Messages by Susan

Janine,

May I suggest that you get hold of a friendly native speaker and ask him or her to accompany you to meet with the boss. Prepare yourself by writing a list of the things you want to talk about. Bring the boss back to your topics and just take your time.

Good luck with your pursuit.

One summer’s day a new ESL graduate came to a teacher seminar to quench her enthusiasm, and as she stood drinking in the ambience she saw her form reflected in the eyes of a senior teacher. “How clever and learned my colleague looks!” she thought. “And how inexperienced I am, and unused my abilities are!”
While she was examining and criticizing the talents that nature had given her, the colleagues and support staff drew near. Her abilities, with which she had found so many faults, instinctively carried her through the task of preparing a mock lesson plan with the others in her group, but the weight of experience of the senior teacher and his argumentative tone prevented the group from completing their task.

We tend to underestimate the small things about ourselves that are often our most valuable attributes.

According to the 1,156 senior middle school students I interviewed in Hubei province, a teacher, whether Chinese or foreign, should be kind above all else. The students filled in a graphic organizer to express their ideas of what the best teacher should be.

According to the students, the best teacher should be kind, strong, kind, pleasant, funny, wonderful, beautiful

You can find more revelations provided by the students in THE LITTLE RED BOOK TEACHING ESL IN CHINA http://www.amazon.com/Little-Red-Book-Teaching-China/dp/142515915X

The Teacher in China is still a respected individual held over from the ancient Confucius philosophy days. In the history of Chinese education, Confucius is a model of all teachers, symbolizing the philosophy of "Educate all without discrimination, and teach according to the abilities of one’s students." Using the six arts of rites, music, archery, chariot driving, learning (including reading and writing), and mathematics, Confucius had more than three thousand disciples during his lifetime. In practice of his philosophy, the Sage never refused a student because of his class or character, requiring only that his pupils possess a sincere desire to learn.
During the crisis of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius sought to end the chaos of the times. Believing this disorder to be a reflection of declining morals in society, he carefully toured the various warring Chinese states to advise rulers and officials on the merits of ethical rule. In his later years, Confucius reorganized the ancient Chinese texts, thus laying a solid foundation for China's enduring civilization. In 1939 the Ministry of Education marked that Confucius' birthday would be celebrated on August 28, and designated it as Teachers' Day as well as a national holiday to remember Confucius' enormous contribution to Chinese culture and society. The date was changed to September 28 in 1952 in accordance with chronologists' new findings. Today, Teachers' Day not only honours Confucius but also celebrates all teachers for their hard work during the year.
Every year on Teachers’ Day, the Confucius Memorial Service is solemnly held at the Confucius Temple, located in his hometown in present-day Chufu, Shantung Province, to show respect and honour for the Sage. At the "Teachers’ Day Celebration" held by the Ministry of Education and the various local governments, teachers with the highest seniority and best qualities are recognized for their contribution to society.

Congratulations on your choice to participate in such an honourable profession.

The name Cambridge College of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, enticed me and my husband, Frank, to teach English as a second language there. This same school nearly got us arrested.
Within the first week, the Director of the ESOL Centre said that the school could not afford to purchase the Cambridge College exams. We were instructed to prepare ‘home-made’ exams under the guise of the Cambridge College name. I protested but was quickly reprimanded.
The next week, I was asked to falsify a document. I refused.
In August 2009, my husband and I handed our passports to Ms. Maria Renee Canedo Landivar, the Cambridge College school director.
“You’re my prisoners,” the Director said.
She handed our passports over to a woman hired to arrange for our resident visa. We called the school director each week to ask the status of our passports. There was always some excuse for the delay. Seven weeks passed.
On Thursday, October 22, 2009, I called Ms. Landivar. I asked the whereabouts of our passports.
“I don’t know where they are,” said Maria Renee Canedo Landivar.
I asked her to have them on her desk within the hour. When we arrived, she told us that our passports had been to Argentina without us! We said it was illegal to take our passports out of the country. Ms. Landivar said she had been told by the woman they had hired, that it was possible to take our passports over the border. The director learned later that the Bolivian border authorities would not stamp our passports in order to issue another 3-month visitor visa.
Ms. Landivar told us to take a 10-hour bus ride from Santa Cruz de la Sierra to the border of Argentina. We were to enter Argentina, turn around and hand our passports to the Bolivian border authorities. This way, we could get another 3-month visitor visa. We explained to Ms. Landivar that it was not very practical because both passports would have been invalid in Bolivia in three days!
“This is how we always do it. You’re lucky to get any help from us with your visa,” said Ms. Landivar.
This critical negligence on the part of the school forced us to find the quickest way out of the country before being arrested for living and teaching in Bolivia illegally.
I asked for my last month’s pay and received only half of it. Two hundred US dollars was kept to pay the woman who did not get us a resident visa.
The most important document you have when you are traveling is your passport. Protect it at all times and follow up weekly or daily if necessary on its whereabouts if you hand it over to the school authorities. Your passport is a government document and you are responsible for its location.
Also, beware of a school that looks too good to be true. Cambridge College in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia is a façade.

Susan Black, Senior ESL Instructor

Hello Heidy,

What a great idea!

Including real life stories might lighten the anxiety of not knowing what to expect. It may also help the ESL teachers find their teaching niche and ability.

Best regards, Susan Black

Hello Dina,

It is common to send a 'copy' of the first page of your passport to a potential employer for a TESOL job. We taught English in China, Nepal and Bolivia and sent off a scanned copy of our passport to many, many schools. We never had a problem because it was just a copy like a copy of the TESOL Certificate that you send off.

Take care. Have a great time.

Susan

Jorge,

My husband and I spent a spectacular year in Guiyang. We made many great Chinese friends.

Which school will you be teaching at?

The city is congested with traffic and is filled to the brim with people, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, cars, trucks and young people on roller blades. Great fun!

You won't get into a jam if your apartment is paid for. It's very common and you should get that put into your contract. The combination of your fair wage per month and free accommodation will practically prevent you from getting into a jam.

Have a great time. Susan