By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: As a teacher, what are some of the odd/uncomfortable situations you've found yourselves in?
Being harassed by students with text messages, 15 year old girls declaring their love for you in public, parents of students treating you to a fancy dinner and asking for preferential treatments for their kids... I've been through all of these.
How about you?
12 years 11 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
Filling in for somebody on short notice since they didn't show up for work. Nobody really participating in class, but one person out of the whole bunch etc.,
Weird student repeatedly askes me to go drinking with her, climb mountains, and give private English lessons despite several refusals. Apparently she does the same to all the younger teachers.
1. Stopping a grandma from slapping the bejesus outta her grandson at 7am on a Sunday morning.
2. Dealing with 33 year old, drunk, university student who also happened to be a policeman. (or so he said, he was in uniform)
Had a drunk middle aged man come into an english corner half way though a short article that was about India. After sitting for a minute, for no apparent reason he spoke up "its because americans think they are better than everyone." I told him that the subject had nothing to do with america at all. He said a few other sentances that werent exactly coherent but were obviously confrontational.... he got quiet after he realized the other students were confused and embarrassed by him.
GuilinRaf:
Last time the US sold weapons to a "particular island" I had a similar encounter at English corner. A middle aged man interrupted us to demand why. I told him that I was not Obama and that I have no control over what the White House does. This did not deter my, and started yelling the usual stuff. After a few more attempts to calm him down, unsuccesfully, I just ignored him. Suddenly, I hear a lot of yelling so when I turn around, I see that the guy is on the floor being held down by three or four of my students. One of the girls told me that they guy had lunged at me but my students intercepted him! Anyway, campus police came and took the guy away and I never saw him again.
After reading some of these answers, it seems I've dodged most of these bullets. I never see any parents, and the English corners are on campus. No problems with text messages, although I've had some problems with QQ, in the sense that sometimes, those who want me to "add" them are not my students at all. Once I had a university girl from Beijing (which I am NOWHERE near) want to add me. I said "no thanks."
The only problem I've encountered is the "clinging" student. There seems to be a different one every semester. You know, the kind who want to hang all over you and wants you to spend all of your time "improving their English." Usually, it is a case of them being far from their city and a bit homesick, but I rectify the problem with telling all my classes I'm married, and not living close to the campus helps to insulate one somewhat.
Other than that, I'm cool as a breeze.
Being taken out to dinner by the mother of one of my students was really uncomfortable, but it would have been rude to say no after all my Chinese colleagues got so excited for me about it. Quite the honour, seemingly.
Limited English on their part and no Mandarin on mine made the whole thing squirmy and rather killed any potential conversation.
Screwing the mother of one of the kids at the school I was at. ......later on things got a little weird as our connection got worse.
One of my adult summer students (teachers) was given a lot of grief in class because her mother is Japanese...
When a student is crying in class.
When you say something in your own country is better than that in China to a class.
Having the drunken American teacher pass out in the classroom next door, at 09h45 on a Tuesday morning, with all the students aghast.
