Problem is for non retired FT's you won't save much, inside or outside of China. In the cities of China, although not affecting those in the countryside, prices are going up year after year, and even if that does not concern you, everyone needs savings for a rainy day.

Great point.

Vocational College is better than community college. It is still college even in "western sense"

For older folks yes, but not for younger folks.

The problem here is there are too many expats who are so greedy for money that they will allow themselves to be duped by the Chinese side. BTW, I believe we should be teaching in China to chill out, not to work hard.

I agreed with all your reasoning in that post. As for the excerpt above, I also agree with that-but I would heap more blame on the FT's than I think you do for being so stupid as to allow themselves to be duped by 'the Chinese side.'

Yes FT's who come to China to teach oral English should come to chill out, not to throw their weight around as if they come to to actually fill a proper teacher role. We are no more than language assistants, to assist the Chinese teachers by exposing the students to native born English speakers.

Chinese bosses pay TAs average wages at best. They make much less than qualified teachers in China. That's the major negative, and why most TSs are recent college/university graduates lacking in proper teacher training. Many of us who've taught at Chinese colleges or universities too also know that academic standards in higher education are often much lower than at western institutions of those two kinds. The lowest here are so-called vocational colleges, which aren't really colleges at all in a western sense as their students are equivalent in age to senior middle school students, and such colleges are nowhere near key senior middle schools in academic achievement levels on account of their student intakes being low in ability and possessing little education. The initial quality isn't there, and neither is the experience, except in the case of a few agents who train their TAs week by week, or monthly, on a Saturday or a Sunday. That makes a lot of difference, in-service training, as it were.

It all sounds like waffle to me; these ordinary girls who become TA's seem a lot better educated than their counterparts in the West- great numbers of them speak another language for starters. It seems to me that FT's are self-centred and arrogant in their attitude towards these girls- why on earth should we expect them to be perfect, when most of us FT's are certainly not; and certainly not experienced properly trained teachers are we (present company...) Give them a break, that's what I say. Go home and spend years training to be a real teacher ,then start throwing your weight around demanding properly trained TA's. You may say, I can control a class myself and have no need for a TA....bit selfish? Won't it mean that another little human being will not have a job?

Is there a real solution towards bringing good TA's into the charade of what is the Educational System in China?

Chinese bosses pay TAs average wages at best. They make much less than qualified teachers in China. That's the major negative, and why most TSs are recent college/university graduates lacking in proper teacher training. Many of us who've taught at Chinese colleges or universities too also know that academic standards in higher education are often much lower than at western institutions of those two kinds. The lowest here are so-called vocational colleges, which aren't really colleges at all in a western sense as their students are equivalent in age to senior middle school students, and such colleges are nowhere near key senior middle schools in academic achievement levels on account of their student intakes being low in ability and possessing little education. The initial quality isn't there, and neither is the experience, except in the case of a few agents who train their TAs week by week, or monthly, on a Saturday or a Sunday. That makes a lot of difference, in-service training, as it were.

It makes me laugh whenever posters berate Chinese TAs. Last time I taught (maths) in the UK, there was a special needs teacher with me for my first year secondary school students at the comprehensive school in Tobermory. I was a supply teacher. That was some years ago. There were only 21 students in the class.
Real teachers know that a teaching assistant can make the subject teacher's job much easier! But in China, most EFL teachers aren't real teachers. And those that berate TAs haven't ever been certificated practising subject teachers back home in the west. They don't know what they're on about!

I do see a bit of a contradiction in this part of your statement. I do believe that in China, TA's certainly are not up to the standards of what a TA working in a classroom in a western country would offer. The reason some people bash "Teaching Assistants" or what I would call Pretend Teaching Assistants in China is because most of the time they do not actually bring order to the classroom and they have little skills in disciplining a student. Having worked in a Public School with 50+ kids in a classroom I can certainly see where an extra hand can come in handy, but only if they know what they are doing. Is there a real solution towards bringing good TA's into the charade of what is the Educational System in China?

Good post about T.A.s. When I teach middle school I prefer not to have a T.A. so my students will be forced to pay attention to my instructions so they will know what we are about to do.

At a run-of-the-mill rural senior middle school, I think a TA is of use. But I personally do not wish 16 classes/week with 16 distinct subject teachers acting as TA. I prefer the same TA to enter every classroom with me and follow the lesson plan we have prepared in advance in unison.

I think a TA is also of use at junior middle schools, probably more so, as the behavior of the children is potentially a much bigger problem than students of senior middle schools. Their lack of maturity, very poor English as a rule, and the classes being rather big create said problem.

But when I teach little kids a T.A. is essential. Children have a short attention span and you need someone to tell the children, in their own language, to stop throwing things or fighting with each other.

Agreed, but a TA in that situation can also do some simple interpreting, and ask the little horrors to translate some key words from Chinese into English and let the FT say the English words, followed by the children saying what they mean in Chinese. Of course, pictures can be used as a teaching aid.

I'm afraid I haven't the patience to teach English learners of junior middle school or elementary school or kindergarten. But that's just me!

Yep, Chinese teaching assistants mostly have poor English skills. That makes it easy for a native speaker of English to moderate their bossiness. Also, they're usually disloyal to the agent whom they work for. That's because they're only on about 2,000 RMB/ month at most with no long-vacation pay. They resent their employment package even more when they compare it to what an FT makes. Fact is, the turnover rate among them is very high. Few last more than 5 years in the job. They will either marry or find a higher-paying job during their time as TAs. But they can make an FT's teaching job much easier at a state high school in two ways:
1) by being an interpreter
2) by maintaining discipline

It makes me laugh whenever posters berate Chinese TAs. Last time I taught (maths) in the UK, there was a special needs teacher with me for my first year secondary school students at the comprehensive school in Tobermory. I was a supply teacher. That was some years ago. There were only 21 students in the class.
Real teachers know that a teaching assistant can make the subject teacher's job much easier! But in China, most EFL teachers aren't real teachers. And those that berate TAs haven't ever been certificated practising subject teachers back home in the west. They don't know what they're on about!

There you are, from the pen of a properly qualified teacher, who didn't just come to China because, like me, it's a great place to be, or like most other FT's, no other bugger would have him. No no, it was a genuine choice for him to teach in China. The only way a precious few of us could teach in the UK would be to try and get a position as a TA- most of us would be laughed out of the door entertaining that degree of megalomania(Ooopos can't really say that can I? was that an oxywotsit?)

If I wasn't able to handle a young TA, I would be too embarrassed to admit it. I myself have been able to make their lives a little sweeter. They can be like a pit bull terrier in defence of their FT's....but, you only get out what you put in.

rubbish, leave at once!