Job Discussion Forums

[cstevens]

Hello everybody. I'm a bit of a newbie to finding international jobs and would like to know what people think of this job:

http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china/index.cgi?read=20388

I am a certified teacher and would really like to teach in an IB school.

I am currently in contact with them. Is this a good job? Is there anything I should consider?

Thanks in advance.

[adamosity]

search for the teachers manual in the forums...

suffice it to say that no amount of money would be worth it to teach there!

--adam

[spunkmonkey]

It looks good to me. A well established school in a nice rural setting.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the 'manual'.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=37732&highlight=huijia

[cstevens]

Wow, this seems like a very controlling school. I'm not sure that I would be interested in that either.

Also, I thought that it was inside of the city, not in a rural area.

I'll keep the door open, but I'm going to go back to looking for jobs inside of the city.

Any other thoughts from people?

[crunchyone]

See if you can find their webpage, and then talk to the other teachers there.

I teach in an IB school in Chengdu, and they are pretty organized. They wanted me to sign a 2 year contract, and the contract said I had to live on campus. However when I said I wouldnt do that they changed it to a 1 year contract and said I could live off campus, but keep my on campus accomodation so I could stay there as well if I wanted.

Your salary should be many times that of a bog standard English teacher, with lots of paid holidays as well.

c

[inchinanow]

I am writing this rapidly, because I am very busy right now. Please excuse any sloppy writing. I just finished teaching in the IB program for 6 months. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly:

� Good: Pay like clockwork, they do not interfere with your teaching, lots of free time, some good teachers there, beautiful campus, decent pay and apartment.

� Bad: Students bring electronic devices to class, management does not regulate the students enough, students have a lot of power and can sometimes be disrespectful or even complain if they do not like you. Management will tend to side with the students to keep them happy and keep their money coming to the school. You will also live on campus which can sometimes be boring. Many guards all around and they will keep an eye on you. I sometimes felt like I was working and living in a prison. This school is near Changping (about 10 minutes by bus), which is a small town by Chinese standards. A small dirty village is next to the campus. Teachers often go to the village to buy goods, drink beer and eat. You may not feel very comfortable walking through this village alone.

� Ugly: There was an incident of Chinese-on-Chinese violence in the village. It happened in front of many foreign teachers who were eating dinner. A man was beaten and nearly stomped to death by another Chinese guy. Some of the teachers were emotionally disturbed about witnessing this. There was no discussion on campus and nothing done about it by school management. They just acted like nothing had happened. But since the village in right next to the school, I felt like they should have at least discussed this with the teachers.

If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend and want to bring them on campus, it is a big hassle. Guests must formally register with the office. The school will ask your guest many personal questions. They usually will not allow a boyfriend or girlfriend to stay overnight. If you have a fianc�e or fianc�, they can stay, but you will be charged 20 rmb each night. For a guest they will charge you 250 rmb a night for a private apartment. Also the guards will snicker and laugh at you and your guest. One teacher was prevented from entering the school, because he had a guest with him. They blocked the entrance at night and made him wait several hours to enter. There is also some drug and alcohol abuse use among a few teachers.

During the swine flu scare, the untrained and unqualified "boy-guards" were sticking a thermometer up to my head every time I entered the campus to verify my health. Be prepared for unexpected "health checks", with very little notice or explanation about why they are giving you one. They will dictate who the doctors will be and you do not have any choice. I found this intrusive and unnecessary.

The areas that need attention, the management ignores, and the things they should ignore, they pay much attention to. The school could become a top-rated school if they would improve their management style. They need to manage students better and set some higher standards. Many of the students play computer games every evening and avoid study. Many students do not attend class and there are no consequences for them. Students are often tardy to class, but if a teacher writes a report about a student, nothing is really done. So the students really control the campus in my opinion. This is a big problem that the school needs to address strongly. The parents pay money for education and to improve their child�s ability. In a sense, the school is cheating the parents by not managing students better. They throw all of this responsibility on the backs of the teachers, but it will take a concerted effort at all levels to address the problem. They need to improve communication between management and teachers, seek out teacher feedback, and actively work to improve the school.

Good luck!!!!