Ebony black
- 2006-09-04
Ok guys.I've heard you all.What can we do to discontinue this?How do we get some sensitive topics in this forum across to all and sundries?
There should be a way out."Where there is a will,there is a way",so goes the popular saying.
I know we can stop these mafioso exploitation cos we are making the dough for these cheats.
Remember the old saying,"the pen is mightier than the sword" but now "the net is mightier than the pen and sword".
So,Come on guys!We shall get there.
Don't relent."Aluta continua,victoria asserta".
KS
- 2006-09-03
Some of the people that take these poor paying jobs are people that do not have the proper education (no diploma) to get a good paying job or they are not fully aware of the trap that they are walking into. A third opition is that they are not all there and do not read the posts of other teacher at this site or sites like this one. Let's get the word out to everyone about these schools and great web sites like this one, that will help make your stay in Asia or any other country an enjoyable time.
Raoul Duke
- 2006-09-02
Ebony,
I agree completely. Wages for basic teaching jobs are spiraling inexorably downwards. Meanwhile, tuitions are going up, up up...which means that the English biz is buying a lot of big shiny black cars.
4000 has long been a standard salary in China, and it's insulting. It's chump change! But I'm seeing more and more jobs offered that, as you indicate, offer even less than 4K.
Not all the blame can go on the schools here. They pay these ridiculously trifling salaries because people are silly enough to take them! If people stop accepting the 3-4K (and even less) jobs, we'll see salaries shoot back up PDQ...
Why do people take jobs like this? They don't know any better. They swallow the "competitive salary" and "four times the local average salary" hooey they see in the jobs ads. They approach job applications from the "Gee, I sure hope I'm lucky enough to get this job" perspective they're used to back home, rather than the "I'm in demand and I have some leverage here!" position they should use.
And the "in-demand" part is diluting. More and more clueless newbies are coming here, completely unarmed and uninformed for what they're getting into. Many schools have gone from being lucky to have a native speaker at all, to being able to pick and choose the most gullible ones. And since Chinese schools are blissfully unconstrained by concepts such as "standards" or "quality", they can simply bottom-feed and max those profits.
Unfortunately, it's hard to get the word out. It helps a little to post the truth on sites like this one, but apparently for every newcomer who reads these sites there are hundreds who come here who have done no preparation or research at all.
So, keep saying things like this. Say them often, in as many places as you can. Reach the ones you can reach. It's all we can do...that, and refuse to take those miserable jobs!
Frank
- 2006-09-02
I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE!!!
It's dumbfounding and mystifying, yes?
When foreign teachers, especially those from the "7 native English-speaking countries" as you say, accept these monthly wages and terms, it makes it bad for everyone, especially those who cannot claim similar/equal status.
Case in point: There has been lots of discussion on the website recently (in this forum and the School Reviews page) about the particular plight and discrimination faced by Filipino teachers in China. And teachers from African nations have it even worse! They are frequent targets for exploitation (not only in wages but in living and working conditions).
As long as folks accept these wages there's nothing to stop downward salary spiral from continiuing.
I live in Nanjing, and when I arrived here in 2003, it was standard policy for part-time teachers (from almost any nation) in training schools schools to be offered at least 100RMB per hour (with little or no negotiation).
Today, a number of training schools here, Web International and Global Village for example, are topping their FT scale at 65RMB per hour! When I balked at this rate recently, they said "This is what the other training schools are now paying, and what foreign teachers are accepting!"
I asked if the teachers who accept this rate of pay are experienced? (Usually, they admit, "No.") I then remind them that reason Web International students have recently gone on Nanjing TV to complain about poor teaching services and broken promises is because the school is filling its classrooms with these inexperienced "teacher"/travelers.
Thanks for posting!
Hi Fellas,
I was wondering why some native speakers have descended so low by collecting peanuts as salary/wages teaching ESL in China.
Are you guys so cheap or desperate?!
I'm bringing up this cos of some job adverts i come across so often on some ESL sites offering RMB3000-3500 to native English speakers.
I'm astonished to see this.I couldn't imagine in my wildest dream for a native speaker to go for that cos it doesn't translate to anything when converted to Pounds,Dollars or Euros.
And beleive it or not,These job adverts get filled before you know it by some native speakers.
Fine,some non-native speakers stoop so low in terms of salary sometimes but not native speakers for God's sake!
Chinese school agents/bosses are taking you guys for a ride far too long.
I,for one won't and can't go for that kind of job despite the fact that i don't have a passport from the so caled 7 native speaking countries cos my class performances speaks louder than the passport i'm holding.
To validate my point,i have an Aussie and a Canadian pal that receive paltry sums of RMM3000 and RMB2500 respectively per month(16-18 classes/week,each clas being 50mins.Why???
These mustn't continue.If i could rake 'in 9-10k every month,then i think my native speaking colleagues should be able to get more.
What do you guys feel?Peace and Love to U all.