Larrrie White
- 2007-04-23
I have been teaching for twenty-five years. Teaching is tough everywhere. I taught in Sanfrancisco. There I was often lied to by administrators and cheated by the school system. I was told to fake documentation and was even transfered for refusing to do so. I taught special ed. Most of my students were poor and black and male. Several have been jailed five murdered. The school I worked Benfrank;in MS had police and metal detectors. When a child 13 years of was shot across the street the school district did not even send a grief counselor.I was spent three months coaching a boys basketball team. During the time I coached my players collective gpa was 2.8 and we went from 0-9 to6-3 they where very proud but because they all african american they were not recognized in anyway. I took them out and bought them trophies with my own money. When I questioned the principal(Chinese AM) as to why she would not recognize thier accomplishments She said these boy spend too much time to play basketball. When emigrant workers comw to America or England they are often denied basic human rights and protection under the law. What I see in China is a lot spoiled white kids coming here and wanting everything to go smooth well welocome to real world. Yes I I have had many issues here. But I find the positives out way the negatives. Yes Chinese people can be very diffficult when it comes to money. But who isn't? Yes they have a lot to learn. Then we should try to teach them in a positive way.
KJ
- 2007-04-22
But then there are many who do enjoy the experience and have been doing so for a long time. In fact, though the number of the disillusioned is high, the truth is that they are the minority. Those who do the proper research and have the credentials and experience to make it a worthwhile experience find that they've made a wise choice by coming here. Those that come here with a pollyanna attitude and naive expectations often meet with hardships. Beyond that, I find it difficult to understand why anyone would come here without knowing what they're getting into. Granted, there are some real con artists in this business. But seriously, what's the value of running off to a foreign country to work for a private business of any kind without knowing anything about said business? I think I would call that a misplaced faith in humanity.
If you want to teach in China, sample the waters carefully. One way of doing so, is by working in the public sector first. Still, know the school you'll be working for. Know the people you'll be working with and for. Know the city you'll be teaching in and where you'll be living. Be adult - do the research. Talk to prior teachers who've taught where you want to teach. Yeah, request their contact information. If you don't get it, move on. Make informed decisions. This is the real world.
Finally, I've got to admit that even if you do all the above, you may still end up cheated. But that's life. Get over it. China doesn't have a monopoly on cheating. If you made it through life unscathed at home, then you're one of the lucky ones. Move on and don't make the same mistake twice. Learn from your experience. Yep, this is the real world.
Alina
- 2007-04-22
I work in Dongying, the same city as Golden Bridge school. I know of two teachers who were actually advised by their recruiting company to do the midnight run because the school was so bad. They didn't pay them properly or anything.
I would have to agree with you- working in China is difficult and often not worth it. Out of all the foreigners I've met here, who work in different places around China, not many like who they work for or where they work.