canadian
- 2012-08-02
Hopefully the fire from this 2008 thread has died down by now?
Just wondering if anyone has any current experiences with SIE to share. My boyfriend and I have an interview with them coming up, and if the problems are "nit picky" then we'll take it over the horrific schools we've been reading about on here. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
The Doc
- 2008-07-20
Wow! My post has gotten lots of feedback. I am back in the States and I can finally put this behind me...after one more parting comment..
First I want to say that I wouldn't trade my Chinese experience for anything. It has definitely enriched my life and, I hope, I have enriched the lives of my students. To quote Chaucer, "...and gladly would he learn and gladly teach." I did; I have.
For the novitiate, rookie, newbie, etc. The central point I was trying to make was simple: be sure and ask "these people" some tough questions. Choatle has 27 questions he has put together and I think they should be framed with a gold border for anyone who is contemplating a China (teaching) experience.
That said, a final shot at Messrs. Curry, Van De Mark, and the school's recruiter. These three folks are "tight as tics" on a hound dog. They are founding members of what I generously refer to as the "super club." Their primary goal is to (a) eat, (b) drink, (c) and smoke cheap cigarettes and sleep to noon. Sounds like a pathetic life, no? Well that has been the main the main of ingredient or the experience de jur for Mr. Van De Mark ("Harry V") for the last 5 years! Wow! Ms. Chen the recruiter (and I do hope you get to talk to her on the telephone and struggle with her "command" of the Chinglish language...) orders the food and they leisurely dine...night after night after night. Curry who has a "wife-beater" tatoo that stretches from his neck to his wrist (and he has the chutzpah to call me "immature") is simply pleased as punch to be in China...Well, hell, after West-by-God-Virginia the kid has stars in his eyes and a new stamp in his new passport. Can you keep 'em down in the hollows when they have see have seen the big tourist hub of Shenyang?enyang?
Now, why would these three gourmand amigos pile on my post? Any other reason that to "set the record straight" for the reader? Well, yes there is and you dear reader are part of it. You see if someone (Foreign Teacher)"bails out" in mid-year or mid-semester, YOU WILL have to "pick up the slack" and that means more work for all the remaining teachers. Oops. And if you think everything is hunky dory at S.I.E. be sure and ask the recruiter and her fractured English if any one has just up and walked out on the school? Ever been consideration given by the teaching faculty to resigning over accomodation issues specifically the heat (or lack thereof) in your apartment? Choatle is rigtht: ask for references from people have been ther Abeen there and LEFT. Boy you'll make Ms. Chen work for her "supper" on that one as she goes through her roladex picking out the "safe" names for you to call.
At least now the recruiter can't give you the "Harry and Jerry" show because you already know those two super club members are less than neutral about your "visit" to the S.I.E. experience. They want you to come...they want you help further the lifestyle of the "three amigos." Oh, and for a kicker...ask yourself why the hell a retired "school principal" has been at the same location for 5 years and a kid without a teaching license (even from West-by God-Virginia) are so interested in YOU coming to S.I.E. As the Church Lady would say..."How conveeenient." Zye jee-en.
P.S.
Oh, yes, I got the powers-that-be to change the locks on the apartment doors over Ms. Chen's assurances that everyone was "safe." I made them an offer they couldn't refuse: I told them if they locks weren't changed I'd file for breach of contract and an immediate payoff of my contract with a penalty.
Choatle
- 2008-06-25
First off of course I know what a nit is, who doesn't. Of course you did not give me a chance to respond, since again, who doesn't know what a nit is.
Talk about nit picky, you are the epitome of nit picky my dear. You are focusing on the tiniest little things. Yes they said you would have this or that, get over it. Are you dying from the heat, do you have rats, roaches running around? Have you been robbed, passport stolen? Is your pay late? Are they making you work twice as many classes as you were contracted to work?
If the answer is no to these questions, than I hate to tell you this, but you have it ok. If you look hard at anything, no matter how good, you'll find flaws. Relax, don't be so uptight, this is China. Even the best built machines here are only half as good as those made in western countries, you just have to adapt, grin, and bear it.
If however you are incapable of that, and want to whine, which means to complain about things of small importance, than please, whine away, you'll hate your stay here that much more in the process. Tah tah.
The Doc
- 2008-06-24
Ah, but for the excesses of youth...In reply to Mr. Curry's comments.
All I wanted to do with my post was to alert individuals who were thinking of coming to the school what they might encounter; Mr. Curry has taken ad hominem argument and invective to a whole new level.
Mr. Curry is rather new to teaching, and I think in totaly, he has less than 16 months as a classroom teacher. Gracious I have that much time walking the halls of schools (including colleges and universities) I have taught at. If memory serves he does not even have a valid teaching license from any state in the U.S.
Mr. Curry "better love the place" he has signed on for a full year. Mr. Curry, why didn't you tell the reader you are "tight" with the recruiter and break bread with her almost every evening? Hmmm. Would that vitiate your "argument?"
Mr. Curry conveniently ignores my comments about the "missplaced" master keys. The one's that open the apartment to every foreign teacher in this program. Hello! Where did my passport and money go? Oops. No new locks. Let's go have lunch.
All in all Mr. Curry has missed the crux of my post: ask some questions. If you are "comfy" with all the "good things" to which Mr. Curry alludes then dismiss my
post with a tisch, tisch, the ramblings of an old retired teacher who has seen and heard more than his share of bull guano. By the way my less educated friend,
at my age you get senile not immature.
When you have made a bad bargain hold it all the closer...you have to live with it. The Doc
Jarrod D. Curry
- 2008-06-24
Choatle,
You are totally correct in your assumption that The Doc is nit pickey and a whiner. As evidenced by his nit picking on your use of the word "nit picking". At best, The Doc's comments are unwarranted and immature, at worst, they're slanderous and offensive comments about a University that in no way deserves them. I am a co-worker of "The Doc" and would like to use this forum to set his story straight.
I have been working at SIE for the same amount of time as The Doc and have found the staff and accommodations to be satisfactory, AT WORST. The every member of the Chinese staff is helpful beyond their job description when it comes to problems that foreign teachers face. They are constantly assisting us with things that most schools don't bother with, for example: filing government documents, shopping, planning personal trips and purchasing plane/train/bus tickets, and on and on (and on). As a staff member as SIE, I am offended and outraged at The Doc's comments on this forum. These are the rants of someone that is the epitome of "The Grass is always greener..." and who will never be happy in the situation that he is in.
As you can tell from The Doc's previous posts, he is grabbing at straws when it comes to complaints. He complains about the laundry and room cleaning, which are bonuses to this job and rarely done in other lines of work, and says that they are unsatisfactory. To me, and the other teachers, they are far more than adequate. The cleaning isn't comprehensive, but its free! If you don't like it, do it yourself!
Not only is The Doc looking a gift horse in the mouth, he's punching it in the face, then defaming it on the internet. S.I.E. is a great place to work and the staff and accommodations are better than most other teaching jobs you would find in China.
For the record, I'm not saying this on behalf of S.I.E., I just don't want this institution to be belittled by one person who is having a bad experience solely because he insists on having one.
The Doc
- 2008-06-23
Well, Ms. Choatle--
Number one, pose this question to three female foreign teachers: "Would you be willing to go to a school where the master key to your apartment door has been lost and the school has not replaced the lock on your door?" If you get any one of the three to say they would go they (or you) are lying. Second, while you use the term "nit picky" do you actually know what a nit is? I'll wage a month's salary that you don't. I'll give you the biology lesson now: they are ova of lice. Yep, little ova that grow up to be lice. Bad stuff, amigo. Three, some legal jargon for you: all representations made to consenting parties are considered to be part of a contract whether they are put in writing or not. Translated Ms. Choatle: When they say you will have an A.C. apartment, internet, and English speaking channels, they are supposed to have those things for you. Say, who are you anyway? I see your posts and wonder, "Hey is this person a pimp for the powerful" or what? Whiner? Give me a break you Chinglish speaking S.O.B.
Choatle
- 2008-06-22
Hmm, your complaints are petty, nit pickey, and altogether lacking in importance. Are you getting paid on time? Are you freezing, dying from the heat? Does your toilet work? Are they following their contract? You sound like a whiner to me. I generally defend foreign teachers who come here with complaints, but then again, they almost always have valid ones, they don't waste peoples time with these little nit picky things. Count yourself lucky, sounds like you work for an OK school by China standards. Wash your own cloths, clean your own apartment, there you go, problem solved, if only they were all that easy.
I am finishing a stint at S.I.E. Shenyang, China. Before you go you might want to consider the following: While you do get an apartment (as part of the deal) here are some of the things you'll have to contend with. You are promised "Two English speaking channels" on the T.V. Well, once in a blue moon you'll get two; you'll be lucky if you get one. Internet? Well, yes, when it is working. AC in the aparments? Sometimes and at some hours in the day...Apartment cleaning? Yes, every few weeks whether it "needs it or not." Oh, yeah, two weeks ago the cleaning lady missplaced the set of master keys for the apartments. As of this date: (a) no keys and (b) no new locks. They will do your laundry for a fee and give you mildew for free! Ever wear a tee-shirt that has mildew? The smell is worse than roquefort cheese.
I have found the principal recruiter to be as honest as a crook and more controlling. I asked her for the specific procedures used when converting Yuan into Traveler's Chiques and, boy, she just couldn't be bothered with the "technicalities", i.e., the steps and procedures for conversions! When I asked her to put same in writing so all Foreign Experts would have the correct procedures she demurred and said, "I don't want to." When I told her I was going to advise everyone I could by posting on every internet site I could find she said, "I don't care; some will believe you; some won't." The program director is an amiable, affable individual but otherwise detached/disinterested and for some reason or other won't bring her to task. Sorry, forks, but this is China...not exactly the part that the tourists want to go and see. Oh, I almost forget when things break the attitude is:"Let's wait a while and see if it (fill in the blank) fixes itself. We don't want to be hasty here."
The Doc