Other stuff.
Location, location, location. If you are out of the city centre, transport can be a problem. Especially at night. If you think you need to be near other expats, bars, cafes, etc. look for locations near Yunnan Uni, Green Lake, or Beichen. Or on the new metro train routes.
Beware in outlying areas some campuses lock the gates at night. You won't be let in, or out.
Payment mechanisms vary between institutions. Usually money goes into a bank account they set up for you, and you get an ATM card.
Language schools
Pay is higher
Check, sometimes no flights.
No accommodation, but sometimes accommodation allowance.
Expect to travel between sites in the city. They will usually only pay for bus, not taxi.
Some students motivated, but many are just there to play and unless you want to teach under 10s as well as teens, be prepared.
Schedules change at short notice and you are not expected to say no. This gives the possibility of picking up overtime pay.
You must work evenings and weekends. You will rarely get this time off.
Parents are a big issue sometimes. You need to leave the management of parents to local staff as it gets political.
You have a lot of customer groups to satisfy. These include local management, your director of studies (foreigner), local admin and sales, parents, students. Most have conflicting interests. This is a high stress environment.
The management is very cost focus. Sometimes quality of teaching is a low priority. Teaching materials are fixed. As an absolute beginner, as long as parents don't complain, you can get away with more.
You, the teacher, are merely a cash cow. The pay for you is higher but prepare to be milked. It is a high pressure job.
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Chinese High School with special oversea programs.
The program will often be in a high school but in a separate wing and have its own admin staff and Principal or Director of studies.
Same as high school but the SS are usally in the upper quartile of academic ability. Teaching staff are a mixture of local teachers and foreign teachers. The curriculum is US/Canada/UK.
Accommodation is not always provided, but sometimes accommodation allowance is paid.
Good staff are very highly valued. Expectations on staff are high.
Pay is often better than high schools.
Parents have very high expectations. They are sometimes rich and unreasonable in their damnds, but leave this to local admin.
Exams are set and moderated externally. You have to invigilate and sometimes mark tests.
Chinese High School
Same as universities
Students may or may not be motivated, and the English levels in a class can vary dramatically. Teenagers may also be, well? Teenagers.
Exams are set and marked externally. You will be expected to set and mark periodic informal tests, at no extra pay.
Foreign staff are valued by management.
Other colleges.
These are usually vocational colleges. Some SS are highly motivated as they are from poor families. They may have failed GK due to not having access to a good high school.
The facilities in some of these places can be appalling.
Usually no accommodation or accommodation allowance.
Often no canteen. But there will be street vendors outside the gate.
Before we get our knickers in a knot. 90k rmb per year is affordable for millions of Chinese now. These are not programs for a privileged elite or programs for the super rich. The programs at the last two high schools I worked at cost that much and more.
These programs are not affordable to the masses (most working class), but hell how many kids back home cannot afford to go to college either, and how many more don't want to invest in higher education?
Many import cars cost the equivalent of three years study on these programs. And many of these cars are paid for with cash. I don't know of anyone who has taken out finance on a car.
Like taxes, they will only be punished for the money that is found or declared. However, I know someone who is looking at 10 years jail time. Also the correction facilities for government people have a fearsome reputation. Even today.
I was out in Phuket, on a lesser known, almost deserted beach by the airport. The toilet was walled, but had no roof. I thought to myself, here we go. To my surprise, the toilet was very clean.
Public toilets in UK are now slowly becoming a paid for convenience. However, the people who take the money keep them clean, very clean.
In China I pay, and some of them are not cleaned. The public toilets in the older parts of town can be the worst. I am sure that the 'keepers' who take the money are supposed to clean them, but if so, no one seems to monitor or enforce any standards.
I have been to a public toilet in a village, that seemed to be a hang out for youths, even though there were no lights. From the light of my phone it reminded me of the betting shop toilets in 'Train Spotting'.
Perhaps local media were told to play it down, in order that central can control the message more easily. Looking at the quality of some local news reporting, that would not be in the least bit surprising.
A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.
Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.
In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.
They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.
They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.
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China university rankings released, Yunnan gets low marks
发布者Before we get our knickers in a knot. 90k rmb per year is affordable for millions of Chinese now. These are not programs for a privileged elite or programs for the super rich. The programs at the last two high schools I worked at cost that much and more.
These programs are not affordable to the masses (most working class), but hell how many kids back home cannot afford to go to college either, and how many more don't want to invest in higher education?
Many import cars cost the equivalent of three years study on these programs. And many of these cars are paid for with cash. I don't know of anyone who has taken out finance on a car.
Kunming's former party boss charged with corruption
发布者We nearly all live in China and I doubt if anyone is surprised.
Kunming's former party boss charged with corruption
发布者Like taxes, they will only be punished for the money that is found or declared. However, I know someone who is looking at 10 years jail time. Also the correction facilities for government people have a fearsome reputation. Even today.
Provincial toilets soon to be less disgusting
发布者I was out in Phuket, on a lesser known, almost deserted beach by the airport. The toilet was walled, but had no roof. I thought to myself, here we go. To my surprise, the toilet was very clean.
Public toilets in UK are now slowly becoming a paid for convenience. However, the people who take the money keep them clean, very clean.
In China I pay, and some of them are not cleaned. The public toilets in the older parts of town can be the worst. I am sure that the 'keepers' who take the money are supposed to clean them, but if so, no one seems to monitor or enforce any standards.
I have been to a public toilet in a village, that seemed to be a hang out for youths, even though there were no lights. From the light of my phone it reminded me of the betting shop toilets in 'Train Spotting'.
Documentary Under the Dome captivates China
发布者Perhaps local media were told to play it down, in order that central can control the message more easily. Looking at the quality of some local news reporting, that would not be in the least bit surprising.