Job Discussion Forums

[Klamm]

Just a note to those considering work here. I believe there is already one negative posting on this school. This will make two.

I'm not going to be unfair to them and slam them unduly. The school does not compare with some of the grand horror stories you read about on the net. It's a more simple problem: Inept administration. Expect nothing to get done and consider that you are at the very bottom of the totem pole priority wise. It's a public school so in many ways you are like a thorn in their side. They don't want to deal with you. They're not getting anything for having as say they would at a private institution so they expect you to be and act just an obsequious Chinese teacher bred and tutored to act and move by the leader's nod which may be senseless, thoughtless, and ridiculous but keep bowing and following anyway.

I've had both my water and power shut off at different times. I never received a bill! The water they told me someone forgot to pay a couple of times. Ok. So they paid it and the water came back on...about a week later in each case.

The electricity? They tell me today I haven't paid my bill for nine months! (I'm sorry to tell them I am not fluent in spoken and written Chinese and I also never received one bill). My next salary, which would have my largest number of hours to be paid has suddenly taken a drastic and convenient cut.

They also set my visa to finish June 17. The semester ends July 10. Can anyone explain? No. They figured I'd sign on for another year. Mistake. They told me just a couple of weeks ago that the leader would come down in late May with a decision on whether or not they would like to extend me a reup offer for next year.

Extend it someone else! If you've got thick skin for a general lack of any appreciation for your work and a generally inept administration that hardly knows right from left (and you needs follow them like a little puppy anyhow), please come. Otherwise I suggest you swing another gig. The salary is good here but I'd suggest getting a lower paying job and working a part-time gig to make up the difference. It'll be no more hassle and confusion than this school!!!

A nod to the Rog who earlier posted on this. I'm a bit younger and less experienced and have decided to stick it out here for the year but won't be here again.

K.

[RSB]

We taught there for one day a week last year and can 100% attest to the ineptness of the management and their expectation that you'll perform/behave like the Chinese teachers.

We were also in the position that they just assumed we'd be around into July even when, upon hiring us, they were clearly told that our full time contarct at the other college ended June 30 and we had return tickets for July 2nd.

We arrived one week to be told 'you're testing this week'. Well, no, we're not testing as we weren't told about testing and we're not prepared for testing. We were also expected to have somehow done individual oral testing with 60 students within 80 minutes..........

We had further complications because soon after we started it became evident that the two Chinese teachers we had assigned as liason weren't going to do anything to help us. Things went downhill from there.

The young ladies were wondeful to teach and the money good but like Klamm says the hassle isn't worth it.

[Roger]

Good post, klamm, and one that's 100% convincing.

Let me just add my two fens' worth.
I truly loved my classes and had a heck of a time with those all-female classes (not because of romantic reasons!). I liked them because they were friendly, cooperative and obedient. I told them to do homework - and they never failed to turn in their assignments ON TIME! I have seldom had such wonderful students, and I can also say, respect was reciprocal.

But, as the two posters said, the administration was a horror story unfolding before your own eyes. I could easily have stuck it out for the remaining time, but it was a matter of losing my face over promises they had broken.
The first one was the salary: 8000 per month; then they shoved their contract my way, and it said RMB 100 per period. OK, that means you work 20 periods a week to make 8000 a month - reasonable and fair.
But there were holidays in October. Minus one week of salary, nay: hourly wages! OUch - there went RMB 2000.
Then, when I returned from those holidays, classes were cancelled without informing me. First one class. Then 3 classes. Finally a whole week. Result: the whole October would have paid me RMB 3000. Down from RMB 7600 in the first month. How can anyone survive on such unstable premises?
The visa was just another problem: procrastinating and delegating responsability. The person at that time in charge of it was completely inept; she had "experience" in applying for Chinese passports (for their own staff who go overseas!).
She didn't know how to go about applying for a foreigner's work visa.
The FAO was a new teacher from Xi'an, Jessy; initially I liked her very much. She and I had interesting discussions on Buddhism and related topics.
But she came under pressure from her superiors and eventually from me over the visa and schedule issues. She began stalling and putting up resistance to me.
She delayed my pay so as to put me in the right station, or so I thought.
One time, I exploded in their office because of all that misinformation and disinformatsiya (some deliberate, some not deliberate), and she started crying. The principal and the other girl laughed about her. I felt sorry for her, but the issue was really one that had been irking me for weeks and more. I had submitted a letter detailing the various problems and desired a written response; they deliberately snubbed me over that deadline, so I demanded an answer from them orally; it was denied me, then finally given: no accommodation of any of my suggestions (such as informing me of class cancellations IN WRITING and IN GOOD TIME); I was so fed up with their snobbishness, haughtiness and uncaring attitude that I took my pay, then vacated my flat (a very nice, airy and comfortable place!) and left for good with the keys in my pocket.
They never bothered to ask me to return their keys.