Crap School Spotter
- 2011-03-06
That's why I stopped teaching in China and work in a totally different profession these days and I would encourage everyone else to do likewise. Better hours, better money, better housing, and no crap. All foreign staff in a wholly owned foreign enterprise makes the day go smoothly.
Dragonized
- 2011-03-05
Crap School Spotter, you are a true believer in doing the right things that can truly bring about change. I agree with your idea of keeping the good with the good and not mixing it with the bad. If people are so desperate to build up their countries, they need to BE HONEST WITH THEMSELVES AND WITH OTHER PEOPLE and actually SEE THIS HONESTY THROUGH BY TAKING THE APPROPRIATE ACTION. By encouraging this sorry excuse of a lying, despicable, REN-ZHA (Chinese word for human scum) filled machine of the ESL world of china to continually exist there will only be more injustice.
The recruiters and owners and the corrupt officals who support them need to realize what they have turned their country into: A TOTAL DISGRACE. What's worse the government is not acknowledging this. They instead continue to self-rationalize that it's okay to mix and muddle the idea of law and relationships, that law can be understood differently because that's supposedly "chinese culture" or any other misnomer to justify their miserable exsitence. Until the chinese actually start following the law, there will always be this problem of cheating and deception on a mass scale. People who speak out against you for doing the wrong thing do not necessarily want to topple you from power or make you lose face, THEY WANT YOU TO DO THE RIGHT DAMN THING BECAUSE THAT'S YOUR FREAKIN' JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
I think the going to the public library, museum, or chinatown idea is in fact a great idea for all those people who still get caught up in the "mystery" mantra of Asia. Unless you have enough cash to visit all the mountains and natural scenery which is available in china, you're better off watching documentaries and seeing pictures. You're not missing out on much, especially if you're from a country such as Australia, Canada, USA, or even the United Kingdom as there are PLENTY of Asian immigrants living in the country to give you stories and scoops about their respective cultures. I'm not saying these countries are perfect or even that great, but in the long run judging from an ordinary joe's point of view you're not doing yourself any favors and you're wasting a HUGE AMOUNT OF YOUR PERSONAL TIME working in countries that are years behind with respecting the law and being civil with other fellow human beings.
When China and Japan had a disupte with an island not too long ago and Japan decided to arrest a chinese fisherman, what was the general reaction in the international community? That's right almost total isolation towards the chinese government. For people who don't learn their lesson in humility and intelligence the punishment will continue to come again and again until the lesson is learned.
This is what I think. I enjoy teaching. But I do not enjoy crap schools, or schools pretending to be good schools that are actually more crap schools, and I am so sick and tired of seeing FT's F-ed over in China, not getting the right visas, or not getting paid, or not getting housing, or not getting their bonus, airfare, or whatever else they were promised. I think in all reality that it is time to gather up all of the FT's in China and simply leave China and go back to wherever you came from and let China sink into the dark black sucking vortex that it is and always will be. The same is true for Korea for that matter. As for these punk recruiters that could sell ice machines to Eskimos while playing teachers like a fiddle, they ought to all be forced to be licensed, pay taxes and clearly list their office addresses, etc. The entire world of ESL is a scam and by working as ESL teachers, all that is happening is that FT's give the crap schools a talent pool of cheap labor so that the crap school owners get rich. I think that all FT's should finish their contracts and simply go home. Let the Chinese and Koreans teach their own students their own way and if it does not work, well...they can apply for a visa and open a Chinese or a Korean restaurant somewhere abroad or shine shoes. The brain dump that has taken place in the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and NZ has caused a lot of trauma to those free nations and it is time that those nations had some of their own people back home to make their countries whole again. Let all of those rich Chinese that went abroad and then back to China shoulder the burden of building their society. Let their talent fix problems, pay taxes, teach kids, and try to create something. Of course they'll fail miserably, but so what? The one thing that is true about these teacher posting boards is that one rarely ever sees any good news about great jobs, honest employers, or teachers really liking their careers in China or Korea. If you like being treated like a dog while being paid low wages, while sucking in polluted air 24/7, and chasing your payroll around each month, China and Korea are two miserable places to consider working. Most FT's have little free time to actually take in any sites and since their wages are so low, they also cannot afford to go anywhere or do anything anyway. What's the advantage to that? Anytime I read some newbie posting on these boards looking for a job in China I just lean back in my chair and think out loud saying, does this teacher have any idea what in the world they are getting into? If you want to experience Chinese culture go to China Town for a few hours. If you want to help your own country stay home and help kids there. Last night I met a young woman who is now staying at my flat until sometime next week. Her parents are sending her money to fly home after her school failed to pay her and then threatened her and tried to hold her passport. I found her crying on the street. She has already called her embassy. She has a Z visa and a FEC so she can also go after the crap school with the labor bureau but for her wages of 7000 RMB it is not worth the crap.
I think it is time to hang China out to dry and let the Chinese teach themselves and for all real teachers to go home and dig in where it matters most. Tell those recruiters to kiss your ***, take a rain check on even considering China, and enjoy life at home. If you still feel this need to find out about Chinese culture, visit a museum or a public library.