Job Discussion Forums

timkelly · Joined: 03 Sep 2004 Posts: 7 Location: Yangshuo

Hi all,

I have the job of writing a teacher induction manual for future foreign teachers at our school in Yangshuo. Obviously some of this will be 'school specific', however I'm interested in knowing what people think should be in an induction manual for newly arrived teachers in China.

What would you have liked to have been told in an induction just before teaching?

Thanks for any advice.

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

What buses to take to get to specific places (and the bus route times); where to go shopping; entertainment venues; curfew regulations; school dress codes; typical weather patterns - - - those are a few off the top of my head.

magicman · Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 5:17 am Post subject:

Location of school canteen ( if any ) and procedure for acquiring grub therein !

Where and how to get a refill gas / water bottle. ( at 2 o'clock in the morning! )

Important phone extensions around the school , and other useful telephone numbers.

Larry Parnell · Joined: 06 Jun 2004 Posts: 172

Bars in Yangshuo where you won't get surrounded by a horde of students wanting you to write your name/email etc. or have to constantly pose for photos with excited Chinese tour groups in yellow caps.

amberrollins · Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 27 Location: Way Out in Korea

What everyday, useful stuff you can easily get in the vacinity and what you can't get, like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, coffee, etc. Also where you can get Western-style food.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

An attempt by someone who has been here for several years:

A) Living conditions:
- If a foreign teacher needs a doctor or nurse, who is he/she to contact?
And, who is to pay for the outlays?

- Household items that break or go missing: who to inform, who is
ultimately responsible for costs?

- Visitors: who is, who is not allowed to visit/stay overnight?

- Where can arbitration be sought?

B) WOrking conditions
- Who is the class' monitor? What prerogatives/ rights and duties do
they have?

- Student discipline: how often are they permitted to be late or absent
during one term? Who is to monitor their presence/absence?

- If students misbehave, what's to do, who is to be contacted?

- Timetables:How much time in advance are foreign teachers to be
informed of impending modifications to their timetable?

- Tests and examinations: Set dates and contents at the beginning!

- What happens to students that fail their exams?

- What do other English teachers cover with your students? Coordi-
nation of activities, if possible!

-

randyj · Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 5:23 pm Post subject:

Second Roger's item about timetables. In particular, a lot of schools have a standard one-hour shift in the fall. Is it November 1?

oprah · Joined: 26 Apr 2003 Posts: 382

Location of your classes, what floor, what building.

peggiescott · Joined: 20 Mar 2004 Posts: 162

I have collected a stack of cards from a centrally located business's, my school and some I made up with useful phrases (English on the top, Chinese on the bottom - written by one of my students). If I'd had these on my first day here I would have been a lot more independent sooner.