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Songbird

Hey all,

I've seen an ad for a summer job and wondering if anyone has any experience- I'm a little concerned because there is no business/ company name mentioned in the ad (only contact person) and no a lot is mentioned in the ad (posted below)- but it fits perfectly into my time frame AND still allows me to travel afterwards before the next semester starts!

**************
Zhengjiang province,Hangzhou city(Summer camp!!!) - ESL job

Posted By: Zheng Jiang QiHang Middle school
Date: 7 June 2005

Dear foreign teachers:
our school will have a summner camp from July 18th to 9th of August.
wecome to jion us !
here are the conditions
1,location:Li shui city of Zhe Jiang province.
2,time:from 18th of july to 9th of August.lesson.20 days teaching,two days to travel aroud(free)
3,students age:12 to 18years old.
4,lesson:6classes per day
5,salary:7000yuan
6.others:our school provide good accommodation and food.

we are waiting for your reply!
sincerely
Mr Wang

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

I'm guessing their office is in Hangzhou and the school is in Li Shui? Zhejiang province is quite HOT in the summer. If your classroom(s) and accomodations have A/C, then that would be great - - I'd ask them about this. Those loud ceiling fans don't quite cut it in the summertime.

What about teaching resources? Textbooks, tape players, CD players, computers, etc. Sometimes a summer camp can throw you in a barren room with 40 unruly kids and say: "Go!" (they often expect you to bring a number of teaching materials with you along with other creative things - - ever try finding construction paper in China?)

How many periods a day are you "teaching"? Are they going to have other activities at this "camp"? It seems to me that a camp should be more than just being in a classroom for six periods a day, no matter how fun you may make it with movies and music and games and such. Speaking of which, come prepared with a lot of games - - intersperse practicing English with a bunch of games.

7000 for about 3 1/2 weeks seems a little low (assuming you will be working all day (and some evenings) for 6 days a week. But, on the other hand, it is ONLY 3 1/2 weeks - - if it's a fun, exciting camp, then no problem. If it's the opposite, then the time there is very short.

There's just not much information in their advertisement to tell me (or you) exactly what to expect. If I had to guess, I'd say this sounds like one of those "no-frills" summer camps and it's more like summer SCHOOL.

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

ask for references.

Songbird · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:23 am Post subject:

Thanks for the reply- yeah, I already figured it'll be stinking hot then, but I come from Oz( QLD- humidity capital of the world!), and can cope with it.

Yep, the info I posted was all they said, so I will certainly ask lotsa q's befoe committing. I'm already in China in MAJOR backwater territory so I know materials will be lacking. But if I do this, I will have to catch a train/ flight from Xian, so I can do a shop here for stuff. I have already taught oral English to teachers 4 mths ago on another camp so I have a little experience.

Not sure where the office is, but will sus all this out if I decide to go ahead with an app. Thanks again Very Happy

dalong · Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 116 Location: China

Hmmm! Let's see. 20 days, 6 classes a day. That's 120 hours for 7000 yuan. 58.33 yuan per hour. No thanks!!!

millie · Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Posts: 413 Location: HK

It does not seem like a very good proposition, financially. I have seen others that pay RMB1,000 /day for the same deal and this seems about half of that.
M

Songbird · Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:08 am Post subject:

Hmmm, Dalong & Millie, you have a good point. Ggggrrr, I was kind of hoping to find something half decent- anyone have any idea where I can do a summer camp anywhere between the 18 July & 24 August?? So far I haven't seen anything- they all seem to start about July 8th for some reason!! I don't care where it is, as long as I can get to it (of course) and is only for a couple-3 weeks at most!

Let me know if anyone sees anything and thinks of me Cool

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

You are like some of our CHinese overlords - you only see the money. That poster who calculated the hourly wage to be 58 kuai - not counting the costs of housing and other perks...

Seriously, if you want to "work" during the summer holidays you must have a defect! Why should these poor students like to sit inside a boiling hot classroom any more than you do? They hate it - the holidays are, after all, designed to be their time off.
SO, the main issue here should be: is it going to be an enjoyable experience?

And that I would heartily doubt!

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

With all due respect, 58 kuai an hour is not bad at all, and you only teach 6 hours a day. Without trying to sound like I am flaming anyone here, but I think maybe some of you are forgetting that they are looking for people to TEACH. Also, maybe you are comparing Beijing/Shanghai money with money they pay in a small city. I should point out that summer camps in a public school would only mean that it is a joint venture between the school and a private company. Remember, soon the students will be off for summer vacation and all the school staff will be off too. No public school would run a summer camp. The private school or some business venture is probably using the middle school's name to bring in the foreign teachers. These short-term jobs usually mean they will have the teachers come in using a tourist visa and then after 3 1/2 weeks they'd be sent home. I've met some of these in Qingdao and one was actually sub-contracted to teach at the private language school I was teaching at. They do get free accomodation and maybe even food. Computers? CD's? How are you going to hold classes in a computer lab and what are you going to do with them? Textbooks, very likely.

Songbird, if it's the experience you are looking for, then go for it. But if you want a lot of time sightseeing, then this is not the job for you to accept.

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

I'll weigh in here again concerning summer camps in general (not the OPs particular place): Half the kids seem to WANT to be there and the other half DON'T. The ones that come to these places are, indeed, looking to improve their English, meet other Chinese students from around the area, meet foreign teachers, etc. Sadly, some seem to be just "dumped off" by mom and dad.

However, even the most dedicated student's energy will wane after about a week if the classes aren't fun and interesting. It should be quite easy to plan ahead with a wide variety of games and activities for only 3 or 4 weeks. I agree with some of the other posters that money should be secondary (but still important, come on - - why even do it otherwise?) and the desire to be with these kids as #1. And I mean BE with these kids - - eat lunch with them from time to time, go out and play basketball after supper. Drop in on an evening class from time to time. Do you know how much they'll trust you and love you if they get to interact with you BEYOND the classroom? Your time and theirs will be that much more appealing and well-spent.

I'm leaving for my summer camp in a little over a month and I can't wait. The organizers are just that - - organized and they have a bucketful of activities for us to do with the kids. I'm guessing that time will FLY by (and the pay is pretty decent too, I must say!).

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

The first 3 days of summer camp are easy. The students are well-behaved. After 3 days, all hell breaks loose. Now the students have become very chummy with one another and they are out of control. Also, everyone knows that the parents usually just put the kids there because they have nobody to look after the kids while they are at work, so English summer camps are essentially just expensive babysitting services.