An Inquiring Mind -- 22 January 2005

Why did you come to China? To teach? No, the real reason is obvious; to sightsee and to complain.

Most of you (White English Teachers) are merely whiners. First, you're too damned lazy to perform due diligence. You post to this board requesting information on everything from visa requirements to the local weather forecast.

You spend a few hundred dollars, in some cases a few thousand dollars, and someone who is "IN IT FOR THE MONEY," (a common theme used to denigrate the Chinese entrepreneurs), confers upon you a certificate/degree that you earned(?) in a four week crash course, and suddenly - Kaboom! You are a freakin' expert on language, culture, history, government and the meaning of life!

All your questions to this board are egocentrically based. What's in for ME? What can I get from China? People, do you EVER think about anyone other than yourself? Maybe, the Chinese? What does China get out of this?

Then, when you have a job (an EMPLOYER), you whine, urinate, defecate and moan about having to do YOUR JOB by the rules established by YOUR EMPLOYER! This IS a JOB. You are being PAID to teach. Do what the BOSS tells you to do. You came to China to TEACH ENGLISH. Well, damn it! TEACH ENGLISH! Who the hell told you that you would have any input or say as to how the process would work? If you had a job any other place in the world, any kind of job, would you not do as the owner/boss/superior asked you? If you could not perform, would you not be relieved of duty/fired? If you don't like the system, GO HOME!

None of you was conscripted, drafted, or shanghaied! You VOLUNTEERED! Stop trying to change a country, a culture, a people that has survived more than eight thousand years without any interference from you!

You are not qualified to teach the Chinese . Your arrogance and condescension toward anyone/anything China/Chinese is quite apparent and in no way enables you to teach them what they are eager to learn. Your ignorance and your bias render you totally ineffectual as teachers.

End your search for the ultimate discounted tour of China and pay the full fare. Everyone will thank you. No one, I, other ESL teachers in China, and lastly, the Chinese themselves, give a big rats ass whether or not you are looking for a wife, husband, cheap food, entertainment or you are just bored.

Good night, MRS CALABASH

where ever you are...............

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Response
Truth -- 22 January 2005

Yes, you are right there are many people who come to China for the wrong reasons. But there are many people who come for the right reasons. Some people come because they are interested in one aspect of China, but then they are surprised by the many others. For example, someone comes to China to study the Chinese Economy or Confusionism, but they are surprised and disgusted by some other things. Therefore, they will complain about the things they don't like, and they have a right to.

No one is trying to change China except the Chinese. The Chinese want to change China. They decided to change the economic system. They decided to invite thousands of foreigners over to China. They decided to pay lots of money to have foreigners teach their children the language and culture of the West. The Chinese did all of this. No one forced them, they wanted it and so it is.

Yes, we work and complain about the employers. Why? Because they promise us many things and write a nice contract, but they never follow through with what they promised and they don't always follow contracts. They often "cut corners" to save money, many times THE COMPANY, will sacrifice quality and good education to save some RMB. The foreign teachers dont due this! We are just the workers, we are contract workers, not servants or hourly workers. We work on a contract. The employer and employee should both follow the contract they signed. The employer should not try to cheat the teacher!

Yes, many teachers just have a certificate. But, many teachers also have a BA degree. And some, even have alot of experience, it is the employers job to decide who is qualified and who is not. If they hire someone who is not qualified, then it is the employers fault because they should do thorough interviewing before hiring. That is with any company or employer, they should know who they are hiring!

Yes, we do teach English. But sometimes there are problems with different styles of teaching. We just want the children to have fun and learn. We don't want to be stage performers or advertisements, we are people. We were hired to come to China to teach our language and our culture. If they dont want us to teach the Western way (CELTA style for example) then why don't they just hire some Chinese teachers who speak English to do it?

We never tried to be rude or arrogant. We don't point and say "look a Chinaman!" , but Chinese people, even in big cities, point at us and say "LAO WAI , LAO WAI" , as loud as they can! I can name about 100 things that just are disrespectful, not to Westerners or Chinese, but to all people in general. We put up with it, but we do complain about it. You say if we dont like it, then dont come. Well, maybe there are some things we do like, and some things we don't like. Again, we were invited here to work, we didn't force our way into the country, we were convinced to work here because we were told about all the beautiful things about China and how great it is.

We have the right to complain! There are many things that happen that are not right. There is no real union of foreign teachers here, so we have no one to help us if our employers breech contract. All we have is our fellow foreign teachers on this website. We are not trying to change China, it is China that wants to change.

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Well said Truth! #
Dos -- 22 January 2005

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Western Influence (crybabies)
An Inquiring Mind -- 30 January 2005

> things. Therefore, they will complain about the things they don't
> like, and they have a right to.

Really?

You have been afforded a lifetime opportunity to visit one the most alluring and oldest countries/societies in the world, and, are also paid a nice salary (by Chinese standards). And, you have a right to complain! So say ye!

> No one is trying to change China except the Chinese. The Chinese want

I beg to differ, my dear fellow. That seems to be precisely what you and others want to do.

> language and culture of the West. The Chinese did all of this. No one
> forced them, they wanted it and so it is.

Of course they are "forced" to do this. The country has 1.2 BILLION mouths to feed!

They often "cut corners" to save money, many
> times THE COMPANY, will sacrifice quality and good education to save
> some RMB. The foreign teachers dont due this! We are just the
> workers, we are contract workers, not servants or hourly workers. We
> work on a contract. The employer and employee should both follow the
> contract they signed. The employer should not try to cheat the
> teacher!

Of course you're an hourly worker. Does not the contract you signed specify the number of hours you MUST work each week and, again, specify the amount of RMB'S per hour of overtime? Break it down, a knowledge of simple mathematics will give you the hourly wage you are working for........

Sounds like ANYWHERE, USA or heaven forbid, somewhere in the EU! Saving money is an economic fact of life. Tell me, who does not "cut corners?"

Of course, you should not be cheated. Goes without saying.

> Yes, many teachers just have a certificate. But, many teachers also
> have a BA degree. And some, even have alot of experience, it is the
> employers job to decide who is qualified and who is not. If they hire
> someone who is not qualified, then it is the employers fault because
> they should do thorough interviewing before hiring. That is with any
> company or employer, they should know who they are hiring!

A BA does not entitle you to ANYTHING! You've been trained to work for someone else, that's all! To blame all the woes of the ESL (profession) ((that's a joke ))on the POOR hiring practices of the Chinese employers is truly laughable.

> Yes, we do teach English. But sometimes there are problems with
> different styles of teaching. We just want the children to have fun
> and learn.

How altruistic of you.

We don't want to be stage performers or advertisements, we
> are people. We were hired to come to China to teach our language and
> our culture. If they dont want us to teach the Western way (CELTA
> style for example) then why don't they just hire some Chinese
> teachers who speak English to do it?

This, of all the excuses I read for the "bad behavior" of the Chinese hosts, is truly the most imbecilic. It's been hashed and rehashed for ad infinitum. Let's not do it again.

> We never tried to be rude or arrogant. We don't point and say
> "look a Chinaman!" , but Chinese people, even in big

Of course you never tried to be rude or arrogant. You ARE rude and arrogant. Rudeness and arrogance permeate your entire society. It's a way of life. The WESTERN way of life. Wake up, you are now in the middle of a "WE" society and not the "I" society your were raised in...........

> cities, point at us and say "LAO WAI , LAO WAI" , as loud
> as they can! I can name about 100 things that just are disrespectful,
> not to Westerners or Chinese, but to all people in general. We put up
> with it, but we do complain about it. You say if we dont like it,
> then dont come. Well, maybe there are some things we do like, and
> some things we don't like. Again, we were invited here to work, we
> didn't force our way into the country, we were convinced to work here
> because we were told about all the beautiful things about China and
> how great it is.

Wow, has it ever occurred to you that you are in CHINA. And, in China reside 1.2 billion Chinese? So, an eight thousand year old (closed) society has some ignorant, not civil, uneducated, uncouth, unkempt, rude, unseemly and stupid people in it.... surprise, surprise. I can take you anywhere in the world and show you a carbon copy of peoples with the same aforementioned civil deficiencies. IT AIN'T PECULIAR TO CHINA OR THE CHINESE!

> We have the right to complain!

No, you don't have the right to complain. Let me say this: I've, since l963 lived in the following places, Ankara, Turkey; Jidda, Saudi Arabia; Beirut, Lebanon; Khartoum, Sudan; Benghazi, Libya, Tripoli, Libya; Osaka/Kobe, Japan and Hong Kong, Republic of China.......and I can proudly say that I never, NEVER went to any of these cities/countries with the attitude you people have - arrogance and condescension abound! Surprisingly, you also have NO survival skills, whatsoever.

You weren't convinced to go to China, you wanted to go. You had a PRECONCEIVED notion of how China would be....YOUR China! Not the China of the Chinese.

There are many things that happen that
> are not right. There is no real union of foreign teachers here, so we
> have no one to help us if our employers breech contract. All we have
> is our fellow foreign teachers on this website. We are not trying to
> change China, it is China that wants to change.

Please, spare me! Yet again, Westerners who are not equipped to handle the pressures of life outside their own societies, begging for unions to protect them. Unions are merely the last resort for ill equipped individuals to have someone fight for them because they are not mentally equipped to handle the job themselves. A no skills society produced you and, by God, they have to care for you. No coping skills, no problem solving skills, no survival skills. Just whine, and mommy will coming running to save her child!

If you want to kill any and all initiative for thinking, then by all means install a UNION. It will be the last time any form of free thought will visit you.

Not that it has previously.

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