Give this Big Burnin' Hunk o' Love a pass, folks.

When I arrived, my worst nightmares were realized: the apartment was a dormitory room that adjoined the boys' dorm. Bars crossed every window, and there was even a jailhouse-type of steel bar door with a lock on it (presumably to keep the FTs in in the event we tried to escape).

My first "apartment" was filthy. The second one was much better. It was only very dirty.

The toilet overflowed regularly, and the air conditioner and heater did not work properly.

Worse, the cafeteria doesn't serve round-eyed people. That requires you to walk thirty minutes to the closest Mom and Pop greasy chopstick to eat.

Shopping is about a half hour away by bus, and the city center is about an hour away.

The language labs (where your classes will be held) don't work. If you bring a flash drive to use on the computer, expect it to be corrupted or completely ruined. The language lab hard drives are filled with mp3 downloads, ICQ and QQ and other things that shouldn't be in the system. The guy who is supposed to maintain the equipment is clueless.

Did I mention that the language labs break down often? My recorded oral finals were shortened because the guy who works in the language lab didn't know how to run the program. I couldn't grade one of my tests because the system froze and he couldn't fix it. He disappeared after that little problem arose.

Oh, the contract. Forget it. I signed a one-year contract. I was told that I would have to move to a hotel for the summer, but that the school would pay for that. The hotel move was not in the contract, so any promises regarding compensation were soon forgotten.

The last two weeks of school were spent in intensive "Teacher Practicals" during which I spent thirty hours with two classes each for two consecutive weeks. My overtime for this time spent was about thirty-five yuan per hour. I was given reams of paperwork to fill out at the last possible minute. Simultaneously, I had to submit finals for four classes, then when the practicals were finished, I had booklets of students' comments to which I was required to respond. Then I had to correct the finals.

On the last day of classes, I was terminated "for health reasons". I was never sick! My med exam revealed an irregular heartbeat, but while the school was in need, that didn't matter. When I brought the terms of contract regarding termination of contract by Party A to the FAO's attention. The sum of money was beyond their comprehension.

--- That's in our SAFEA contract?

--- What's SAFEA?

The FAO made too many promises that it couldn't keep. The solution? Get rid of the teacher. It was cheaper to hire a new teacher the following term than to KEEP a qualified, experienced teacher with thirteen years experience in academia and twenty years in the media industry. I am a professional.

I was taken down to the PSB, and a three day "L" tourist visa was stuck in my passport, and when it was returned to me, my residence permit was canceled. I had three days to get out of the country.

My head is reeling because I was reviewed by the dean of the FL Department and was given good reviews. My students liked me, and students from other FT's classes often attended my classes. I gave optional after-class night time test reviews (which were attended by all). THE DEAN WAS QUOTED BY STUDENTS SAYING HOW I WAS ONE OF THE BEST FTs IT HAD HIRED IN YEARS (This isn't saying much. Judging by the resumes left on my computer by former "teachers" their level of experience and education appeared to be lie somewhere between nonexistent and 'I done got three weeks edjumacation at a community collidge').

Being terminated on short notice was bad, but being terminated with NO notice is inexcusable.

Did I mention that my access password to the internet was changed frequently (by god-knows-who), and that data from my computer disappeared on a regular basis? Worse, my incoming email often indicated that it had been read when I had never seen it before. Still worse, I often found my name and password on my email portals SAVED so that I (or whoever else was accessing my email) didn't have to remember my name or password.

Avoid this place.

The Chinese teachers are wonderful. The Dean of the Foreign Languages Department is great, but everything else about the school is just cr@p.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2009 11:26AM by Olive.

UPDATE: A recent tourist visit to China and to this school indicates that the Foreign Teachers' living conditions have deteriorated since I was illegally expelled from this school, simply for asking to be fed in the cafeteria, and then pursuing the matter with the vice president of the college.

Thirty percent of the English Teachers there are now non-native speakers of English. Depending upon the quality of their education, this can be good or bad. When I taught there, one Foreign English teacher whose native language was not English made frequent mistakes in class, mistranslated/misedited documents which were subsequently circulated to other FTs, thus causing unnecessary confusion. The school failed to check this teacher's credentials closely. The "teacher" 's Ph.D in "Sino-European Relations" was later revealed to be a BA in drama. Many were deceived by false qualifications. This caused tremendous problems for the foreign languages department, the FAO, and relationships among everyone.

I mention this not to ridicule or to deride, but to point out how sloppiness and dereliction of duty on the part of the FAO causes problems for everyone. The FAO at this school is largely responsible for the problems of- and among the western foreign teachers. It eventually had far-reaching effects beyong my illegal expulsion from this school.

I don't want to reveal personal identification of the Chinese faculty, but any prospective employee at this school should know that there has been a recent (as of September 2009) major shakeup (and changes for the worse) at Yangzhou Vocational College of Environment and Resources. As a result, many students have transferred to other colleges, so your chances of working in a stable political environment are greatly lessened. I am confident that even though some visionary people are now working in other capacities, the foreign languages department will recover.

If you DO decide to work for this institution, be prepared for very bad living conditions, a cafeteria which will not serve you food (thereby requiring you either to take a bus into town for meals or to walk 45 minutes to the next village).

As I said before, the Chinese faculty is friendly and helpful, and the students are probably the friendliest (and eager) I have encountered in all of my travels in China. You CAN make a difference in people's lives there, as long as you are willing to severely compromise your standard of living nd without whings such as eating. Go there with an open mind AND AN EDUCATION!

Thanks.

If you'd like to teach in China seriously, you get a EFL certificate, and apply for a job through a good dealer such as ESEC.

Being a teacher doesn't make good money in most countries. So, don't expect too much if you become a teacher, or if you like being a teacher.

You can surely enjoy more if you can beocome a top manager in big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai. The question is: Are you lucky or qualitfied?

Michaelbwx,

Thank you for the helpful advice. China is not the only place where I have taught. I hold an MFA in writing, an MA in English with heavy experience working with EFL/ESL students on the college level, A BA in English, and a BA in communications. I have fifteen years experience teaching middle school through college. This is on top of about thirteen years working in communications and corporate training. Teaching is not new to me.

I've worked in the private sector as well as in the public sector. I prefer the public sector in both China and in the U.S. largely because the academics come first and the money comes second. At this point in my life I am not money-motivated, though I do expect respect and courtesy from management. I did not receive either courtesy OR respect at Yangzhou College of Environment and Resources.

Public education is not the sole domain of bad management in either the U.S. or in China. Private education has its pitfalls.

If I wanted to teach in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, I'd apply to schools there. I grew up in large cities in the U.S., so large cities have little appeal to me.

Money is not a problem. I am paid well enough to not only surbvive but also to save.

What is truly disheartening is having to deal with so-called professionals (such as FAOs) who regard the foreign teacher as chattel. In many schools, the FAO does his/her best to scr*w the FTs and to create havoc at every turn. I have become tolerant of mangement styles. However, when an FAO willfully breaks the law, the FT should have recourse. My recent dealings with the SAFEA indicates that the FT really has no recourse. The SAFEA is much like an old, dead and bloated fish with no teeth. It is there, and no one can deny its existence, but it is basically useless.

I have recently learned that one of the foreign teachers ( a woman) had a non-traditional relationship with the FAO (also a woman). It was suggested to me that getting rid of me would help to ameliorate (if not totally hide) the fact that the FT was being paid twice the amount that she should have been paid. She was drawing a Ph.D's salary but she had a BA in drama. I found this out after i forced the FAO's hand after several weeks of unfair favoritism shown to the FT in question at the expense of the other FTs, and having to hear nonstop complaints of students who took her classes as well as mine. She was incompetent.

So there's more of the story. It was not a pleasant experience at all.

Will, your story is a truly surprise to me. I guess you just need to find another employer. As of payment, you accepted it when you were hired. So, what the other teacher could make was none of your business. I understand you would be frustrated though.If money is second to you, why does it matter much anyways?

I am from a small city, though I am currently living in Shanghai.

Perhaps you should find a job through a dealer. Google a little for Educational Service Exchange Center. It is one of the best education service broker. When I was studying at the unvisersity, our college was hiring teachers from this center. I knew most of those foreign teachers during those years. Most of them had a very happy life on campus.

You missed my point re: false credentials.

Had the FAO been honest and/or conscientious, she would have checked the teacher's credentials. It wasn't until a third party (the dean of the dept.) got involved that it was revealed that the incompetent teacher was over her head because she was not qualified to teach. English was her second language, and the level she was teaching was well beyond even her own ability.

I don't care about the favoritism or the money. I care about doing my job unimpeded.

I guess you need to consult a medical doctor today.