Dear fellow teacher,

I'm sorry to hear of your dreadful experiences. I've been in China four years and I can empathize with your frustrations. There have been a few occassions
when I've found things almost unbearable here.

It seems at times to be an on going struggle to keep sane here sometimes. Just when you think you have all the bases covered, something else springs up to give you a test. Those guys who play in those tv shows called "Survivor" back in the West have nothing on what we often go through out here. We are not trying to endure difficult conditions that have been concoted by a programme genius: this is the real thing!

Maybe, at least in my case, I'm exaggerating a bit. To be honest, I think that if I had spent all my time here working in private schools I would really be ready for the funny farm now. My advice to you is to obviously follow Fish's excellent advice about keeping a good diet for the next couple of months, and I'd addd to that the importance of a good nights sleep every night (sorry if I'm stating the obvious) , to help you endure your last two months.

If you ever consider coming back to China, I would recommend that you stay clear of private schools. The only real trouble I had with a school in China was with the one private school I taught at, and from what I've heard on the street and on forums like this a vast majority of the problems for foreign teachers arise while working at those schools. I've personally found public schools to be a much safer bet. They are by no means perfect, because penny-pinching goes on there too, but I've never had any serious contractual issues in a public school.

The major disadvantage of public schools however is that most of the time the salaries are quite low. Of course if you're not just here for money, but would like a rewarding teaching experience in China , then I think public schools are the best way to go for newbies. Don't sign a contract you are not happy with. If you think the salary is too low or there are other conditions you don't like, either negotiate for more money/ better conditions or just go elsewhere, otherwise you could find yourself feeling trapped, and miserable in conditions you're not happy with.

Once you've signed a contract you're reasonably satisfied with, at a public school (I particularly recommend colleges or universities in the South of China where the workload is quite low, and where you usually have no office hour requirements and are usually left alone to teach and live in peace), as much as possible don't give the school an excuse to muck you around. If you want them to keep their promises make sure you keep your promises. Just basically teach well and fulfill the hours you promised and the rest of your contractual obligations

I have found by practicing the above I have very few problems with schools violating the contract. If you get good feedback from the students, that filters through to the school leaders you suddenly find your maintenence problems get solved much more quickly and generally will have no problems with the contract. Basically if you keep the students "sweet" the leaders will endeavour to keep you "sweet". I've found this to be the case at ALL my public schools, finding things go smoother and smoother as the school year progresses.

I find 99% of the stress occours at the beginning, when neither party is sure of the other, and both the teacher and the school are battling to get conditions that they will be happy with over the next year. Foreign teachers though, shouldn't really have to battle. If they refuse to offer reasonable conditions go to another school. China is a big country, that is crazy for English. Let the schools worry about finding teachers. We don't have to worry about finding schools in China. Schools are like rice over here!

You don't have to boot lick (I'm definitely not into that). Just do your job. No problem, surely. Why would you be in China working for peanuts if you don't enjoy teaching anyway? Do what you enjoy as best as you can and sit back and watch your tree yield fruit!

That doesn't mean that you will be completely problem free. But if any issue comes up with the school and they drag their feet, your application to the job will give you ammunition. You can say, " Look, I've kept my promises, now you keep yours". I know this often doesn't work in private schools and I'm not speaking directly here to you "Exhausted American". From your posts I can see a dedicated teacher, who cares about his students, and enjoys teaching, but has unfortunately found himself working for a real bunch of shysters. The above advice is for newbies (teachers who are considering coming to China for the first time). Look for public schools!

Exhausted American, I wish you all the best and hope you are able to maybe turn things around down there. As for new teachers just make sure you come here with your eyes open. Do your research, do your best, and you will find that it is possible to enjoy a good teaching experience in China.