Wishful Thinking?

[AMonk]

Ok Everyone, I've finally drafted my perfect contract _(maybe).

1 Pay..no less than 6000RMB per month
2 No more than 20 classes (max 60 mins each) per week at School / 15 classes (ditto) at College. Maximum 5 hours prep/office per week. NO photo ops! NO outside "extras". I get to take outside work if I want. Hours between 8am and 5 pm, with Saturday and Sunday OFF.
3 Classes, Rooms and Times may NOT be changed without 48 hours notice.
4 There will not be more than 30 students to a class.
5 TA will be provided, if I ask.
6 I will determine Pass/Fail. If one of my Grades is altered/ignored, Contract is Void....after all, it is my reputation that's in question here = my "Face"
7 Public holidays will be given off, WITH PAY.
8 I will be entitled to 10 days PAID sick leave per year, without a Doctor's note.....up to one month with a note....UnPaid, thereafter.
9 School will provide Z Visa/ medical coverage
10 School will pay all Taxes/fees necessary, and give receipts/proof of payment to me in timely fashion (monthly/quarterly, etc)
11a School will provide Western-style apartment - 2 Bedroom preferred, with at least 1 double (or bigger) bed - with temperature control able to maintain 70*F(20*C), year round.
11b Apartment will be located between 2nd and 5th floors.
11c The apartment must be no more than a 15 minute walk from the School/Uni.
12 School will provide me with Utilities (water, electric, gas, internet hookup, telephone - I pay overseas calls) and bottled drinking water.
13a Within 24 hours of my arrival, the door locks will be changed, and I will have all keys. (Otherwise, I will change them myself).
13b If Apartment is on campus, I do NOT have a curfew and will be permitted late re-entry to my abode.
14 Respect is a 2-way street. I am a professional and will be treated as such. I am not to be harassed, assaulted, yelled at or belittled.
15 ANY BREACH OF TERMS BY THE SCHOOL/UNI, IS GROUNDS FOR ME TO IMMEDIATELY QUIT WORK and to move within 7 days.
16 Either Party may terminate the Contract by giving 30 days written Notice. I will be permitted to remain in my apartment until that 30 days expires.







Alright. Did I miss anything vital? Or did I cover the points?

[George61]

I reckon you covered everything














in the Title of the thread!!

[Mr Nobody]

Nice wish list, but I can't see it happening. I wish you luck.

However, some points are in contradiction of the SAFEA contract, which is supposed to be the standard, although the school contract can over-ride a lot of the points.

Some of the other points are mutually exclusive, others are just really unlikely given this country. It is unlikely that any institution would be able to guarantee the whole thing.

This is, after all, China.

Any shonky school would happily agree to the items, then disregard them and reneg, leaving you standing on your pat in the middle of China, either working for the shonky school anyway, or with the problem of finding a job without a letter of separation and a broken contract. Any legit school would have to be honest and tell you what points they couldn't provide, so you wouldn't be working there if you insisted on the points all being fulfilled.

For example, it is impossible for a school to guarantee that you won't be harrassed, since they have no control over people outside the school, especially if you insist on going outside and coming back after any curfew.

Outside work is another related issue. The school must look after your safety and this is a legal requirement as part of their status in being able to hire FEs. Doing work outside work means they can't guarantee your safety. Some schools will baulk just on this point. Others because you are 'theirs', and they don't want to share.

No photo ops or other similar things means no publicity which is half a white face's value to the school. It shows standing, legitimacy, and government influence.

It all depends on which points you and/or the institution are willing to concede.

[Lotus Eater]

Agree with George - you wouldn't really get all of that at home!!

At home when I was teaching if teachers were absent I was asked to fill in for them - at maybe 10/20 minutes notice, if a substitute teacher couldn't be found for the day.

The university/school cares ZILCH for your reputation/face - your reputation is your native speaker status and therefore it cares for its reputation - i.e. having students pass - forget that one!!! And much of the time you won't know about it anyway.

If you are sick you will be able to take the day off - but also expected to make up the classes when you are well.

The Central Government controls much of the temperature. Last place I was had had one air-conditioner in the apartment (bedroom) and fans in the other rooms. Here I am lucky as there are air-conditioners in each room - but this is not a given by any means!! Gov't not institution decides when central heating turns on and off each year.

University classes are typically 90 minutes in length - mine commence at 8:25 - 10:05, 10:25-12:00, 2:25-4:00.

You probably won't get a TA at university level. The teachers aren't that keen on being seen as assistants - they feel they are professionals as well!! Just lesser paid, more hours and way more paper work, meetings etc than we ever have to face!

Local calls are usually up to you as well. Some universities will pay amenities, (gas/electricity) others don't - and Chinese teachers have to pay their own on less money than we get. Water is normally your responsibility as well.


Hope springs eternal in the human heart!

[AMonk]

Hi. Thanks for the input.

Mr. N: I had meant harassment, etc in the School. I would never (TeeHeeHee) be at a shonky School. And I really hate having my picture taken, but I could suck it up, if I have to.

Lotus: I didn't realize the Govt controlled the Temps. Telephone & Co are negotiable. Don't want to upset Uni timetable, I could adjust - so long as I don't go over/outside my total times, and a TA could be a grad student, maybe? if I need?
Helping out another teacher (subbing) I could see, and making up missed time is only sensible if you have to miss a day or two.



But I remembered 2 other points that I'd like to have covered.

A The right to refuse - say who does/does not remain in my classes when I teach. Be able to ban (Staff, Admin or) Students if they are rude, disobedient, disruptive. With re-entry solely at my discretion.
B I get to teach using any or all methods/materials I see fit, in order that the students learn.






I realize that this is "wishful", but I'm trying to avoid the pitfalls and incidences that others have had (and posted). Life surely happens. I believe in taking prophylactic measures, when I can. (Obsessive/Complusive, Heh?)

[Lotus Eater]

Lotus: I didn't realize the Govt controlled the Temps.

Ok - but the Gov't does control the timing provincial governments can use for their ability to control temperature management mechanisms.

You can be lucky with the textbook issue - I have only once been told to use a particular book and it was an Oral English class. Otherwise I have normally written my own courses because they are content courses. BUT........Many universities/institutions will already have textbooks that their students have bought/are expected to buy, and set syllabi. You can play with them to some extent - but ... if the students have them, it is pretty unfair to say - hey I don't like this one, buy another.

I teach 12 hours a week - and my prep time is way more than 5 hours. If you are not talking about prep time in your own home, then you are talking about hours spent in an office prepared to answer student/teacher questions etc. Prep time for me is very different.

Their "Outside work" requirement is also relatively fair - most institutions - here and at home - don't really want you working for their direct opposition. If there is no way it can take away from your ability to work as required for them, and it does not impact on their capacity to attract students/earn money, then generally they won't mind.

I don't fuss over the key issue - if I lock myself out it is handy to know that at 3:00am I can knock on the waibans door and someone will find a huge bunch of keys, select mine and let me back in. It actually hasn't happened late at night yet, but a couple of times I have flown out of the door to class and forgotten to pick up my keys. I also give them permission to accompany workmen into my apartment to fix stuff while I am not there. For this again they need keys. I have NEVER had any problem with them doing anything I would consider instrusive.

The school should also have the right to assess your teaching - which would include their right to have others come into your classes to observe.

You included that a written 30 day notice is required with 30 day apartment time for a termination of contract. You also noted a 7 day removal period if they breach the contract. If they figure you have breached the contract are you also prepared to move in 7 days?? Don't forget that their idea of what constitutes a breach and yours may be quite different - particularly in the areas of behaviours, teaching etc etc.

I am not being critical - but I feel as if you are reacting too strongly to some of the negatives that do occur. Find a reasonable contract - and don't sweat the small stuff. If you make too many demands then it is very likely that you will find it incredibly difficult to find a position. They will see you as a troublemaker from the beginning adn not want the hassle - and you could miss out on some amazing experiences.

I understand that you don't want to be burned - but there is no guarantee of that here or at home.

[AMonk]

Yeah, you're right, Lotus...as I said, this is my Ideal Contract. I wish.

Realistically, I know I'd never get everything, but there are some things that I would definitely push for: apartment, amenities and accessiblity to School, salary, benefits, and Z visa(!!). Most of the rest would be negotiable. As we all know, Life and Fantasy don't always meet in Shangrila.(sp?)
Prep time - Yeah. Students and (all too often) Teachers put up to 3 hours work for each class hour.

[Mr Nobody]

Er, Shangrila is Lijiang, Yunnan province, not too far from Kunming. I have students from there.

You wouldn't get this list there either.

[Wolf]

For item 7 on your list, most salaries are calculated on a monthly basis. Most schools will pay that wage (plus overtime if applicable) no matter how many working days you actually have (I seem to vary between 19 and 23). It should work out that you get the same amount of money even with holidays; and if you get a full monthly wage in January/February then the winter break will be a "paid vacation" as well. Effectively, you should have this in most contracts (I don't remember seeing too many jobs with variable montly salaries). Schools who dock you aren't worth working for.

From the point of view of school administration, item 8 is open to abuse. My current company is rather tight about sick days because healthy teachers have abused such a system to take time off by "taking a sickie". From a managerial/scheduling standpoint, many schools might not want to grant such a liberal sick leave system. It might be something you could negotiate after the school has gotten to know you as a reliable teacher.

For 13a, where I lived we had huge steel security doors, with no doorknobs. Without the key, you'd need a bulldozer to get in, even if the door was unlocked. I must have shut myself out of my apartment about 6 times; and was quite glad that the FAO had a spare key. :-[Then again; the FAO was in the same building, and the school owned most of the items of value in my apartment... .

Items 3 and 14 are worth the effort and paitience that implamenting them will have.

The no photo ops thing touches my heart; I hate nasty cameras too. Maybe negotiate a head shot for brochures, and a few shots of you whith random student-ish looking people, all to be taken in a day early on, to appese the advertising needs of the school (FEs are a selling point, and it follows admins would want to put us up front in their advertising). By being flexible you might get most of that.

I don't mean to be critical ;D It looks ideal!