Buckland Weekly #14 - Still not in Kansas

I started an article a while ago with the Wizard of Oz quote about not being in Kansas any more. From a number of complaints and criticisms that have been circulating recently, I suspect I may not have emphasised it enough.

The general idea of that piece was to give just a few indications of how living in China is not the same as living back home, even though it may look, at first, quite similar. So, here is Part 2: “Still Not In Kansas”.

Before I begin let me assure you that, while the reason for this article is that a number of teachers have contacted us with issues at their schools*, it's not intended to be about anyone specifically. It's just general things that have come up over the time I've been here and some advice on how to deal with them. If you think you recognize your own circumstances or problems, that's because others have had them before and others will have them in the future.

Let's start with documents: visas, residency permits, your passport and so on. China has lots of laws regulating where foreigners can go and what they can do. For example hotels need to be registered if they want to accept foreign guests. I once spent almost a whole day trying to find a hotel in Baiyin that would accept me. There are only three hotels – and all expensive ones – in the whole city that can do it. If you go to stay with a friend they are also supposed to register you with the local police. As well as the national laws each province has its own way of doing things and those procedures can, and do, change. The bureaucracy can, to us, look like a nightmare. There is nothing at all that you can do about it except follow whatever procedures are in place and try to be patient. It can be a worrying time but worrying won't make the process any quicker or smoother. When the PSB has your passport for twenty days and all you have is a receipt with your picture on it, it's natural to be concerned. It's natural but it won't help.

Of course most problems arise because of issues at the schools. This is where you need to realise that schools in China can be very different to schools back home. Most of it comes down to one thing – teachers who think the school is trying to control them too much. This can be because of schedules, dress codes, teaching requirements, curfews for on-campus apartments, mandatory attendance at school functions, private lessons, weekend lessons... all kinds of things. Let's look at a couple of them.

First of all there are schedules. The contracts are for fifteen hours, normally spread across Monday to Friday but with days sometimes switched to the weekend for special occasions. Exactly how those lessons are spread isn't specified though they usually take place during the normal working hours of the Chinese teachers. Normal working hours, in China, depend on the school but could be anywhere from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's possible, though unlikely that you could have a lesson at the start of each day, a lesson in the middle and a lesson at the end. This isn't fun and if you find your schedule difficult, of course you can try to negotiate with the school for a better one. If you contact the office we can sometimes help you with that, but remember, it may not be ideal but it isn't a breech of contract and it isn't in our control.

It also isn't just China. When I taught in England, I applied to go to part time hours because my father was ill. I wanted to go to three-fifths of regular hours and take two days a week off to help look after him. They scheduled me for three-fifths but spread across morning and afternoon every day. I was doing three-fifths of the work for three-fifths of the pay but, taking three hours a day travelling time into account, was no better off. I did what anyone should do in those circumstances, in England or in China. I talked to people, explained my position politely and calmly and eventually got it changed.

What about dress codes? In the orientation, my advice is to wear the smartest clothes you have for the first couple of weeks and then adopt the same dress code as the other teachers. What, though, do I mean by the smartest clothes you have? Smart for a night out on the town isn't the same as smart for a professional business meeting. I mean the kind of clothes you would be expecting an accountant to wear for a meeting with a client. It may be that jeans and T-shirts are acceptable but you will only find that out when you get to the school. It's far better to go in over-dressed at the start because you can always back down. Go in in shorts and a heavy metal T-shirt and you've made a bad impression from Day One.

There are some contentious areas. Schools generally don't like teachers to wear lots of jewellery, or make-up and quite a lot of schools don't like to see a lot of tattoos on display. It can also go even further, especially in private schools which might have quite strict dress codes including the possibility of teachers wearing uniforms. This doesn't always make foreign teachers happy but if those are the school rules, then those are the school rules. From your point of view it may be trying to control things too much but from their point of view they can't understand why you have a problem with it. And that brings me to the thorniest point of all. You can't expect to get special treatment because you are a foreigner. I've come across it a lot; I'm even guilty of it myself at times; the idea that “well it might be OK for THEM, but not for ME.” It's something that you have to get past because the school already treats foreign teachers differently and expecting more from them, expecting them to change things to suit western ideas of how a school is organised, isn't going to make them change anything. It's just going to cause you a lot of frustration.

There are areas where patience, explanation and negotiation can make a difference. If the school is trying to exercise a tight control on the content or the methods in your lessons, that's something you can discuss with them. I have this issue right now. The school I teach at has a text book that was written by the school. Honestly, I don't like it. I don't think it's suitable for an oral English class. At first I was inclined to draw a line in the sand, to say, “No, I won't use it.” I quickly realised that would achieve nothing, so instead we discussed it and I agreed to use it occasionally, reference it occasionally and for the rest continue preparing my own materials for lessons. Since then the school has asked me for advice on how to improve the book for the future. If they don't like the way you teach use it as an opportunity. Invite teachers in to watch you and afterwards explain why you did things the way you did. They might not change their minds but they will at least understand that you are a professional teacher taking your job seriously.

Another area where you can just discuss things is your apartment. If you live on-campus there may be things you don't like about the situation but if you explain that time you spend in your apartment is your private time and you expect them to respect that, they should. If they don't then that's something you can talk to the school about and something the office can help you with. If they are operating a curfew and asking you to be home by ten o'clock, that's also something you might be able to change. Just politely explain that you have friends who don't live on campus and while you don't always want to be out late at night, you want the option. I haven't yet come across a school where this couldn't be sorted out.

One thing that is sometimes a problem with on-campus apartments is visitors. Schools, especially schools that have live-in students, don't like having strangers on campus. This isn't unreasonable. Schools in any country have similar restrictions. When I taught summer school in England, the only people allowed into the building where I stayed were authorised male employees of the program. Other visitors were just not allowed in. That was just for six weeks and it was annoying but it's there for the safety of the students. If you want to have visitors then you need to talk to the school and let them know in advance. This can also impact on your chances to teach private students. Many teachers teach private students in their apartments but that might not be possible. You could still teach them but might need to do it in their homes rather than yours.

Another area where western practices and Chinese practices are different that can cause some friction is sick leave. This isn't just for schools, this is in every business area, Businesses, including schools, expect their staff to go to work with illnesses that would probably keep us at home in our own countries. Colds, headaches, stomach problems are things that are just worked through here. Obviously there are some things that prevent you teaching at all. For example this week I have had a bad cold but only took off one day when my throat was so sore that I couldn't speak. Even then the school suggested that I go and use a microphone and speaker. But in general for the kind of minor ailments that you might self-medicate and rest for, schools expect you to work. When I broke my knee the school was asking on the same day when I could go back. Three days after the fall I was back in class teaching from a chair with a student writing on the board for me. The school was organising taxis to and from my apartment. If you feel that you genuinely can't work you must discuss it as soon as you can with your FAO and if they suggest seeing a doctor, then see one, even if you don't feel you need it. The school will be much more sympathetic if you have seen a doctor who confirms that there is a problem.

Of course there is still one big area that we have hardly touched on. Problems with the actual teaching. The OECD official figures say that average class size for junior and senior high school in China is fifty. This seems low to me. My smallest ever class has been 49 and the average probably around 65. My largest class, a group of twelve-year-olds, was 84 students. I have heard of even larger numbers. Sizes for primary school are often only a little smaller though kindergarten classes can be quite a lot smaller. According to China:Asia in Focus, at any given time in kindergarten, primary, secondary and higher education there are up to 400 million students in China. With so many it is inevitable that class sizes will be big. Unfortunately, as with teaching anywhere in the world, it's inevitable that some of those students won't care about your carefully crafted lessons, some won't care about any lessons from any teacher and some will be actively disrespectful and disruptive.

It is a problem but it isn't a problem unique to you or to your school. Or even to China. Think back to your own high school. Unless it was quite remarkable, there were problem students and problem classes there too. (Maybe you were one yourself!) You may not have had the class size issue to deal with but I've taught in England and I can honestly say that it has its fair share of problems. If you don't think it's that bad I recommend watching the BBC series “Are Our Kids Tough Enough: Chinese School” which was filmed in one of the UK's top performing schools and, even there, the kids were completely horrible to the teachers.

I don't want to sound negative, but if you can't learn to deal with it then maybe teaching isn't for you.

There are things you can do. Make sure that your lessons are at the right level. Ask yourself why the students cause problems. Are they bored because it's too hard? Are they bored because it's too easy? Do they lack motivation because they (and maybe the school) see the lessons as unimportant? Are they just students who will cause trouble for every teacher they ever have? Talk to the other teachers, find out the specifics for each class. Find out if the school will help you with a classroom assistant in the worst classes. Keep records of every incident so that you have evidence rather than unsupported anecdotes.

Remember that even in the most difficult classes there are some students who want to learn. Most of us, after an especially difficult class have had a good student come up and apologise for his or her classmates. Focus on those students and try to just get through the lesson without losing your temper. Way back in the mists of time when I was a teenager there was a student who seemed to consider it his mission in life to make every teacher in my school as angry as he could. He was good at it, too. And I went to a pretty good school in a pretty nice area.

If it gets too bad the Buckland office can try to intervene with the school and help you. Of course there are no guarantees. But before you request a move to another school, remember the same problems may exist there too.

OK, let's finish with some general advice.

1. Don't lose your temper when discussing these issues with the school. It's OK to put your point clearly and firmly but you need to stay calm and polite. Chinese society doesn't have much respect for people who behave rudely or who angrily go in with all guns blazing.

2. Talk about things. First of all talk to the FAO, the other teachers and, if you can the school administration. Try to go in with positive suggestions about how to put things right rather than just a list of what you think is wrong.

3. Choose your battles wisely. There are some fights you might win and some you definitely won't win. Don't spend your energy on unwinnable conflicts.

4. Don't expect the school to bend to your requirements just because you are English or American or Australian or whatever. They won't. They will, if you are polite and helpful probably try to resolve your problems but going in saying “I should be treated better than a Chinese teacher” is just going to make the situation worse, not better, and breed resentment.

5. Call us. Don't leave it until the situation has spiralled so far out of control that you just want to get on a plane and go home. All problems in life are better dealt with sooner rather than later but if we don't know about the problem we can't help with it.

And that's it. Just remember, no matter how long you have been here, this still isn't Kansas.

(*And a number haven't contacted us, allowing problems to grow and circulate on the rumour mill until we accidentally get to hear about them.)