China Law Blog

I'd recommend people check out Ben Ross's blog: http://www.benross.net/wordpress/

He spend several years living and working in China, at least a few teaching English. I've found it a pretty good read, even though I have no desire to teach English in China, but I think it would be a great reasource for those who do.

Well, I met a small group of American English teachers in Beijing last fall, and I got the sense that no matter how stable you think you contract is, it's not stable. The teachers who lasted the longest adapted by holding multiple teaching jobs at once, as one tended to implode frequently.

Also, I recommend that if you are thinking about going there to teach. Leave some savings in your bank at home, and don't touch it. The pay scales seem to be adequate to stay in a reasonable lifestyle, not one i'd want though, but left little if not any discretionary cash for travel. So if you ever want to get home, plan your out before you go.

Best of luck

Hey Dan, thanks giving me the China Law Blog 'bump', though I doubt my entry on teaching English would be good for anything other than a slight chuckle.

But, if I really really wanted to know about teaching English in China or if I had a case, would it be okay to ask you then?

I don't teach in China, but I've known many people who have. It's possible to have a very pleasant assignment, but you can't be too careful in checking out the employer in every aspect. Check on internet bb's as well as ask for personal references from teachers who are no longer at the school. I once was involved in a "rescue" of a young woman who found herself virtually enslaved by an employer. I was literally contacted by one of her parents after they realized that their daughter's phone conversations were monitored. But I also would place a different kind of warning for anyone considering an assignment at a university level: cheating is rampant and many universities have a policy that no student will fail, no matter what. I've personally known three university level professors who found ways to leave their posts (and I've heard of a few whose contracts were not renewed) after they were asked to pass every student or change failing grades to passing ones. In one case, a class began making unfounded accusations of moral impropriety against a professor after he refused to bend his standards; (this professor was just fortunate that he had a 20 year history at his European university and was actually volunteering during his sabbatical!) If you are considering teaching and you would have moral qualms about passing students who don't meet basic standards, then be very careful because once you are in an environment where you are living on campus and beholden to an administration, life can become very complex if you refuse to comply with the unethical demands.