Teaching at 5 schools?!?!?

From what my Chinese ex-girlfriend told me recently, the Chinese government doesn't want foreign teachers in public schools anymore entirely, and are trying to phase them out. My ex is a Chinese teacher in a public school in China, who teaches English.

In most public schools, yes. A foreign teacher standing in front of 50+ kids once a week is a waste of time and resources.

In public schools that have their own sections for international programs, foreign subject teachers will still be hired.

I can sort of understand why someone would feel put out for being "assigned" the job of picking up and dropping off the NET, especially if they're not being offered some sort of compensation at least for gas, but that's between them and the school. That's not the NET's fault or responsibility, and I really hate to say it but a KT who'd rather force a NET to commute hours to school than go 10 minutes out of their way once a week is absolutely a selfish asshole. It's such a lack of consideration and compassion. Even if I felt put out, I wouldn't take that out on the NET. The NET didn't choose to go there, and by the stipulations of their contract they shouldn't have been placed there in the first place. If and when they are, it's because the schools agreed to arrange for transport.

I've heard, not directly though, that in not so considerate NET was usually late meeting his ride. So that made both of them late. So puts the KT on the spot, and it wasn't KT wasn't even an English teacher, but the most convenient teacher whose route was on the way for picking up the NET.

It was a weird situation. An EPIK school but privately owned.

One of those public-private schools. As far as students are concerned it's a public school, but it's privately administered yet receives 100% government funding. Which means the MOE does have control of the school.

I've heard, not directly though, that in not so considerate NET was usually late meeting his ride. So that made both of them late. So puts the KT on the spot, and it wasn't KT wasn't even an English teacher, but the most convenient teacher whose route was on the way for picking up the NET.

I mean... okay? So you think this anecdote about a completely separate issue justifies forcing a NET to commute several hours on a bus? And that people who're okay with forcing this commute on a person who never agreed to be at that location in the first place aren't being inconsiderate?

If this isn't what you're trying to do here, then I apologize, and you don't need to read on. But here's one of my own little anecdotes. Get ready, it's a tirade.

A couple of years ago, I had to ride with a KT to school way off the beaten path. He was consistently late picking me up, even though I made it easy for him by walking to a spot that was literally along the way. I was always stuck waiting for him for at least 15 minutes or more, rain or shine, hot or cold, and he always told the office that it was my fault if we ever arrived late. Nothing was ever said to me about it while I was at that school because that's just what they'd expected from the foreigner, and I was only ever there once a week, so they just let it go. I found out about it later from my coteacher at the time. What led up to all of this?

When he was assigned by his school to be my ride to begin with (because he lived literally a 10 minute walk away from me), he kept calling me every day, several times a day, for about a week trying to talk me into taking the bus instead because "it wasn't his job to drive me anywhere".

It was an hour's car ride to this school, I would have had to change buses 4 times to get there, and I wouldn't have arrived until around 2 PM. I would have had to leave the school in less than hour after arriving to catch the LAST bus home. This school should never have been approved for a NET, but it was because it promised to provide transport. Everyone involved in that decision knew that public transport wasn't an option, I would've been spending literally 8-10 hours a day just riding on the ****** bus. There would have been no time for me to teach.

But this is what this KT wanted me to do. Do you think that this was reasonable of him? Do you think it was kind and considerate? Is it my fault that he got assigned the task to drive me? Is it my responsibility if he doesn't want to do it? Does it mean that I MUST buy a car, even though I would NEVER have agreed to work at this school had that been a requirement, especially since I shouldn't need to according to the conditions of my contract? He wasn't the English teacher, either, but this isn't about departments. It's about what the school agreed to do and decided among its own ranks, and that's what it had worked out among its own people. I had absolutely no say or control in that decision whatsoever. All I can do is to say something when the school isn't meeting up to the conditions set forth.

What ended up happening was I told my main school about it, let them know that the guy didn't want to take me there and back and that they should contact the other school about it so that they can work something else out, main school got mad and contacted the other school because they thought that the other school was trying to get out of responsibility for my transport even though they had agreed to provide it prior to being accepted as a secondary school since they fell well outside of the 60 minute public commute standard, other school was surprised by this news and got mad at the KT because he was going against orders and trying to bully me into an unreasonable situation, and then lying about it saying that it was all MY idea. Dude had even contacted a couple of pals who worked at my main school, and they had all tried to pressure me into taking a taxi to the other school instead (a one way trip to this particular school would have cost me about 150k).

I had other issues with this guy, some of them quite serious, but they're not relevant to my point. It would be a testament about his general character, though, and I could strawman it as justification for saying that all KTs are inconsiderate and sexist assholes. 

Again, if schools that fall outside of reasonable commutes can't work out how to get a NET to them, and no one feels like it's their responsibility, then they have no business requesting a NET. And people who try to force their personal hangups onto NETs who have literally done nothing to deserve any of that are inconsiderate assholes. Maybe the offices of education need to come up with something to help address this issue and to help provide a better system of accountability for both the schools and the NETs, but, until then, as per agreements, it's on the schools themselves to make it work.

An anecdote about an inconsiderate NET with a lack in time management skills doesn't change this. We could go on forever with tit for tat anecdotes, but they're beside the point.

Careful, everyone! You're gonna get us housed in a farm's extra greenhouse so that we don't have to commute to bum-frick nowhere schools. 

I dare them to.

It's about time someone try to Bear Grylls Korea and blog about it.

You know it’s coming.

NETs have already been placed in red light districts, villas with brothels inside, buildings in the school compound…greenhouse on a farm isn’t that far off!

Brink back Bak. Lee Myeong Bak.   "A foreign teacher in every school!"   plus he embezzled so much money and put it all into Pohang.  Now we have a beautiful beach and river. Along which there are lovely walking and biking paths. At night the neon lights adorned across the giant steel mill glimmer and dance on the water like the great mating dance of a majestic macaw.

Brink back Bak. Lee Myeong Bak.   "A foreign teacher in every school!"   plus he embezzled so much money and put it all into Pohang.  Now we have a beautiful beach and river. Along which there are lovely walking and biking paths. At night the neon lights adorned across the giant steel mill glimmer and dance on the water like the great mating dance of a majestic macaw.

Ah, the majestic macaw indigenous to Pohang.

Ah, the majestic macaw indigenous to Pohang.

the locals have taken to feeding the seagulls shrimp flavored chips. We paint them fancy when they get close. It ain't much, but its honest work.

Pohang is metal AF

Can't say I experienced this nuttery some of you are talking about.  Why would you all stay and put up with this?  Just chilling because of Corona?  Country hop. 

Unless a big pay raise is coming, bail out time should come soon for most of you.  You gonna put up with this crap forever? 

Pohang is metal AF

I went there in summer 2020.  The outskirts have some nice areas along the sea.  Only been there once.  Was going to go on winter vacation but didn't.