Friday 4th March, 2016                      0210

The meal/meeting/discussion about the chances of my staying here?

I’m not holding my breath.

I saw Prof Fang as she was walking to her car after work on Wednesday (she’s not our dean any more since moving over to be director of personnel for the entire university but I would rather have her on my side than her replacement) and I suggested a meal tonight with her, director Xu and Miss Yin, both from foreign affairs. Prof Fang has said she will tell me if she is free by lunchtime today, the other two (and I was assured that even though they can’t speak English they can read it) haven’t yet replied to my texts.

I am getting the distinct impression the matter is not up for discussion, even if only for them to listen politely and still say no. If that is indeed the case then I would be putting it mildly if I said that disappoints me.

The boy who fell asleep last Thursday in class and who glared daggers at me for the rest of the lessons? He turned up today and before class I was outside having a puff so I asked him if he was sufficiently rested. He looked it and indeed said he was fine. Good lad, I said. I think he learnt a lesson, I won’t hold it against him and I am pretty sure he won’t harbour anything other than a healthy respect for me. The new classes don’t seem a bad lot although there is the usual battle to get them to be active but that’s normal with freshmen. I will get there.

Joan reported back on Richard’s teaching. Naturally I was interested in how his style differed from mine and of course it does dramatically. He does however have activities which unlike mine are computer-based from the sound of it. Being a technophobe it’s as much as I can do to show a film, leave alone a slide show or a PPP. BUT. It would seem he is far stricter on the students than I have ever been and I thought some of my rules were verging on the draconian. I realise now I have been a complete softy and will remain so of course, I prefer a disapproving look to embarrass or simply stopping in mid sentence and staring until a culprit suddenly realises something is wrong. Kevin admitted to the odd tirade in his classes and yes, I have had one or two but mine were aimed at the entire class rather than individual miscreants and always when they were simply sitting there mute and not answering questions or taking part in the class. And these were classes in which the majority wanted to be teachers themselves!

It does take time to coax some classes out of their shells and it is not entirely their fault. The system here (until they go to college or university that is) goes like this: the teachers from primary to middle to junior high and senior high schools always insist that they shut up, listen, look, read and write and never question the teacher. They come to a foreign teacher’s class and it is so ingrained they shit themselves if they have to speak in class. Unless of course it is to have a little side conversation with their friend sitting next to them.

That does have to change because all that does is knock all the curiosity and wanting to actually understand what they are being taught right out of them.

2115

Well of course the meal never happened. Prof Fang at least texted to say sorry but she would be busy, Director Xu still hasn’t replied but Miss Yin did, albeit too late. Having now registered with a teacher’s job agency earlier today, I decided to simply say what I was after. Now, the new Dean told me the foreign affairs department set the age policy and yet Miss Yin told me to speak to her! So just who IS the one who decides - the Dean or the FA dept???

I will see the Dean either Monday or Tuesday so that I know for sure. In the meantime the agency now have all my details and I have told them my situation. This is no way to run a ship.

I did a quick (well it wasn’t that quick but not my fault) trip to town at about 1530. The queue of students for the bus was horrendous so I rode to the last stop, narrowly missing catching a bus that left as I pulled in to park up. No problems I thought, that will take most of those queuing and the next one won’t be full. How wrong can you be? We were so full when we left the driver could only sail past people hailing from later bus stops as there was no more room, and continued to do so until some people got off at the train station. Needless to say I also had to take the two bus option to come back but at least the fares are back to 1y. I may venture in again tomorrow but I would like to make some cottage pies in the evening for freezing. If I am leaving I really need to start watching the pennies.