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romanworld
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 388
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 Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| SanChong wrote: |
| The more recent posts don't do anyone any good. More importantly, they aren't really true. Well, maybe they are true at a particular school, or in someone's particular experience. |
Like you, San Chong, I try and remain objective regarding these issues, but some people, my friend included, just can't step outside of their own "particular experience" to see the big picture. Maybe it's just the recession getting him down? Maybe people get a little grouchy when they're threatened with job loss and greater competition for fewer and fewer jobs? |
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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:47 am Post subject: |
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| Richard wrote: |
- having to prepare, or rather drill, for epic gala kindergarten "graduation" shows for 3-4 months that serve little purpose other than exhausting/stressing out both kids and staff, and giving parents a big flashy bling-bling showpiece so they can "see" where all their hefty tuition went
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This one really made me smile because it's so true.
Our school two weeks ago just did exactly this same thing. We drilled and drilled for months; a portion of each class was dedicated to the kids learning their words and actions, songs and dance routines for the 'Lion King' Gala presentation.
I hate doing that shh it so participated only at a bare minimum level but noticed that there were some inconsistencies between the stated fundamental goal of the production and what was being presented.
The big day came and went and although the production itself went off not too badly - poor kids being forced to dress up like rhinos and monkeys - the big boss was pissed.
Apparently nobody considered the fact that presenting a play OUTDOORS in December might be a tad cold for these poor tropical dwellers. Parents were waiting around wrapped in as many layers as possible and as soon as their kids were done they were on the scooter and heading home.
Big Boss didn't like that too much.
Another thing the 'management' didn't consider?
Most of the parents speak NO English at all. So in addition to being tired and cold they had no clue what was going on except for their hard earned tuition was obviously being spent like it was going out of style to make sure lil Johnny could do a silly dance and parade around the stage like a drunken hippo.
But the best thing of all was this:
On Monday we went into the office to find out that there was a rumour circulating around of a big play / show being presented by another local English Buxi on the same day.
Trouble was, that school hadn't put on a play!
Our 'managers' - notice the use of quotation marks to indicate sarcasm - hadn't provided any leaflets, handouts, promotional materials for the audience, no banners, nor announcements, no 'Enroll now get 2 weeks free' incentives ... nothing.
So after spending a ton of cash to 'promote' the school - notice those sarcastic quotation marks again? - the consensus of the viewing public was that the other school had put on a pretty decent show.
Honest to God the Taiwanese we work for couldn't plan or promote their way out of a wet paper bag. We raised all these points when they announced their Christmas parade and suffice to say, someone conceded that having a couple of kids holding a banner with the name of the school on it was a good idea!!
Imagine that.
They're making the kids wear their damn Lion King costumes again though, so it's a Xmas parade with a bunch of kids dressed as animals instead of just wearing red pointy hats or something...
I give up |
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Richard
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 33
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:33 am Post subject: |
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| SanChong wrote: |
I don't know how exactly, but this thread quickly deteriorated into myopic, short sighted and almost overtly prejudiced diatribe from a bunch of bitter foreigners. Sad, really.
The original poster mentioned some things which bothered him. However, he did it with caveats and some humor, while also acknowledging some of the really fantastic aspects of Taiwan. The more recent posts don't do anyone any good. More importantly, they aren't really true. Well, maybe they are true at a particular school, or in someone's particular experience. They most definitely are NOT true in a wider, general sense. |
To be fair, I did write what I thought was a reasonable disclaimer at the top of my previous post. Am I bitter? Not full-blown bitter, at least not yet. Am I periodically exasperated? Most definitely. In my experience, that's usually a good indicator that it's almost time for a change of scenery, whether you're talking about teaching or any other type of job. The trick is being able to recognise the onset of true bitterness and get out of a given situation before it spoils your outlook permanently. But that's often easier said than done since cynicism isn't an overnight phenomenon; it's sneaky and cumulative and creeps up on you over extended periods. That's what I find sad: once-bright teachers who've been smoked down to the filter by the system they work in. But none of that is anything new to this board.
Ever hear the story of the frog in the pan of cold water? If you drop a frog into a pan of boiling water, it will jump around, suffer greatly and die. But if you drop a frog into a pan of cold water and then slowly heat it to the boiling point - the frog never moves, doesn't notice it, doesn't feel it. But at the end of it he's dead.
That's my ex-pat parable of the day.
On ESL teaching to children in Taiwan, or anywhere else, here's my two cents:
When it comes to the study of English, it's possible to break down types of learners into three general groups: those who will be largely indifferent to it no matter how creatively it's presented, those who will give it cursory attention out of a sense of obligation, and finally, those special few who will embrace it with genuine interest and passion.
Most teachers have their hands full trying to encourage students from the first group to move into the second; really dedicated ones occasionally cause those from the second group to move into the third. Those already in the third group are gifts - you only have to put books into their hands and then watch them fly. |
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Travel Zen
Joined: 02 Sep 2004
Posts: 634
Location: Good old Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:05 pm Post subject: |
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A good, honest and interesting thread  |
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