Job Discussion Forums

[HunanForeignGuy]

[ytange]

I understood exactly waht they mean.
Crisp and clean

Why jump on these guys for dishing out the scoop?

No info means no where to go

[blckgalinchina]

Well, I read all the comments. It was nice to see that people are reading the posting regardless if the response is good or bad. Why did I break contract? Seems to be the question of the day I�ll try to answer the best I can.

I broke contract for several reasons:

1. The university was out right racist were I was. Being of African decent was not welcomed. Even though I asked the agency to make them aware of my race before I signed the contract.

2. I was in a small town/village I was told that it was a large metropolitan city with many foreigners and with lots of foreign restaurants and the like. I wanted to be somewhere that felt like a city.

3. I wanted my children to go to a Chinese school so they could pick up the language.

4. I wanted to make enough from one job so I would not have to do English corners or side jobs.

See I was home-schooling. Save the sighs and oh, my God�s she can�t spell to your selves! I wrote the original post at night and I was already frustrated when I wrote it. Yes, I should have proof-read but as I said before I just want others to avoid the mistake I made.

In China the Chinese are not just sexist but racist as heck. I�m American but this is my first time experiencing treatment such as this. I took my kids on vacation to Beijing and we are on are way to the States. Thank you for viewing my post. If you are in China more power to you, if you are coming to China be on the look out for scams, and if you just don�t like what I have to say float on. You don�t have to read it!

By the way my Master's is in Computer Science so I am a technical person period!

[Brian Caulfield]

As a white person I can not comment on racism against blacks . What I find funny is that I have many African friends here and when I am with them they tell the Chinese that they are Americans . They tell me they are better treated . This I don't understand but it has occurred many times . It is a sad story and I hope things work out for this lady and her family .

[pandasteak]

[kev7161]

[Babala]

Why is it that some feel teachers feel they can justify anything when they do something wrong but are so quick to cry foul when they are wronged.

To the OP,
Your reasons for breaking your contract are not justified. You knew your salary going in, if you felt it wasn't enough you should not have taken the job. If a big city was so important to you, why didn't you check the location they gave you on the internet? What reason could your children not go to school in the place you were? As for the racism and sexism...welcome to China. Sounds like you need to grow a thicker skin.

I have one word to sum up what happened at the OP's 2nd school

KARMA

[vikdk]

They way these posts are going it looks like we're producing another advert for coming to china first before taking a job

What makes me laugh is how many "hindsight heroes" this place has. Psuedomoralists who's main message seems to be - "look at me I can hack it"!

As for growing a thicker skin - well wow - with that kind of brilliant revisionist insight we certainly will have to change the way we think about people such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela!!!!

[Babala]

Before coming to China, I did some research on things I knew I would face here such as the problem with sexism. I made the decision to come anyway knowing it would be something I would have to deal with. Did the OP not do the same?

[vikdk]

Because you research something doesn't mean you have to accept things as if they are an unalterable part of life - especially if you are taking part in a country - which we are, if we're working and living here - regardless of how transient the nature of this work is.

Of course on a macro scale we can't change social attitude - but on a micro scale you think our attitudes with regard to racism and sexism could stir a few minds to think in what I would like to label a more appropriate manner. And hold on a bit - we're teachers - role-models - from small seeds grow mighty forests!!!!!

Good on ya blckgal - I'm reading between the lines of course - but I think you're a "foresight hero" - you've already done your on the street research on being black and suffering the stings of discrimination - you know already that those who changed anything tend to be the contract breakers - after all when presented with norms which many of us quite unacceptable why fall back on the defence - "I read a book so, I can deal with it."

So it all kinda comes down to - if you want to look and not touch - then be a run of the mill tourist or sightseer - but if you work here - take part in society - really live up to the title of teacher - then don't shirk your responsibilities. Racism and sexism is unacceptable in the modern society - stand up and fight against it!

[Spiderman Too]

The school where I teach employs 77 foreign teachers (that�s not a typo!). There is one black American, one black Canadian, a very dark skinned man from Pakistan, quite a few Filipinos and a few Euro-Asians. It�s certainly my impression that this school is not racist.

I have spoken at length on many occasions with the black American and he seems to be happy at this school. I have also spoken with the black Canadian and he manages to find a racist angle to just about everything (e.g. class scheduling, friendships or lack thereof with colleagues both F.T.s and Chinese) which is not to his liking.

The Canadian has told me, outright, that this school is racist.

A racist school that employs black teachers?????

The O.P. wrote �The university was out right racist ���.Even though I asked the agency to make them aware of my race before I signed the contract.�

There is no way I will believe that the university did not know the O.P. was black before employing her. I have not read about, heard about or had experience with a school that did not request a photo prior to employment, if only a copy of the main passport page.

As Kev said, I don�t know the O.P. or her full story with job no:1 but I am suspicious that she used excuses to leave that school before her contract ended to join another school offering more salary, and it backfired on her.

As Babala said, KARMA!

[vikdk]

When a man with no legs finds it difficult to get to his apartment on the 15th floor during a power cut, would he say - "Shizer during my research they told it was accessible to anybody, bloody power-cut, must be my karma."

Problem is in regard to race and gender - appropriate mental powers seems to be permanently cut off in this country (maybe not quite that bad, but still...) - but does this mean we have to put down someone complaining of being victimised with - "what did you expect" arguments.

The logic behind arguments that taste of "you broke a contract so racism seems to be an expected retribution" is also quite beyond me - I can't quite comment on that - but I would have thought in a pragamatic down to earth sense the two issues were entirely unconnected!!!

Maybe a bit of support could be a good idea - but then the OP is up against the tried and the tested - which seems to put a whole other slant on many discussions in this forum

hey by the way spidey being the victim of race discrimination does tend to be a rather personal experience - so far from making fun at those highly objective comments you made on the race situation in your perticular corner of China - it would nice if you could persuade your Canadian college to add his pounds worth here - and get the vibes from horses mouth type thing

[Mytime]

[Spiderman Too]

[vikdk]

I might be stupid (in fact I most certainly am) but ....
Doesn�t my quote-