Job Discussion Forums

[asiannationmc]

[no_i_clean]

[GuangJoseph]

I apologized for coming across condescending. I appreciate that it can be a stress out coming abroad. Just a bit of advice - get medical insurance. That's the only tricky part. The rest is plain sailing!

I also appreciate that as an open forum, anyone can say whatever they like. The downside to that is that it is often unfiltered and unquantified. The issues that are valid and school related have been rectified. Those posts are a few years old I believe? China moves quickly, and so has our school.

When I arrived five years ago, I was one of four foreign teachers.

We now have around 40 I believe. With change and growth come problems, both in terms of infrastructure and communication. Foreign teachers are now being given more leadership roles, and as a result - teachers have more support and open communication.

The reason I said feel free to PM is to put new teachers at ease. Our forge affairs coordinators know to hand out my contact details upon request - so I'll open that up to this forum too. I believe in transparency. Send me a message if you're still uneasy about working here. Don't focus on every horror story on the Internet! I took a leap of faith coming out here when there was nothing online. Been a few unsteady patches but nothing unexpected given that it was a relatively new school at the time. Since I arrived, the international section and kindergarten opened, and they are expanding all the time. We have gone from two classes of 24 kids to a well established learning community of multiple classes in grades 1-6. We have six new grade one classes joining us in September. I'm sure teachers here on the forum can appreciate what it means to work in an ever expanding school. It's an exciting place to work, with pay rises, leadership roles to those who deserve them. Since I arrived, I've worked hard to ensure that voices are heard and improvements happen at this school.

The school currently employs a foreign teacher as a coordinator to all foreign teachers. She does a fantastic job of dealing with day to day issues as well as the more serious ones. the school looks after us. We are well paid, have nice new furnished apartments, and the working hours are a cinch compared to other jobs within the country - and especially when you think how many hours people work back home.

I don't like heated exchanges, and I'll ignore personal remarks about teachers or leadership. That's not my place to discuss, and it leads to more hostility. What I can offer is an open opinion on the school from my perspective.

Anyway, I've wrung that dry, nothing else to add. I'm off to the beach for a few weeks (surely any job that lets you do that every year can't be too shabby?)

[asiannationmc]

word!

[vikeologist]

Given your extended remarks and extra details given, I apologise for the tone of my last response. Thank you for taking the time to give more details.

I think there's definitely a danger that prospective teachers might avoid a school because of a small number of negative and biased remarks (or indeed might accept a job because of an inaccurate or out of date positive review). Luckily this forum isn't actually all that powerful when it comes to search results. (Other forums are.)

It's certainly true that one shouldn't rely on the local hospitals for medical care. Getting extra medical insurance is definitely a good idea.

Anyway, I'm afraid that when I see positive reviews of a school, especially if the review is lacking in detail as your original one was, I won't dismiss the possibility that teachers have been encouraged / coerced/ paid to be positive about the school. I've heard stories of teachers only being given a release letter if they convince potential new teachers to take their place in their employment hell-hole. Are these stories true? Probably not, but I do believe that some employers try to negate negative reviews. I've seen it, with sometimes hilarious and self-destructive results.

[nomad-ish]

[litterascriptor]

I have it on good word that GuangJoesph and his little buddy are administrators for Phenix City.

I also remember an ancedotal story related by my grandpappy who told me of a Phenix city in Arkansas in ww2 being a notorious red light district and gambling den.

[GuangJoseph]

Comment deleted.

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You know, I can see how someone can be critical of what they find, but on the real, it's not all that harsh.
The apartments are pretty cush. Studios and one bedrooms apts., clean and new furniture, gifts at holidays... I could go on.
But I don't feel like it, the day is on a bit and I just feel like giving a snapshot.

We are in the process of shifting from a Chinese-system Cambridge school into an IB-system school and the shift is weird. There's some tug-of-war regarding things that people want to do because people all over are trying to do their best. Some folks are doing really well.
Just the other day, some folks finished a 78 page welcome packet for all new hires. That's kinda keen.

No gig is all roses. But the folks are there when they're needed. One teacher had a terrible bike wreck last year and the Chinese staff was in his hospital room the whole time. Another teacher suffered a seizure, putting him in the hospital. The Chinese staff was there the whole time. Neither of them hurt for loot at the end of the tale. Both are still here.

We have some of the most trustworthy food available on the block. In a land with little to no food safety standards, our cooks put out enough food for 4000 people a day, and we are welcome to enjoy it free of charge as foreign teachers, three meals a day in the canteen with everyone else. It's one of the few places I know I can go for food that won't treat me wrong (even if it is hit or miss in the glory department~ It's still there!).

So yea, it's no panacea, but if you are alright working with a Chinese management system in general, it'll be fine. It'll be more than fine. I picked this place for the community because my last job was two years in the countryside of Korea where I was one of the only foreigners around. There are a ton here. Not just the 40 teachers, but actual community members. Sure, it's a rich person's bubble, and they're all factory owners, but they enjoy hanging out and having a beer just like the rest.

And yes, our Chinese management is sexist, racist and disinterested in critique, but they have yet to fire anyone for being open with fair remarks regarding those faults, and if we keep sharing the hopeful thoughts, it's plausible change will come. "Persistence is key," I was once told.
The world is a big place.
Progress comes one shift at a time.

It's not a bad place. I've been here almost two years now. Been teaching in Asia now for about seven. It's a solid spot. It's got good trajectory and lot of decent people who work hard to make it a nice place.

Obviously the OP had a bad time.
Not everything is for everybody.
This school's alright though.

Cheers~

[Shanghai Noon]

[wangdaning]

And, darn, a 78 page welcome book. Sure, that would be a quick breeze, but seems irritating if I just arrived. Maybe give them the introduction, then the other 75 pages later. Is all of the work in the book properly cited and referenced, or are you getting them used to Chinese culture

[hdeth]

The health insurance at my current job is amazing, though I doubt I'll ever have need of it and don't really care about it.

The food is actually not horrible either. I can cook and have almost 2 hours for lunch so I rarely eat there, but the food is not that bad. I just would accidentally pick doufu or there would be some weird (not necessarily bad, just not my tastes) ingredient in it sometimes.

I think a lot of 'international' schools are at the stage where they are really trying to become more like a western school and they are smashing into a ton of roadblocks. My school is at that point and it's very frustrating at times. I think it might be easier for a primary school.

As others, I find it extremely odd that not just one but two people with very few posts are leaping to the defense in such a zealous manner. A rebuttal of "I've been here x years and haven't had a problem with my pay" would make sense, but a long and strong endorsement of the school and then arguing with other posters is a bit crazy.

[GuangJoseph]

[wangdaning]

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