Job Discussion Forums

[Toast]

...with the leaders of the language department, DOS' and Foreign Affairs Officers to explain why they should have their contract renewed for the next term. Interview at 1.30pm on Tuesday. Thank you for your comming!"

...Text message received today.

That's a new one.

The Dean goes off to study English in Montreal for 6 months and suddenly confuses the local vo-tech for the Harvards.

Irrelevant for me as I'll be moving on, but whatever naughty boy has been giving the students English names like Willy Wonka, Genuis, Fungus and Beatlemania might be in a world of Chinese public W.C plops.

[Bud Powell]

[Shroob]

Sit. Stay. Beg. Beg for your job. There's a good teacher.

[SledgeCleaver]

I s'pose the Chinese were bound to eventually pick up some of the cold-blooded HR tactics which have been "perfected" in the USA and UK.

In my opinion, processes like these exist less for the actual information they provide and more because fear is a very good motivator. If the teacher feels that he or she is being watched, then he or she will watch him- or herself, panopticon-style.

This idea can be linked to two different management styles, which if my my old business school classes are not failing me, are called A-style and B-style.

A-style basically states that humans only do things out of fear of authority, and that left to their own devices they will do nothing or at least perform very poorly, so you should attempt to motivate your employees with fear and control. B-style basically states that humans are naturally productive and creative, so you should attempt to unleash your employees' natural upswing towards productivity and creativity. For example, if you raise morale and give your employees tools to produce great things, they will produce great things, because they feel empowered to do so.

Naturally, these two styles are more or less productive in different environments. In a drudge job like fast food or something, it's pretty clear that you can't really "unleash creativity" so you have to rule through fear. That is also part of the reason businesses like a low minimum wage. It's not just because it's less money going out the door: it also keeps people scared for their livelihood, thus they work harder and can be terrorized more effectively. On the other hand, we've probably all read about the tech and marketing fields where the offices are basically big playgrounds. For example, at Google you can go get massages or play ping pong in the middle of the day, or at some of the most prestigious ad agencies, the office is equipped with a basketball court, board game tables, frickin pogo sticks to jump around on.

The thing about education is it's one of those fields where there's a lot of debate about what is really better. Lots of managers go for the "controlling" style, and think that teachers are motivated through fear. The American system has definitely morphed in this direction, with all the testing and "accountability," the union-busting, and so on, though of course there are good principals and so on who understand that teaching is an art and that it requires creativity. As opposed to the direction American public schools are taking, most of the best private and international schools go for a "B-style" approach, where they provide excellent facilities and materials, highly-trained people, and let people loose. High morale among teachers translates to better confidence among students, more innovation, and so on.

This, in turn, reminds me of a video I watched by a woman who was once the head of the Black Panthers, where she talked about schools and the achievement gap. She compared all the systems of "accountability," high-stakes testing, and the "cram-style" nature of many schools that attempt to give poor, black, or Latino students a chance to achieve, to private schools like Phillips Exeter. Phillips Exeter (perhaps America's most famous private school) apparently doesn't have grades. Kids don't have to stay after classes for extra study sessions or whatever else, they go do sports and extracurriculars, whereas in these academies for inner-city kids, the kids have to go to cram sessions, much of the learning is rote, and so on. This kind of thing might get kids into college, but it's pretty soul-destroying and actually not a deep education. Of course, she links all of this to institutional racism; the teachers and administrators at these "inner-city cram schools" (many of whom are white and middle-class) would never send their own kids to such a school. I have to say, she's probably right on that score. It was a pretty interesting video.

[Big Worm]

Print out a copy of the text. Proofread/edit/fix mistakes in the text with big red marker.

Tell them you are not happy with the tone of communication that has recently occurred.

Ask them to explain why you should stay working for them instead of moving on to one of the thousands of jobs you could have with literally an email and a phone call.

Ask for a little something extra in your next contract.

Gotta keep this type of ish in check.

[The_Kong]

[teenoso]

Sounds like the FAO and language department are incompetent... they don't know who they want back ? Have they never assessed you in class , or given their teachers feedback from the students?

Or perhaps there is simpler explanation - they are cutting back and can't re-hire all the teachers who may want to stay.
Either way , I side with those who think this kind of management sucks. Nobody should have to persuade their boss to keep them on. I think you made the right decision to move on anyway.

[roadwalker]

I know I couldn't resist feeling insulted by that message, especially if there were any other issues weighing down my enthusiasm for the school. But if it was a matter of poor wording by a non-native English speaker, it wouldn't be the first time in my life. I wonder how often I've used Chinese in such a way that would have been very rude coming from a native speaker? Probably more than once. I think it's better to wait for a face to face before feeling insulted. OP is moving on anyway, so no big deal. If it's because of management problems at the school, then, yes, this would feel like the icing on the cake. But in most situations, take a breath first.

[likwid_777]

Lol @ the names of the students. Some guy at our school had named a kid "Beer" prior to my arriving there. Jeez. I also recall how the Chinese staff somehow managed to cultivate this culture of fear among the FT staff, which often manifested in an environment where one felt that he or she couldn't trust anyone. It was horrible. To those who can pull off the "Why should I stay?" manoeuvre, hats off to your cowboy style. My subordinate, peasant mind would never have even thought of such a move. Perhaps a good move would be to say your piece first, and then once they're nodding, drop the Wild West tactic. This would be perhaps a smoother transition to smack down than up front opposition.

[NoBillyNO]

[LPKSA]

I would text back and say something like "please wait one more day for reply response. Job employment is fine, but greater if more time allotted for decision. Must give more time for me to think over about what I can/will/might say. Need more time. Please wait another one more day. Thanks you for your unnderstanding."

Also ask them why the Dean went to a French-speaking area of Canada to study English.

[Big Worm]

[NoBillyNO]

[choudoufu]

i bet it's this:

[The_Kong]