I had been teaching at Number 2 Middle School, Shijiazhuang part-time, teaching four classes on Saturday morning. Age of students 16yrs. No: 2 Middle School is regarded as the best Middle school in Shijiazhuang. This is the school for children to attend if they are supposed clever. I worked for the school without signing a contract and was paid 150rmb for a 50minute class. I had been working at the school since October 2008. Today, 25th Feb 2009 during the teaching of the third class a man walked into the room - I was informed by a student that he was the Headmaster of the School. He did not introduce himself and asked the students (speaking in Chinese) to leave the classroom. I was aware that something was wrong, though was unsure as to what. Still without naming himself he told me that I had done "a very bad thing", " according to him I had wrote something about homosexuality on the board. I pointed out that the students had been reading a short play by Wendy Wassertein, titled 'Tender Offer' (1993) the play is for two people, the characters are a nine year old girl and her thirty five yr old father. The play is not of a sexual nature, though makes a joke using the word 'Lesbian' once. Without giving explicit details of what a Lesbian is, I wrote the word on the chalkboard in both English and chinese, leaving it for the students to follow-up in their own time. The Headmaster told me that this word was banned and not allowed to be used in a Chinese Education establishments. His whole manner was rude and unprofessional, his intellect, that of a spanner.
-I said that I would take my leave. I managed to get my wages which were owed to me.
For any English Language teacher thinking of working at this school in the future, my advise would be this is a school that will warn you not to speak when in classroom of any Human rights issues within the World especially China. And that you are being employed not to actually teach anything of any worth, that may actually be educational.