I’ve noticed this now and again, schools advertising for teachers that specify ‘caucasians only’ or ‘Western looking’ (whatever that is).
I don’t want this to be an ‘Is Taiwan racist?’ debate but rather does anybody here work for those schools, and why would anyone respond to an ad that was basically racist in nature…?
Well there are also ads for counter girls under the age of 30. Not counter guys in their 50’s.
So you can add in sexist and age-ism as well.
[quote=“Musicfan”]I’ve noticed this now and again, schools advertising for teachers that specify ‘caucasians only’ or ‘Western looking’ (whatever that is).
I don’t want this to be an ‘Is Taiwan racist?’ debate but rather does anybody here work for those schools, and why would anyone respond to an ad that was basically racist in nature…?[/quote]
Nothing racist about that at all… I got a government contract to teach that specified native caucasian speaker with ROC Nationality… sort of ruled out most of everybody else hehehehe…
People respond to these ads because they don’t give a damn about what the ads say… they are looking for work and an income. And who’s to say that the work environment may not be a fun place to work. I worked for a school with an American owner that specified Caucasian with north American accent… but me being an Aussie he didn’t notice the accent thingy
Even the American Chamber of Commerce has set age limits on job ads for their office.
If you are Caucasion and starving and/or drowning in school debt, do you think you’ll really care how fair the ad is?
Of course it’s racism. It’s also clearly illegal under Taiwan law. Want a good laugh? Check out Article 7 of the ROC Constitution:
concourt.am/wwconst/constit/ … iwan-e.htm
Nice sentiment, but as with most laws in Taiwan, apparently it’s not really meant to be observed. Taiwan also has a Gender Equality Labor Law, that I can’t find a link to, but I’m sure it too is widely ignored. Other than the Constitution, I don’t believe the Labor Law or any other law specifically prohibits other types of discrimination.
In the US, on the other hand, state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in employment or housing based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental handicap, marital status, etc. and provide harsh penalties for violations.
I also think those “American/Canadian accent preferred” advertisements are a tragedy. Where are the “Guttoral or nasal cockney accent required” adverts? London is sometimes thought of as a business centre too!
If you are Caucasion and starving and/or drowning in school debt, do you think you’ll really care how fair the ad is?[quote]
Ah yes, all those starving caucasian graduates, makes my heart bleed…
My point is that there are many times on this forum where the Taiwanese have been criticised for being racist etc. and not as enlightened as ‘the West’, and often with some justification.
However some people think it’s fine to perpetuate the problem, would you actually have a point where you would say enough is enough? Or as long as the money keeps coming, who cares…?[/code][/quote]
I saw an ad for a teacher in a Taichung pub over ayear ago that specified for a blonde haired female with blue eyes. If they’d said brown maybe a lot of Taiwanese girls would have applied.
Brown eyes that is:
When I was in Bangkok I saw ads that specified British, Australian or New Zealand accents only. Quite a few actually. Some of the jobs sounded quite awesome, was very tempted to move to a Country that loves my accent. But then my school likes my accent too, and I like my school, so I stayed here instead.
Ah, you’ve never heard of colored contact lenses. I know a “blue-eyed” blonde Taiwanese woman. TGFLens Crafters (and Feria)!
I also noticed adds that specify non-smokers only.
I smoke… not in front of my students, but nevertheless, i think its abit unfair that not smoking EVER would be a requirement.
I think that to specify that the employee would have to be caucasian is indeed very racist and morally dispicable. But i can see why a company might want to hire a white teacher instead of an asian one who speaks perfect native english. Schools might think that having someone who looks american or who looks british doing the teaching might attract more parents to enroll their children. Its sad, but I think it fits in with the rest of this culture…
People strike me as being very superficial out here, at least as much as we are back home.
Yes, another case of parents and schools using children as status symbols.
Having a non-white English teacher teaching their children rather than a blue-eyed blonde American one to some small-minded parents here is like buying a nameless handbag rather than a Gucci. Sure they have the same function and you get the same results, but there’s so much prestige tied to one that you’d be willing to spend more just to get it (if social status is an important issue to you).
[quote=“wudjamahuh”]
I think that to specify that the employee would have to be caucasian is indeed very racist and morally dispicable. [/quote]
[quote=“Vannyel”][quote=“wudjamahuh”]
I think that to specify that the employee would have to be caucasian is indeed very racist and morally dispicable. [/quote]
wordiq.com/definition/Moral[/quote]
And your point would be… ?
In the case of Caucasion only, I would say blame the parents and not the schools for this policy. The schools have to survive as a business. It is not their fault that many people here have narrow views as to what exactly the western world is like. I know for a fact that the school I work at would love to hire FBCs, but feels too great a pressure from the parents to have white teachers.
Still there are opportunities for non-whites. My FBC girlfriend is employed here.
[quote=“ImaniOU”][quote=“Vannyel”][quote=“wudjamahuh”]
I think that to specify that the employee would have to be caucasian is indeed very racist and morally dispicable. [/quote]
wordiq.com/definition/Moral[/quote]
And your point would be… ?[/quote]
Wow and you said you are a professional teacher…well, although it seems obvious I will try to explain…
Let’s see the first two sentences state “Morality is a complex of concepts and philosophical beliefs by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. Oftentimes, these concepts and beliefs are generalized and codified in a culture or group, and thus serve to regulate the behaviour of its members.” Now I personally think the author means “Morality is a complex of concepts and philosophical beliefs by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. Oftentimes, these concepts and beliefs are generalized and codified in a culture or group, and thus serve to regulate the behaviour of its members” and as citizens of Taiwan (or most countries in general) could be considered ‘a culture or group’ then it stands to reason their concept of what is moral might be different from other groups. Therefore to find a particular practice “morally dispicable” is judgmental and subjective (as well, IMHO wrong, however I realize Christians (the group I have some familiarity with) do this on a regular basis using the bible as a guideline and have in the past subjugated ‘inferior heathens’ so someone coming from this background (a country founded on the principles of Christianity or should I say boatloads of religious fanatics fleeing Europe) might find it easy to judge other cultures but I had hoped we (as a group) were evolving beyond this.
Now if this seems complicated to you I am sure you might have trouble with the idea that “Conformity to such codification may also be called morality, and the group may depend on widespread conformity to such codes for its continued existence.”
But since I seriously doubt you really want an explanation I will leave you to ponder how what is morally acceptable in one culture is not in another. If you have any troubles you might want to check on differences between a culture based on Islamic beliefs, Christian beliefs, and Buddhism.
Have a nice day. 
[quote=“Vannyel”]
But since I seriously doubt you really want an explanation I will leave you to ponder how what is morally acceptable in one culture is not in another. [/quote]
One simple question for you sir: Is it wrong, in your opinion, for an employer to discriminate against potential employees because of race? A simple yes or no will suffice.
[quote=“Jive Turkey”][quote=“Vannyel”]
But since I seriously doubt you really want an explanation I will leave you to ponder how what is morally acceptable in one culture is not in another. [/quote]
One simple question for you sir: Is it wrong, in your opinion, for an employer to discriminate against potential employees because of race? A simple yes or no will suffice.[/quote]
There is no simple answer…in Taiwan, ‘no’ because I refuse to apply U.S. standards to this culture (or any other). In the U.S., it is illegal therefore wrong. I don’t hire or fire so personally I don’t ponder the question too much. And yes, I have been denied a job because of my race - it was in the U.S. and unlike Taiwan they didn’t bother to list it in the newspapers so I wasted my time applying for a job that was looking for a minority employee to fill their government quota. Lucky for me, I found a better job. 
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … 573#230573
[quote=“TS”]In the case of Caucasion only, I would say blame the parents and not the schools for this policy. The schools have to survive as a business. It is not their fault that many people here have narrow views as to what exactly the western world is like. I know for a fact that the school I work at would love to hire FBCs, but feels too great a pressure from the parents to have white teachers.
Still there are opportunities for non-whites. My FBC girlfriend is employed here.[/quote]
Yeah but apply that attitude to a retail shop back home, or a hotel. “Yeah we’d love to hire blacks, but the customers won’t shop here if they’re going to get served by a black.” Sounds nice, doesn’t it.
If the parents said that they wanted the teachers all to be blond-haired Germans with beards and dressed in lederhosen, the schools would immediately comply. There is no resolution to this conflict between profits and education.
Taiwanese people simply believe that they know better than the school how to teach their child English. The less English the person knows, the more adamantly this view appears to be held. And this has probably come about through suspicion generated by the dodgy fly-by-nite operations that passed for schools in the glory days of ten-or-so years ago. A vicious circle ensues: the more parents demand nonsense which doesn’t contribute to the child’s learning, the worse his English becomes. The worse his English becomes, the more the parents feel they have a right to interfere. Hence the curriculum goes out the window and we’re doing Portfolios and Plays for half the term.
(Why doesn’t my Johnny know the word for gnumphenstat? Because we spent half the term wanking around with stupid shit “because that’s what they do at Happy Marion” and you said you’d take your kid there if we didn’t do it too.)
And don’t forget, the government here believes a child cannot learn two languages simultaneously. This is what we’re up against.