Prof.Dr.David Ngin Sian Pau
- 2009-06-26
By the way, "Ask and it shall be given unto you." will apply in this kind of situation. But some employers in China don't know how, so I wrote how they wanted to recommend me in English and the employer signed in it. That's what I used to do because I much valued my employers' references. It's a way of showing love and respect to my employers in China as well.
Turino
- 2009-06-23
Disparaging written references literally do not exist! EVERY written reference commends the subject.
Disparaging means belittling or derogatory.I didn't use that word,you did!
Dodgy means unreliable.
If someone is given a good written teaching reference,but is an ineffective teacher,that means said reference is dodgy.If someone is given a glowing written teaching reference,but is a fairly good teacher,that's a dodgy reference too.
In an earlier post,I gave an example of an FT who was given a written teaching reference by her Chinese director. The last sentence was about her excessive drinking,obviously making said reference a disparaging one!Click on the link below to find out more:
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/forum/index.pl?read=54696
Helper
- 2009-06-23
Turino! Disparaging written references literally do not exist! EVERY written reference commends the subject. If the employer agrees to write a reference for a former / soon-to-be-former employee, it WILL be praiseworthy. And this phenomenon is not limited to China. Most Asian people will allow / accommodate / initiate face-saving measures.
For a chance, but not a guarantee, of a realistic appraisal, a phone call to the writer of the reference is necessary.
A couple of years ago I participated in a summer camp. At the end of the camp, 5 or 6 of the 10 foreign teachers asked for references so the camp organizers decided to give every F.T. a reference - an identical reference. We were all camp leaders, we all performed beyond expectations, we all provided fun and interesting lessons .....
First,I'll relate a true story re a dodgy teaching reference written by a Chinese employer.Here goes:
In the not-so-distant past a white FT taught for two semesters at a private college somewhere in Dongbei.After completing his contract,the head of the English department told him she would call him after Spring Festival if it was decided to continue his employment.The FT said farewell to the lady and went on holiday.He didn't seek a job just then because he was undecided whether to go on teaching or not.Sure enough,he received a call,the gist of which was that the college coudn't afford his services,and had hired a cheaper alternative,a Filipino.The white FT wasn't that bothered about it as he thought teaching there was just so-so.As he was still in the city where the college was located,he got on a bus to there and met the lady to ask her for a teaching reference just in case he needed one to get a teaching job elswhere.He stressed that he wanted a true report,and that it needn't be written in Chinese,just in English,to save them time.The teaching reference was typed in about half an hour.It said that he was a wonderful teacher who had arranged an English salon on a weekly basis.But there were never any English salons there!He was tempted to ask what an English salon was.
Second,another true story about a Russsian who was teaching English at a private college,also in Dongbei.After one semester he was fired on account of his bad teaching and pronunciation.He asked for a reference,and got a good one!
Third,another true story re the college where the Russian was teaching at.A fellow white FT of his was not good at teaching.Her sister,a practising elemantary school teacher,visited her in the summer holidays.The college director said the lady FT would only be offered an extension to her contract if her sister would sign up to teach there!In fact,she didn't,and the lady FT also got a good teaching reference despite being a rather poor teacher!
The Chinese seem to be their own worst enemies.They are perpetuating poor teaching here by providing good references to inept FT's.I regard it as a sign of the selfishness of our employers.If they have employed an inept foreign teacher,they don't care what will happen at the next unlucky school that has accepted said FT after having been fooled by an inflated teaching reference that should never have been written in the first place.
Being honest is something that doesn't come naturally to many employers in this country,so it seems.