Job Discussion Forums

[SixthAngel]

I have an offer from a school in Shanghai and while I only have to teach 18 hours a week I am required to be there from 7:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday. The pay I am being offered is 10,000 rmb a month including the accommodation allowance.
From looking at different contracts and jobs I wonder if it is unusual to have so many non-teaching hours at schools?

How many hours are other posters required to spend at their school outside of the classroom?

[tw]

[vikuk]

decent furnished accomodation in shanghai for 1000 - unless you want to live in a box, you'll be lucky!!!!

[Lobster]

Yup, you'd better double that figure.

RED

[HunanForeignGuy]

This sounds very much like an offer that I received from an International High School in Shanghai. Perhaps it is the same one. Or perhaps this is EF or one of its franchises -- it's the kind of deal they have started to offer, at least here in GZ.

I flatly rejected the offer, because as TW wrote, when one does the math, one can easily realize how paultry this salary really is...and being on duty from 07h30 until 16h30 daily (with time off for good behaviour at lunch I assume) is really way-over-the-top.

The Shanghai market is hot but oversaturated and I don't know at this late stage in the game what good jobs are still out there for September.

[Plan B]

From my interpretation of the OP's initial post, the accomodation is on top of the salary - maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Personally, I have no particular issue with office hours, as I have always preferred the admin side of teaching. This being said, 7:30 is a little early to be getting up everyday of the week.

It is a good sign that the school is upfront about the office hours. It has been known for the office hours to be a hidden requisite not initially made clear at the beginning.

I would inquire as to what you are supposed to be doing during the office hours. If they are expecting you to sit around and do nothing during the downtime, I would certainly question their logic. If however, you have responsibilities on top of this - not necessarily a bad thing - I would ask them to outline exactly what these responsibilities will be. For one thing, if you are contracted for your 18 hours, then you should be doing no demos, assemblies, open houses on top of this, or at least, these events should be clearly defined before you sign the contract.

Also make sure that any events after 4:30 in the week or at weekends are understood. Considering the total hours you are putting in, you don't need to be further robbed of your free time.

In conclusion, don't be immediately put off by the job offer. It sounds reasonable as long as the loose ends are tight up.

[jwbhomer]

Sounds like Kai-En to me. If so, search here for other (mixed) comments.

[latefordinner]

I don't know the Shanghai market so I can't comment on the pay scale, and even if I did I'd still like clarification on the point about housing; is it an additional part of your benefit package, or are you really expected to find a place of your own for 1,000 yuan?
What I would like to discuss is the office hours. Depending on the school, that can mean an unholy muthafarking waste of time and energy, or it can be a way to use your downtime positively. As only China would have it, when OH were a required part of my job, I found them mostly a waste. But these past 2 years they weren't required, yet I found myself posting and keeping office hours of my own choosing. For most part they have been productive hours. OK, there were times when I just closed the door and went to sleep in my chair (put a note outside the door that says, "He's not dead, just resting. Knock and wake him up". Monty Python fans will understand why I drew a picture of a dead parrot off its perch), but a lot of students have come to see me, and I like to think I've been of some help to most of them.
I'm influenced by the professors I knew in uni who did much the same. Some of them came to their offices 10 minutes before class and left 5 minutes after, but some made themselves very available, and I own those few a great debt for the kindness they showed and the support they gave. I like to think that in my own small way I'm giving something back.
Is it appreciated? By the students, I think on the whole yes it is. By the school? Of course not. That's not the sort of thing you can quantify and put a yuan value on, so forget it. And if OH were a part of the contract as outlined by the OP, I'd refuse and look elsewhere, because what the employer wants isn't a teacher but chattel.

[james s]

...

[jeffinflorida]

[SixthAngel]

Thanks for all the answers. I thought it was strange since most jobs I have seen and hear about have far fewer hours outside the classroom. It might actually be the same school that offered you a job HunanForeignguy.

[vikuk]

[brsmith15]

Dear penultimate angel,

I don't like the smell of it. As others have said, it's those "extras" that bother me. You're at their beck and call during that time and it could mean: the DREADED ENGLISH CORNER, going to another school to play monkey, writing dry, useless lesson plans, giving promo/demo classes for parents interesed in sending there kid to the school, washing the DOS' car.

I've been in SH for over 8 years. 1,000 for an apt? Yeah, that'd get you a place you wouldn't house your pet rat: filth, noise, public toilet 1,000 m down the street.

I'd pass. There are better deals if it's SH you want.

[Babala]

I do (well did now) office hours. It just basically meant that my classes could be scheduled anytime between those hours. I rarely stayed in the office for them. I went out to the gym, went for a coffee, went to the supermarket.... Luckily my school was not anal about us actually sitting in the office for the whole time.

[eslstudies]

A reasonable place in SH under 2,000?
A true international school offering 10,000?
Fantasy land.