I like it. This system just shifts the day off from a weekend to another day.
That's my two cents.
Cool

chryanvii · Joined: 19 Jul 2009 Posts: 125

This being my first semester of teaching university, I had no idea that I would have to make up classes at the end. Not only that, but some of my classes [the movie classes] run longer than the others. What a pain.

So some of my classes are just going to get 2 classes as movies, as I already factored in their time off during the semester.

In China they say "never ask why." But this policy is ridiculous. Why not just give them the holiday? No strings attached? After all...a holiday is...well, a holiday.

chinanoodles · Joined: 13 May 2011 Posts: 74

Johnny_Utah · Joined: 24 Jun 2010 Posts: 35

Don't worry about it. If you have a class of 40 students, maybe 5 will show up. Show a movie, or do free talk/make them teach you Chinese. Sure you could be sitting in your apartment watching that movie in your undies, but in this case you have some people to watch it with you, bring some treats or such to this class that they can eat during the movie, they will appreciate you for appreciating them for showing up.

In short, this is china, get used to it, or go crazy trying to fight it. And NO it is not OKAY to be a serious teacher. Any newbies out there reading this, if you can play an instrument, your classes will love you. If you just lecture, they will hate you.

After I came to china, i read damn near everything on this forum, and ended up teaching my self to play a few songs on the harmonica as a result of what i had learned. I get on the mofo, whale away for a few minutes playing this land is your land, this land is my land, and the students are awe struck.

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

oh, i don't know johhny,

whether official or unofficial make-up classes, the majority (35 of 40)
of my students attend. the ones that don't are in the field working
with their advisors. even though i tell them i don't require their
attendance at any class (i grade participation, not attendance), they
still be there. i don't blow them off with a movie. they get a real class.

maybe it's your harmonica playin'?