Working in China I have the exact same questions. We have been able to refund our tickets going back to China but have still had problems with connections due to being in China in the past 14 days.
Most of the schools have set up online learning to a degree so I assume we will be getting paid for atleast that time worked.
I do worry about the cost of getting back to China once the door opens back up. That being said I am not purchasing a ticket till I feel it's safe. I have had friends that went back this week because flights are cheap and they are going to stay home. I personally would rather be outside of the country and not stuck in my apartment.
Situation in China
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Situation in China
I just flew back into China today (Shanghai). It's quiet on the streets, and businesses have been encouraged to be closed until Feb 9th. Everyone is wearing masks outside.
I had to fill out a government document that was accessed through WeChat before I could enter my apartment compound. It asked me some basic questions on who I was, where I lived, contact information, and where I had traveled.
There was no mention of a quarantine period in English or that I saw in Chinese at the airport. My school hasn't mentioned a quarantine either. I suspect this could vary depending on the local government. The start of school has been pushed back into early March, and for now teachers are submitting online work to their students.
I haven't heard any worries from people about not being paid from any of my friends, and I know people at full international school as well as bilingual and foreign programs run from public schools. If that happens it will be something we hear about.
People are paying out of their earnings to pay for housing while not in China. Some folks I know have gone to stay with family and others have hanging out in Southeast Asia where living costs can be lower. I suspect most people will probably save up a bit less during this stint and they may take a bit of a hit from flights back. Given the general savings potential in the region, I don't see this being catastrophic for most people though mileage may vary.
At this point, I'm wondering if the Spring Break will be cancelled so that can be used for contact time. In the end, I'm not worried about the disease or contracting it myself since I'm healthy, though it makes things a bit unusual for a while. I'm hoping it quickly gets under control as there are people who are much more vulnerable to it than myself. It's a lot how I view things like measles outbreaks.
Take care.
I had to fill out a government document that was accessed through WeChat before I could enter my apartment compound. It asked me some basic questions on who I was, where I lived, contact information, and where I had traveled.
There was no mention of a quarantine period in English or that I saw in Chinese at the airport. My school hasn't mentioned a quarantine either. I suspect this could vary depending on the local government. The start of school has been pushed back into early March, and for now teachers are submitting online work to their students.
I haven't heard any worries from people about not being paid from any of my friends, and I know people at full international school as well as bilingual and foreign programs run from public schools. If that happens it will be something we hear about.
People are paying out of their earnings to pay for housing while not in China. Some folks I know have gone to stay with family and others have hanging out in Southeast Asia where living costs can be lower. I suspect most people will probably save up a bit less during this stint and they may take a bit of a hit from flights back. Given the general savings potential in the region, I don't see this being catastrophic for most people though mileage may vary.
At this point, I'm wondering if the Spring Break will be cancelled so that can be used for contact time. In the end, I'm not worried about the disease or contracting it myself since I'm healthy, though it makes things a bit unusual for a while. I'm hoping it quickly gets under control as there are people who are much more vulnerable to it than myself. It's a lot how I view things like measles outbreaks.
Take care.
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: Situation in China
Schools that close because of civil unrest and schools that close because of a . are in different boats.
The . runs through a population and is 'done' so to speak. Civil unrest, like the flights out of Cairo in 2011 or so, are a different story.
The . runs through a population and is 'done' so to speak. Civil unrest, like the flights out of Cairo in 2011 or so, are a different story.
Re: Situation in China
It is not uncommon for some folks to defend their turf when they don't have the full information. Teachers ain't infectious disease specialists. This . isn't a dot, it's costing lives and when you have the great fire wall resisting so hard, we don't know what's truly happening on the ground. One could be naive and stay put, or be wise and run for life. It is no longer about paychecks, keeping your word etc., but staying alive to take care of your loved ones. Simple as that.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Situation in China
Yes, fine dude, be wise and... panic? Good idea.
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Re: Situation in China
fine dude wrote:
> It is not uncommon for some folks to defend their turf when they don't have
> the full information. Teachers ain't infectious disease specialists. This .
> isn't a dot, it's costing lives and when you have the great fire wall
> resisting so hard, we don't know what's truly happening on the ground. One
> could be naive and stay put, or be wise and run for life. It is no longer
> about paychecks, keeping your word etc., but staying alive to take care of
> your loved ones. Simple as that.
Finedude, I actually put pan de mic, but for some reason it got dots. Go figure. I have many friends in and out of China - most out. Some are now home, some are in other parts of SE Asia. One or two are still in China.
I'm not in China and don't teach there. My friends in Beijing are OK. My Shanghai and Xiamin friends are out. HK friends are in HK, but watching situation closely. As you say, each person's mileage differs. But when a school calls you back after the government declares its safe you have two choices - go or stay.
> It is not uncommon for some folks to defend their turf when they don't have
> the full information. Teachers ain't infectious disease specialists. This .
> isn't a dot, it's costing lives and when you have the great fire wall
> resisting so hard, we don't know what's truly happening on the ground. One
> could be naive and stay put, or be wise and run for life. It is no longer
> about paychecks, keeping your word etc., but staying alive to take care of
> your loved ones. Simple as that.
Finedude, I actually put pan de mic, but for some reason it got dots. Go figure. I have many friends in and out of China - most out. Some are now home, some are in other parts of SE Asia. One or two are still in China.
I'm not in China and don't teach there. My friends in Beijing are OK. My Shanghai and Xiamin friends are out. HK friends are in HK, but watching situation closely. As you say, each person's mileage differs. But when a school calls you back after the government declares its safe you have two choices - go or stay.
Re: Situation in China
According to my colleagues in China at the moment the quality of life sucks right now. Most things are closed and people are discouraged from leaving the house unless absolutely necessary. You can't even visit friends unless you live in the same compound. Everyone is going a bit insane. School is supposed to reopen first week of March but everything seems up in the air as of now.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Situation in China
@monkeycat, yeah, that's about right. I had friends over on Monday to play games, but some complexes are trying to control movement of the people who live there. The guards don't really have the authority to stop people from coming and going, but some places it's a hassle. I was at my friend's house on Sunday and a few security guards were hassling her as she came down to get us. We signed in and had them take our temperature, but otherwise ignored them.
Just today it sounded like one of the districts' restaurants were all told to shut down again, but it hasn't happened in the next district over. My go to bar/restaurant is still open, but there are few customers. If this were to go on for long it wouldn't be much fun living here, but I suspect by March or April at the latest things will be back to regular old business. I suspect there'll be a number of places that don't reopen after the coronvirus is history either, but that happens even when there isn't a . shutting things down.
Just today it sounded like one of the districts' restaurants were all told to shut down again, but it hasn't happened in the next district over. My go to bar/restaurant is still open, but there are few customers. If this were to go on for long it wouldn't be much fun living here, but I suspect by March or April at the latest things will be back to regular old business. I suspect there'll be a number of places that don't reopen after the coronvirus is history either, but that happens even when there isn't a . shutting things down.
Reply
@Cailin
It depends on the IS, but most ISs in China use the ministry template and have terms that allow the IS to dismiss you if you havent reported within 30 days and also force majeure clauses that allow the IS to pay you little if nothing in such events. The better ISs in China would typically give you something like 30 days salary and a flight home.
It depends on the IS, but most ISs in China use the ministry template and have terms that allow the IS to dismiss you if you havent reported within 30 days and also force majeure clauses that allow the IS to pay you little if nothing in such events. The better ISs in China would typically give you something like 30 days salary and a flight home.
Re: Situation in China
eion_padraig wrote:
> I haven't heard any worries from people about not being paid from any of my
> friends, and I know people at full international school as well as
> bilingual and foreign programs run from public schools. If that happens it
> will be something we hear about.
My school (Southeast China, foreign program run from boarding school) is not paying teachers for Feb. aside from online classes we are assigned to for partner schools in other cities in China. Those are paid at an hourly rate of 150 RMB/hour that is strictly for class time (nothing for prep, correcting homework, etc.). Which as you guys probably know is below the absolute bottom of ESL hourly rates for native speakers here.
Additionally, even though our school's start date has been pushed back to early March (and may end up being pushed back further), teachers who were not back in China by Feb. 15 are not getting paid for January as per a dubious interpretation of one of the clauses in our contract.
> I haven't heard any worries from people about not being paid from any of my
> friends, and I know people at full international school as well as
> bilingual and foreign programs run from public schools. If that happens it
> will be something we hear about.
My school (Southeast China, foreign program run from boarding school) is not paying teachers for Feb. aside from online classes we are assigned to for partner schools in other cities in China. Those are paid at an hourly rate of 150 RMB/hour that is strictly for class time (nothing for prep, correcting homework, etc.). Which as you guys probably know is below the absolute bottom of ESL hourly rates for native speakers here.
Additionally, even though our school's start date has been pushed back to early March (and may end up being pushed back further), teachers who were not back in China by Feb. 15 are not getting paid for January as per a dubious interpretation of one of the clauses in our contract.
Re: Situation in China
It's pretty obvious at this point that China is over in the short term. Sorry money hungry pigs who invested way too much there. Sadly, it's spreading within Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Iran too. Likely to become endemic like dengue but obviously this is much worse. Hopefully it will stop there, but likely coming to a market or street or apartment block near you very soon. Stay safe to all and to all a good night.
Re: Situation in China
It’s times like these that show a school’s true colors, I feel.
Our school has been paying us our normal salary, thankfully. We are required to teach distance learning classes, of course (not necessarily videos or streaming). The initial announcement was for each day of distance learning to count as half a day of actual learning in terms of counting school days and adjusting vacations. The school sent out a survey to the teachers and most of the teachers argued that the amount of prep involved for distance learning shouldn’t be underestimated. Not sure if the school will rethink the policy or not though.
Our school has been paying us our normal salary, thankfully. We are required to teach distance learning classes, of course (not necessarily videos or streaming). The initial announcement was for each day of distance learning to count as half a day of actual learning in terms of counting school days and adjusting vacations. The school sent out a survey to the teachers and most of the teachers argued that the amount of prep involved for distance learning shouldn’t be underestimated. Not sure if the school will rethink the policy or not though.
Re: Reply
PsyGuy wrote:
> @idonteven
>
> Sounds like its time to examine your exit strategy options. Your getting
> shafted, but I understand the ISs position.
Normally I would agree (about the exit strategy I mean -- I'm definitely getting shafted). But I've signed a contract for a job I want in China next year at a better school, and apparently my school could screw me out of working in China by not giving me my release letter. It sucks, but I think I'm going to just take it on the chin. At least I'm getting my Jan. pay since I stayed here in China during break, feel pretty bad for my colleagues who aren't getting that.
> @idonteven
>
> Sounds like its time to examine your exit strategy options. Your getting
> shafted, but I understand the ISs position.
Normally I would agree (about the exit strategy I mean -- I'm definitely getting shafted). But I've signed a contract for a job I want in China next year at a better school, and apparently my school could screw me out of working in China by not giving me my release letter. It sucks, but I think I'm going to just take it on the chin. At least I'm getting my Jan. pay since I stayed here in China during break, feel pretty bad for my colleagues who aren't getting that.
Re: Situation in China
monkeycat wrote:
> It’s times like these that show a school’s true colors, I feel.
>
> Our school has been paying us our normal salary, thankfully. We are
> required to teach distance learning classes, of course (not necessarily
> videos or streaming). The initial announcement was for each day of distance
> learning to count as half a day of actual learning in terms of counting
> school days and adjusting vacations. The school sent out a survey to the
> teachers and most of the teachers argued that the amount of prep involved
> for distance learning shouldn’t be underestimated. Not sure if the school
> will rethink the policy or not though.
Agreed, I know people at other schools in my area getting full pay + a hardship bonus due to the outbreak. But I (sort of) knew what the deal was with my school going in.
> It’s times like these that show a school’s true colors, I feel.
>
> Our school has been paying us our normal salary, thankfully. We are
> required to teach distance learning classes, of course (not necessarily
> videos or streaming). The initial announcement was for each day of distance
> learning to count as half a day of actual learning in terms of counting
> school days and adjusting vacations. The school sent out a survey to the
> teachers and most of the teachers argued that the amount of prep involved
> for distance learning shouldn’t be underestimated. Not sure if the school
> will rethink the policy or not though.
Agreed, I know people at other schools in my area getting full pay + a hardship bonus due to the outbreak. But I (sort of) knew what the deal was with my school going in.