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Q: Can Chinese universities rightfully demand teachers cut their hair and shave?
They don't have the right to make those demands do they?
12 years 31 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
remember this is China. your employer can demand that you wipe his ass and you have to do it. (that is if they actualy do wipe their asses) they love to put underlings in their place. you know the whole face thing. just nod your head, give them the proper face, and then ignore it.
These a fine line... yes they can make you, but yes you can just nod your head and get away with not doing it. It depends from how high up this demand is coming and even then depends on how much energy they actually feel like wasting on you. So 90% of the time you can get away without actually doing it, but for that other 10% they can rain hell down on you.
They can and will, just as most high status and many low status employers will in any country.
Although, you could find a new school. Most schools want their foreign teachers to look like beggars (ripped jeans, long hair, etc). Private schools would probably chastise you for looking too formal.
Well, I'm at a loss for words. So, in the University you graduated from, your teachers all looked like hippies? Did they look uneducated, show no standards to a student and how and why society is the way it is. Denny, I don't know you and I'm sure your a great guy but come on. Please tell me your not asking such a question. Although, in my University, there was one professor who did indeed look like a unkempt man, he was a doctor, slept maybe 4 hours a night while the other times he was busy designing new technology. So tell me, in any country, who is the role model, student or teacher, then back track and ask a different question.
Lolitta2:
I think Denny has asked a very legitimate question, one that goes beyond the scope of merely shaving and cutting hair. What this question really gets at, are all the small (or big) demands Chinese schools have of their foreign teachers and what is acceptable and what not. I know foreign teachers who were given a curfew at night and had to be in bed by 11, and who weren't allowed to smoke or drink. It wasn't written in the contract and they had no idea before they came to China to teach that some schools would make such demands. It's useful to know for anyone who's considering teaching here.
Njord:
You can have long hair and a beard and look clean and professional...
techezee:
I think the missing point is, long hair, tied up, clean shaved or tightly trimmed beard and mustache. The curfew, yeah I had that, didn't like it much, and teachers along with students were not allowed to enter the gate after 11:00pm but then again, that is clearly stated before you sign a contract. Or should be, a drunken or partying late into the night foreigner, why did you come hear to teach or just have fun, back packer or teacher?
so showing up clean shaven and in a suit automatically makes someone a great teacher?? or is it the ability to make the students grasp the information and understand the information and use the information in different situations. in my experience many of the teachers who came in "all tidy" were arrogant people with no teaching ability they cam to work wanting attention and an arena to show how intelligent they were.
if someone looks like a hippy as you state but teaches the material in a way that the student really get it, i dont mean passing exams, i mean apply the material to situations outside of class. does it matter if they look as if they got 4 hours of sleep
arrogant suits stand at the top of the mountain tell their students to follow the sound of their voice while a real good to teacher goes down to the valley where his students are and leads them back up to the top of the mountain
kchur:
In University? You don't think there's a place for theory in University? Anyway, a university should be a temple of learning, and should be treated with respect. Once we're through teaching our children the most basic things about living in the modern world, university is where we learn to think. And the university is one of the main institutions to drive Western Civilization along: the ancient Greek proto-universities produced some of the most sublime thought in a really rather brutal age, and the earliest modern-style universities propelled us out of the dark ages: the first modern style university not only gave us law as we know it, but educated people like Petrarch, Dante, Copernicus and countless others. So you don't think that a professor, someone who had dedicated countless hours to sharpening his or her mind, should have a modicum of self-respect and dignity? The fact that the Chinese have all these BA-holding 22 year old foreign teachers running around missing classes because of hangovers and acting worse than the students is shameful.
kchur:
And, no, no matter what you think, it is impossible for a grown man to have dignity when he's worried about having a rebellious and/or artistic haircut like a damn 16 year-old.
crimochina:
your missing the point im talking about dress not behavior, dress has nothing to do with behavior. i wore sneakers jeans and t-shirts but preped for class and never was late and never missed a class the clean shaven brit always wore a tie buttoned down shirt and slacks was an alchoholic and missed 2/3 of his classes even falling down drunk and busting his chin once in the hallway. dress is how morons judge whether or not you are doing a good job. because it takes work and effort to look beneath the surface . how someone is dressed only gives you a clue as to who the person is. that's it a clue. not every man in uniform is a police officer and not every man in plain clothes is a civilian (so simple i cant believe people dont get it it is 2011)
crimochina:
and each and every class i received their full attention and their respect. because i know how to govern a class. if you have trouble getting the respect of your class , it is not your dress that is to blame it is your lack of teaching ability!
It depends if they write it in the contract or not. I would honestly think if you are neat and tidy, well groomed and do a good job, they (the University) won't bother you. You usually find out towards the end of the semester if they want you stay on.....they give you a new contract!!
I have seen many teachers since I've been here and some of them make me cringe with the way they dress and their attitude, but they usually disappear ..overnight!!
you can look at how someone is dressed and tell if they are educated or uneducated.??? an educated person would have learned dont judge a book by the cover.
that is why many people her judge you by their appearance
(i'm not referring to private schools who want you to look a certain way for the clients. it is acceptable because you need to get their money)
Usually in your contract it will have a clause about maintaining a "professional" appearance. I have fairly long hair that I just put back in a ponytail. I can get away with because my hair is luxurious and sexy. But I always make sure to shave and dress professionally. It's their school so they can make any demands they want. If you don't want to do as they ask then make sure you have a Plan B because they likely won't hire you back and might even cut the contract short if they really don't like you.
I would refuse, look in your contract first, personal appearance is a mute point as it can be anything hence be argued for both sides... A school once told me I had to wear long sleeve shirts (I have full upper body tattoo's, front, back and full sleeves) I told them to get stuffed, and they left it alone, I worked for them quite happily for 2 years after that. Did you send them you photo's prior? I did that also helped I pointed out they knew I had a goatee (they wanted that shaved off also) and full tattoo's but yet offered me a position... So no, don't comply, it's a game, make sure it isn't mentioned specifically in your contract (shaving and hair cut) then tell then to phuck off... At this point even if you want a shave and a hair cut I wouldn't do it as it will set a precedent for them to use. They need you far more than you need them. Remember that.
In the west they would but here in China there is nothing that cant be changed.
You are in China and you work FOR THEM. They make the rules and you can follow them or not. I doubt anyone will force you into staying. The door works both ways....
They could ask but if they demand you to do something...it's your right to refuse. I'm hoping they don't demand you to do everything that would feel like some kind of slave-work or something. imo. Wouldn't asking you to cut your hair or shave be better than demanding you to do it anyways? From your question it seems like you were unaware of this rule before you signed up, you should check your contract and see what it says before jumping to any conclusions. If they don't have it in your contract or any rules for the rest of the employees than it shouldn't be a requirement. In the military it was mandatory to keep a certain look but they had it written down so we had to follow orders or otherwise we would have gotten in trouble. So if it's not written down....you have a chance!
I have never heard of such a thing for foreing teachers. I know many, some clean cut, some with long hair and beards (nicely kept both). I have also seen some with long hair and beards that look like they were never washed etc. and the schools dont seem to mind.
I had long hair for years and never had any trouble.
I have met a few other foreigners that were asked to improve their appearance, but only one that was asked to have a haircut. I thought the school were right in asking him. His hair was uncombed, unwashed and unkempt.
Also, teaching is also partly setting an example. If it is just a language school, it makes little difference about your appearance, because the teaching itself makes little difference. However, if it is a serious school, it will want you to set an example. I think that is fair.
Most of us know that, in a job interview, it is your initial appearance that has most impact on whether you get a job or not; the first 8 seconds, usually before you even start speaking. It is not really difficult to lead your students by example, and take some pride in your appearance, so that they might follow suit.
In China it is all about face, show face and keeping face, if they don't feel like you are giving them face they will ake sure you conform until you do. If they feel long hair make them lose face then they will order you to cut it.
You must alway give face here in China to keep the simple minded happy.
Look at how much face they had to give them selves for the Unversity game in Shenzhen, they spent 100's of Billions just to make Shenzhen look good for the games that no body came to see.
You must give you employer face or there will be trouble.
You wanna look scruffy ...........then try re-newing your contract after bye bye
As others have said, if the school doesn't like it, then yes, they can 'demand' that you change it. Just as you can always walk out on them. (of course, the contract may enter into things a little, and someone might have to pay some money to someone else!)
But, If you're a good teacher, and the students learn, and respect and like you, then you should be fine. Presuming, as others have said, that the long hair and unshaven look doesn't look particularly bad. My pony-tail is always tied up, and I don't go to class with a 4-day growth! (nor big rips in my jeans showing off my legs/butt/other bits).
I have a long beard that some schools have told me to cut and I just flat out refused. You hired me this way it's not going anywhere. Usually they stare at you dumbfounded that anyone had the balls to polietly tell them to go f themselves. If it's not in the contract I don't do it.
If you have a z visa you can file a complaint and yes even laowai can win at the psb. If you don't have a Z visa and they try to screw you over threaten to report them to the psb for hiring illegal teachers. In the end it will cost them more bribe money than it's worth to make the paperwork go away. Don't expect to get rehiried though but no great loss either.
Remember nothing will ever change in China until people learn to stop cheerfully taking it up the arse from schools.
