Raoul Duke
- 2008-03-19
Still a couple of problems here...
For one thing, China is not doing much to make itself very attractive to real, qualified teachers. Salaries tend to be very low...geared to giving the school management a certain level of profit rather than being internationally competitive. Also, the reputation of schools and practices here is starting to be heard...no matter what the reality of your school may be, the overall image of teaching here has been badly damaged- and perhaps deservedly so- by the methods and history of what seem to be the majority of places. The top teachers have plenty of choices in places that pay them top salaries and maintain more stringent educational practices.
There are real international schools in China that pay much higher wages and actually expect performance out of students in order to pass. THESE places generally have comparatively little trouble getting good teachers.
Then, there's little training or qualification a Western teacher can get that will prepare them for the realities of teaching kids here. Class sizes are huge. The classrooms are chaotic. If a student acts up, and the foreign teacher disciplines them, it's usually THE FOREIGN TEACHER who gets in trouble. All too often, grades are changed arbitrarily for kids with rich, influential parents. There's nothing I know of that can prepare a Western teacher to accept stuff like this.
LOTS of schools here want entertaining, engaging, effective teachers...but they also want to pay them 4,000 RMB a month, and take away all control of the program and outcomes from them. It just isn't going to happen...you can't have it both ways.
Long-term, big-picture bottom line: the teaching isn't going to improve until the schools do.
steve
- 2008-03-19
I understand what you mean? School owners should treat teachers repectfully and fairly. But what I mean sometime the so called teachers don't know how to teach kids, although they have teaching certificates. Fairly speaking, it's much easy for an English native speaker to introduce the content of the book that kids are learning, but the important thing is how do you make kids like listening to his/her introduction of the content. My school has never treated ESL teachers unfairly but friendly and repectfully. what we need is teachers who really know a little bit methodology. Don't know how can I find and invite.
Raoul Duke
- 2008-03-18
Are there any real English Schools in China. I mean they deliver a quality English language program, empower their teachers to maintain some order in their classrooms, honor the grades the teachers give the students, keep class sizes and schedules reasonable, treat the teachers and students with some honesty and respect, and pay a genuinely competitive compensation package. I need a school that values education, not just profit. I need a school that will let me happily do my job well and lead a decent life in China. But hardly find one.
Real schools will attract real teachers. Joke schools will attract joke teachers.
The choice, China, is ENTIRELY yours.
Are there any real English Teachers in China. I mean they teach in their home countries. I really need teachers from North America. I need teachers who can teach primary/middle school level kids. But hardly find one.