Turino
- 2010-02-28
Well,we see training centers advertise too frequently for energetic teachers who are committed professionals expected to motivate youngsters by making English learning fun.
Of course,that implies a high turnover rate of foreign teachers,not a good sign.
They make the job sound challenging,which it undoubtedly is! But their problem is that many qualified teachers aren't looking for openings like that.The kind of applicants they mainly attract are budding teachers without proper paper qualifications.Such foreigners are usually rejected by state-run schools and by private
high/international schools. The last resort of many such applicants is to apply for posts at TC's.At least,TC's will often be able to wangle visas for them by using the back door.Of course there are some properly qualified foreign staff who have chosen to teach at such private enterprises too, where entertainment overrides actual teaching goals. Some public schools also need entertainers rather than teachers. The advertisements tell us what the priorities are. Those jobseekers applying to employers who stress liveliness,energy and dedication should be avoided by those of us who are able to get jobs elswhere in the public sector and who dislike being monkeys in a muppet show. As for those who are prepared to make fools of themselves in front of children to earn a living,good luck to them. But that is definitely not my forte,so I'll gladly leave it well alone.
In fact,there are some good TC's here in China, but they're thin on the ground.Even so,I'd avoid them,as they're small operations that are privately run,and in the event of one having to close down, its foreign staff will probably be cheated by not being paid a monthly salary and monetary perks due at the time of closure.Why risk a biscuit?That's my view.
helmut wingnut
- 2010-02-28
There's still a problem with the "blame the teacher" attitude showing up on this board. Torino (not Turnoi) wrote:
greedy,dishonest employers are deserving of less qualified teachers.Actually, the
former deserve performing white monkeys, and that's mostly what they get!
I think the reality is something different. While those employers do deserve unqualified teachers, the real problem is that they often do get qualified teachers and treat them like performing monkeys. However, this is NOT restricted to private schools. Public schools also find plenty of excuses to put teachers on stage, photograph them, make the do English Corners etc,. and in each case the teacher is expected to be a spectacle.
But, to clear up the private versus public school education debate. I feel private schools are a good idea for teaching English as a foreign language. The problem is the way they are run. But, do you think that YOU or people you could choose were to run a private school that it could offer excellent opportunities for those serious about learning to speak English? I'd say yes.
Turino
- 2010-02-27
Private training centres follow quite a different system; it is incompatible with the system of the public sector for a number of principal reasons. One of them is that they hire less qualified teachers than you would find in the public sector, and in saying so I am talking about common standards in the West, not in China!
And let me add that the reason they are generally forced to hire less qualified teachers is that most better qualified teachers take jobs working for employers in China who are more reputable in comparison,and so do not offer their services to Mickey Mouse outfits out to make a fast buck by means of exploiting gullible Chinese with more available income than common sense while at the same time burning out their foreign staffs.
Long may this situation continue - greedy,dishonest employers are deserving of less qualified teachers.Actually, the former deserve performing white monkeys, and that's mostly what they get!