By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Why do you teach
Teachers in the west are trained to high standards and held accountable by their own profession. When they come here they have to put up with everything from being the white clown to being told they cannot fail a pupil even when that pupil is the worst ever. Add to this the plagiarism, parents attempting to bribe teachers to give the right grade to an otherwise useless student I would have thought the situation here in many schools would have been the opposite of why they wanted to be teachers to start with, does it not go against all the professional ethics? I know some come for a short while before moving on, but I would be interested in the opinions of those who are here for the long haul. Why do you continue to teach?
11 years 38 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
Two reasons, really. I love teaching, and being employed allows me to legally live in China.
Now, in addressing some of the things you mentioned. Yes, there are obstacles in regards to class and school conditions, but I have never considered them insurmountable, just as I did not consider the same limitations insurmountable "back home."
Next semester I'll get a slew of new students. In fact, because of scheduling, I'll only have one returning class of Sophomores, whom I've been teaching since last year. They know what to expect. The new ones, on the first day, will be introduced to "my rules." This will be totally new and different for them.
Over the years I've taught here in China, I've settled on a hybird western/eastern teaching model (part lecture/note-taking, part interactive), but one thing I carry into the class with me is the following, which is non-negotiable:
1). They must attend the class to pass.
2). They must participate.
3). Phones are to be turned off, or will be taken.
4). No plagiarism on written assignments.
5). They will respect me, each other, and themselves.
6). No eating or drinking in class.
7). No rearranging of furniture, etc.
There are 3 other rules, but those are in regards to language and study. At first, there is some testing from the "bolder" students. But after a few examples are made of the trouble-makers, the others soon realize that this is the way it will be. What then happens is, the ones who don't wish to abide by the rules quit coming to class. The others follow the rules, and we set the stage to have a lot of fun and make rapid progress in learning the language!
I've never had any problem with the school administration about how or what I teach. When I walked into the room three years ago, I had chairs for the students and a blackboard. That was it. Since then, I've gotten 97% percent of what I've asked for to advance class study, including a killer audio system, DVD player, and over-head projector with screen. Last year, I told the school that I needed a stand-up AC/Heater, as the classroom was cold as Pluto in the winter and hot as Hades in the summer. One month later we had it, so now my students can actually be comfortable.
Ultimately, I enjoy being around young adults, as I like their vitality and idealism. Chinese students are no different. They are full of hope about their country's and their personal future. They realize there are challenges facing China, from the environment to being too few jobs and too many people. They know the short-coming of their present political system, and posses an ever growing awareness that things are different "elsewhere."
After two years in my class, most have learned to think. They have learned to make decisions, and most importantly, they have learned how to be young ladies and gentlemen. I'm a popular teacher not because I sing or dance (which I don't), but because they know that I actually care about them.
For me, teaching in China is an exciting profession as I witness, first-hand, the changes that are taking place, not only in their lives, but all around them.
Now, all I need to do is master their language, lol.
rasklnik:
-What you have not addressed is respect...let me explain what I mean.
-I worked at a school that said I had to pass everyone
-I taught at a school that said the penalty for cheating on the exam, was to write a new exam, and pass the students who had cehated
-I taught at a school who said 'grades don't matter in your class"
-I taught at a school where I said "come to class to learn english, I will fail nobody for missing my class. 90% of one class never showed up. I didn't care cause that 10% had really good classes
So what I'm saying is, if the school doesn't support you, you can't can't blood from a stone. The fact that the school gives ou AV equipment, and a heater makes your situation a freak of nature in my book. Are there/is there a school that cares, yes, certainly. But I worked the worst university in heilongjiang, and it really showed. Students TOLD ME they were here because "I failed out of HeiHe."
rasklnik:
-Also you say, I make an example of the trouble makers...WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Seriously, I grew up in a home where we all knew their is only one serious threat, that of violence. Why do you thin Chinese society works? The threat of violence. Obviously we can't kill our students, so what can we do, when we aren't in charge of the GRADES to scare them?
mArtiAn:
In response to Rasklnik's question; what can we do to make examples of troublesome students? My answer, which works for me, is take away rewards from the whole class in punishment for the bad behaviour of the unruly student. With a teenage class this might mean setting tedious grammar drills rather than have a movie class. With youngsters I end each class with a raffle, after which every student gets a sweet and a few stickers, and when rewards like these are taken away, those responsible feel the pressure of their peers and rarely repeat the behaviour that caused it.
giadrosich:
I agree 100%, Raskinik. The respect part is outlined in the following: respect for me means following the rules and paying attention when I'm talking. Respect for each other is defined as, when someone else is talking, the rest are quiet, and having respect for themselves means they will do the work. That is really the foundation, and everything else hinges off of that. Of course, I do have to remind them of it often, but once they get it through their heads (which means I've embarrassed enough of them that they know I mean business), they seem to settle down for the majority of our time together. I do give them some slack, so it's not all "nose to the grindstone" as it sounds. That's it in a nutshell.
As far as making an example out of the unruly, mArtiAn is on the right track. I basically use the herd mentality against them, in that if one screws up and causes trouble, the whole class suffers the consequences. An example of this is used during finals every semester. My final for each class consists of having a 5 minute, one-on-one conversation with me. I have the room partitioned, and while I'm speaking with each student, the others are waiting their turn. I tell them (as usual) to turn their cell phones off as I want to be able to concentrate on who ever I'm speaking with. If I hear a cell phone ring, or QQ go off, or any other noise from a cell phone, everyone who is sitting out in the common area fails. Period. End of story. As of yet, it has worked. So it comes down to the "carrot and the stick." I guess you could say that some students have suffered sever loss of face in my classes, but that being said, if they are willing to turn themselves around, I would welcome the change with "open arms" and help them learn, just like anyone else. The caveat to this is that 98.9% of my students are female, so I don't know if that has anything to do with the overall com pliancy of the students, in the end.
Truly, If the school doesn't support the teachers, there is little that can be done. The only reason I've failed students is for non-attendance (1 semester I failed 25 students out of 2 classes), which thankfully, the school has backed me up on this. I know, because I've had students come to me after the fact telling me how they would "make English their life pursuit" if only I would change their grade. I tell them they should have come to class. It's no secret, because it is something I remind them of throughout the semester.
I guess that I've been fortunate being at the school that I'm at. They really don't bother me or interfere with the classes. I often joke that for all they know, I could be teaching the students how to construct origami...
bigasspanda:
Wow, thanks. I learned a lot from this comment! I adore teaching but still a rookie...
Why do I teach? Basically because I love the job and I'm good at it.
Why do I teach in China? Well, because that is where my wife's family live and as my parents are both dead, it seemed an obvious place to come.
Wherever you teach you will have problems, from the feral, young adults with some extreme family problems in FE colleges in the UK, to blatant cheating in China. There are always challenges, it is how you deal with those challenges that define you as a teacher, and it is those challenges that attract us to the profession, even if, the respect our forebears once enjoyed has largely been eroded and the salaries are laughable. For me it's a vocation, and if I could afford to I would do it for free, (just don't tell my boss).
P.S. One point about the education system being not what we may want, (in China), is that it gives us a larger opportunity to affect things for the better.
You point out the disadvantages - fair enough let me point out the advantages of teaching in a half way decent school in China.
1) A high proportion of my students, in a high level Chinese university, give a crap, always attend, always behave.
2) Basically no chance of encountering a student in possession of drugs and / or weapons
3) I have approx 16 weeks paid holiday every year
4) My employer has no issue with me using that time to make more money if I desire. This summer I am on target to bring in an extra 50K RMB by working my ass of with private lessons.
5) I work 14 X 45 minutes during the 36 weeks i am actually required to work
6) My boss does not interfere, I do it my way in all aspects
7) I get a free apartment, with my bills paid.
bored i have nothing to do and my wife insists that we come to china for a year so every 3 years in america and a year here its like i have done something wrong in my past and this is my punishment
Ok, the white clown thing, i've been there but now I teach privately, so...
As for not being able to fail students, i've experienced that also, years ago. It sucked but it was an isolated period of time which accounts for less than 5% of the time i've spent teaching here. But i've never been offered a bribe.
Beyond all that i've found that about 90% or more of the students i've had have been interested in studying, or i've managed to get them interested in it, so I feel fulfilled in what I do. I've never called myself a 'good' teacher, but i'm certainly conscientious and do the best I can. I don't feel my time here has or is being wasted at all. Plus it's a good way to meet young girls.
Joke.
"Seriously, I grew up in a home where we all knew their is only one serious threat, that of violence. Why do you thin Chinese society works? The threat of violence. Obviously we can't kill our students, so what can we do, when we aren't in charge of the GRADES to scare them?"
Are these the words of a teacher? Not sure I'd want this person to teach my children.
I think they'd be too scared to learn anything.
