The hellish school I worked for in Guangzhou is hiring. Let the teacher beware. I’ve added in bold what I think people should know. There’s no way they’ll tell you in an interview, what the problems really are.
CCC seeks an ESL/EFL Instructor to teach English for their Education Bound U.S. (EBUS) program at Xiang Jiang High School (XJHS) in Jade-Green Island, 45 minutes from Guangzhou, China, in Xintang, a factory town with horrid air quality. This program offers American college-level* courses to Chinese high school students (regardless of their English level, even kids with D’s in English can take college classes) to prepare them for transfer to U.S. colleges and universities.
Under the direct supervision of the CCC EBUS Program Coordinator, who will be in California so you’ll wake to 20-30 emails A DAY from him and if he’s like most staff will only deign to speak with you at his convenience, i.e. California time. Night owls preferred as some calls will start an hour late and conclude at 2 am Guangzhou time. This poor instructor will teach EFL classes, facilitate delivery of “college” courses, develop curricula (since we in California can’t be bothered) and instructional materials, monitor (sounds like a security guard, did an educator write this ad? No.) computer lab activities, and assist with other school activities.
XJHS is only 3 years old, but for some reason the paint is chipping and the faucets that were installed in August of 2011 are already rusty and its classroom facilities include Internet access, LCD projectors, and a stereo sound systems with speakers that squeak or hiss. Try as you might, no one at the school will fix this. Copy paper is hard to come by, but there’s been some improvement on that front.
Payment is $12,500 per 15-week semester for 30 hrs/wk with no more than 20 hrs classroom instruction per week. However, current teachers work 60 – 70 hours per week with a little extra pay. This time is spent telling California about the school’s many problems. There will also be a $500/wk stipend for a two-week onsite preparation time starting Aug. 14, 2012.
The fall semester begins August 27 and ends Dec. 1, 2012, and the spring semester is from February to May. There is a holiday break between semesters. Preference will be given to candidates who are willing to make a two-semester commitment.
Note that there’s no mention of the apartments. They will be furnished at a sub-par level. Although the furnishings and kitchen equipment promised is basic, expect less than this. You can buy your own heater when it gets cold and if your air conditioning or appliances break expect a lengthy drawn out process as the school and landlord argue over what to do while you live without a refrigerator.
Midway through the semester the police will come for a visa shakedown. That was exciting. Once they closed the school for a week though everyone’s visa was fine. Ah, I could go on and on.
Jade Green is a growing community with the lively sounds of construction going 24/7. At 3 am you’ll wake to explosions at the nearby construction site.
The real estate development has little to recommend itself in the way of amenities. There are a couple of mediocre restaurants and the nearest cafe or coffee house that’s clean is 45 minutes away. The last bus leaves the city at 10pm.
*College level is a relative term.
Related articles
- Now in Jinan (smkelly8.wordpress.com)
- Yippee! (wagamama7.wordpress.com)
- Guangzhou 2012 (mattworthington.net)
- EBUS/XJ Visa Troubles
- A Good Night Out – Guangzhou, China (travelpod.com)
- So what do I really do as an English Teaching Assistant?? (worldtravelingirl.wordpress.com)
- Syllabus Day (101derland.wordpress.com)
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Actually, I have considered applying to this position and was hoping you could clarify a bit for me.
Most of the points you make are problems endemic to China, and I think that if you move on to another position in China, you will find that out. Air quality, bureaucracy, construction, transit, quality of living quarters; all of these are indeed annoying to foreigners, but they are hard to escape in China.
What really concerns me is what you said about the working conditions. What do you mean by 60-70 hour weeks? Are these ‘required’ by the school?
Also, the bus trip into GZ: you mean it’s about 45 minutes each way? How far is the nearest subway station?
Finally, were there any teachers allowed to live off campus? Seems like a lot of the issues you mention might be solved by getting away from work at the end of the day and into a part of the city you were more comfortable in.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to belittle your complaints, as they are completely valid. I guess that some people get used to a lot of these issues after a while and they don’t seem so bad, or they find creative workarounds.
I just got back from a holiday and am am catching up. Hence the delay.
I have worked in other Chinese programs and this bureaucracy is the worst. The school won’t subsidize off campus housing, so that would be pricy.
The nearest subway station is near the new stadium and about 30 minutes away. The development’s bus then continues on 15 more minutes and makes a couple stops before the final one in Tianhe. This bus is hourly. You can get a city bus to and from Xintang. The one time I did that it took me an hour and a half to get to Xintang and then it’s 20 minutes back to Jade Green Island.
The 60+ hours come from the California side. You have 20-30 emails a day to read and answer. Then there are the conference and other overseas calls to fill the school in on what’s going on. The new coordinator they hired will work from California so you must work on California time. Often I’d agree to an 11pm call and the woman wouldn’t be ready till midnight. Sometimes she’d never call. You have a different person to report to, but they will be working from California.
The management in California really is out of their depths as far as China and you’re constantly trying to teach them about the culture and about education. (The program director has never lived overseas or taught. She got her job because her former job, producing in house videos was eliminated and she was friends with someone.) The California team will have you pulling out your hair.
I just did a google search to look at the location and info on Jade Green Island, as I was considering applying for the job. Glad your blog came up. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yes, that was a hardship post. From what I’ve heard from a friend back there, it hasn’t gotten better. I wish you luck on finding a good job in EFL. Have you thought of the English Language Fellow Program? Most people have good experiences with that.
Very funny – I am ON an English Language Fellowship! Have you done that?
I did the ELF program in Indonesia in 2007-08. The program was pretty good. My housing had some issues, but the pay was good and it was a great way to get me to present more often and publish.
Where are you now?