Job Discussion Forums

[gerard]

Let's get this straight. The gov't have declared holiday from May 1 for 5 days. So is it OK for my school to say NO there is no holiday?
Students have been banned from net-bars. Even ones on campus. Silly I say. I guess it is up to the discretion of the schools. I guess. If one student gets it on a train the place will be closed down. So I see their point--NO I DONT.

Has this been left up to the discretion of each school??? Not to make light of sars but I am a little more worried about this building collapsing than becoming infected.

I think its a bit silly that people are wearing useless gas masks and staying home with the windows open. (Wouldnt it be better to close the windows and chain-smoke?) Hopefully this hysteria will be over soon.

Not to take lightly the WHO warnings but I think it is fear-mongering.

[gerard]

Not long.

Yes less than 2 years.

[Seth]

The admin here basically quarantined the school. We need special permission to leave campus and we get our temperature taken twice a day. I'm in Zhejiang province, not a particularly hard hit place, but the paranoia is here nonetheless. They've told us that if we travel outside Hangzhou we will be will quarantined outside of the school for 5 to 7 days. When some of the foreign teachers questioned this policy, we got shouted at. When you're shouted at by the Chinese admin, they mean business. None of that polite mianzi stuff. They're genuinely afraid. They're trying their hardest to reign in the foreign teachers, a notoriously independent bunch of people.

They also decided to keep all of the students here until June 15. Nobody can go home until then. We've also lost our weekends, so in the primary school we work 5 days and get one off. In the middle school, they work 10 days and get one day off. That is one hellish schedule, for both teachers and students. Sure, we'll get paid more, but it's not worth it.

I'm thinking I'm going to fold my cards and flee the country in late June, I'm tired of this.

[arioch36]

Ah, Gerard...you weren't here last summer? I was entitled to stay the summer. Making bucks at a language school. Some kids who never went to school (12 years old?), but stayed up all night playing at the internet bar (I play computer ) Owner kicked them out, kid burns down the internet bar. 40??? people die. Every internet bar in the country is closed down for a month.

Not that the government ever overreacts or anything. Not that the government or citizens bother to look at the systematic problem. Now we see the same reaction. What is really the root problem? SARS? Or the total lack of proper common everyday isolation procedures at many hospitals.

The WHO, from our ever effecient UN, has now shut down the city of Toronto . Any one dare to compare the reality of SARS in Toronto to other cases of pneumonia that people in Toronto have? How many people have lost their jobs, or are now in severe hardship.
I think in NYCity, the rate of untreatable pneumonia is now 25 %. Lets shut the city down.

Hm, being an up-stater, maybe not a bad idea.

On more serious subjects, thanx for not telling me who won the soccer game. I look forward to seeing it every other night for the next two years. On more serious matters, this SARS thing has completely upstaged more serious matters.
Anthony Carmello is not returning to Syracuse. Minnesota is ahead of LA by a couple of points. And the USA in a game of 52 pick up, has just found the 8 of clubs. Hoo rah!!! And most of all...... hold on to your hats, and have a seat...drumroll..."90210" is having a reunion

Oops, I just sneezed. Please shut your computer down immediately and burn it The college police are coming. gotta go


PPS