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Post by Secret Agent Jane on Nov 17, 2006 1:12:15 GMT 7
I'm getting ready to ditch my current school (in 2 months) just as an unsuspecting new, young teacher has arrived, whose company I already enjoy immensely.
What is the proper etiquette concerning informing said teacher of previous problems with our current boss? ....Not that we haven't already told him our issues (ahh, Chinese beer). I suppose I should have posted this question before, though he said he was grateful and wanted to know anything we could share. We laid the problems out on the table, advised him on how to avoid them and enjoy himself here...
What do teachers usually do in this situation? I know it's too late, but I'm curious.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Nov 17, 2006 6:43:19 GMT 7
Truthful, but balanced is the only suggestion I can make. Lay out the things he does that are difficult, lay out the stuff that he does that are good.
In both scenarios, also think about if the FTs have contributed to the problem in any way. It's very easy to ignore anything we did to make things worse!
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Nov 17, 2006 11:19:45 GMT 7
And remember the intricasies of personal interaction. Former colleagues of mine found an FAO we had to be a perfect arsehole. I liked him. I could see his devious nest feathering ways [none affecting FTs; he was just ripping off the school by selling fossilised dinosaur eggs: standard business practice], he knew I could see them, he treated me well and, more importantly, was there when problems arose, as they invariably do.
So, don't prejudice your soon-to-be-ex colleague. Just inform him/her of things that bear watching for
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Post by Raoul Duke on Dec 7, 2006 11:49:38 GMT 7
Gonzo is spot on. Sit 'em down somewhere out of earshot, buy 'em a drink (they'll need one...) and lay it out. Do try and leave them some room to make the best of their situation, but I strongly believe we have some duty to pass on what we know about a school.
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Post by The Canink on Dec 9, 2006 12:28:30 GMT 7
I only wish all FTs were this ethical, Raoul.
My first school <spit!/> I got suckered into by a recruiting effort from the school's first (and at that time only) foreign teacher. She sold a bill of goods because for some bizarre reason she wanted to stay in Jiujiang and she'd burned all her bridges at the first place she taught. So she papered over all the negative points (basically that this school was so corrupt that Chinese officials were shocked by its conduct!) and grossly exaggerated the good points (she was right about one thing: the students were great) and suckered two other foreign teachers to join her so she wouldn't be so alone. Then, when things got so bad the by-then-dozen foreign teachers rebelled, she quickly started another recruiting campaign for the next year.
At first I gave her benefit of doubt: she was new to the school and I thought she didn't know how things worked there. After seeing her behaviour after the Great Meltdown, however, I lost any and all respect for her.
Since then I've seen lots of this kind of behaviour to the point that I won't even bother asking to talk with a foreign teacher on-staff to check a place out. I'll check it out in person and I'll make note of anything they don't seem to want to show me or discuss with me. (Like, say, the number of bedrooms in the apartment.) Asking to talk to the FT on campus is a waste of time. They've either gone native (like the woman in my first school), or they're idiots who don't even see the problems until it's too late.
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Post by Lone Traveller on Dec 9, 2006 19:04:44 GMT 7
I think that if it was me on the recieving end of this situation, I'd want to know about it. At least then I could be a little prepared. Be ready to battle the unexpected, should the situation arise.
L.T
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