Hey. My new school is setting a day out of the week where instead of teaching the little guys, I’ll be teaching the Chinese teachers at the school. My boss told me that it will help me form good relationships with the teachers and make it easier for us to all get along.
Problem is, I can see quite the opposite happening. I’m thinking that maybe that will separate us and harm any working relationships we might have.
Has anyone ever come across this at the schools you work for, and if so, how did it effect you relationships with your co-workers?
Ok, thanks.
damage
this won’t help you much. it all depends. i have taught my fellow teachers before. how the class is structrured is everything.
is the boss going to be there with everyone else? when ours was the other teachers deferred to her on everything. kinda hard to have any kind of discussion when everyone is agreeing to whatever the boss says. the chinese teachers were naturally afraid to let the boss see the true level of their conversational ability.
if you can somehow swing having the class with just the regular teachers without the management sitting in, things may very well be great.
Yeah, the boss will definitely be there. I also heard from one of the other teachers that not only will I be teaching them, but I have to give them a test once a month, and if they don’t do good on it, they might get punished in some way by the school manager. This sounds like it will totally damage any good relationships that I already have with them. Seriously considering turning the offer down now. Thanks for the help.
damage
Run away, run away…
If it’s done right it will be the best thing that your school could ever do, if not… run Forest run.
Seriously, I have done it many times and now the local teachers request classes. I must have done something right.
It really can make things easier in the school. It all depends on the method and the school itself.
Good luck.
Sorry, can’t resist.
So, how much T.I.T are you gettin’?
I’m just curious, will grammar be part of the test? 
[quote=“Bassman”]Sorry, can’t resist.
So, how much T.I.T are you gettin’?[/quote]
Dammit, you beat me to it 
. We teach our teachers here, but it is really the owner teaching 'em. We also require a contract of between 1-3 years because of the level of effort involved. If a particular teacher has something that works well, it generally is transferred over the “water cooler.”
I’ve never heard of this, and if done right, its a good thing. However, I can envision the office politics getting wierd with the exam thing (which indicates that the owner hasn’t really thought things through well)…
Why not turn this more into a group discussion? Once a week one of the teachers can bring in a new game or lesson that they developed or researched. Everyone can discuss the merits of it and try it out in their classes. The next week everyone can report back on their results and the “test” can be demonstrating the lesson. It’s really hard to get around the test mentality here but trying to talk the owner into more of a group contribution project would be my strategy with lots of praise for the teacher’s ideas/efforts. That should help with the political angle.
Wei Long - Thank you for reporting my errors. The world would be a
much worse place if it wasn’t for superior beings such as
yourself. I bask in your glow. 
Bassman - Loads, thanks. 
Interlocutar - Thanks, that’s good advice. I just might try that. :moo:
damage
I had a situation like that and frankly, I was uncomfortable. I think the local teachers didn’t much like the idea, and I had a lot of trouble finding something that might interest them. In the end, the boss gave up on the idea, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
But that’s just me. . . .
You could have fun acting out classroom situations to reinforce their classroom English. You have a plethora of situations you can choose from. Personally, I would love to teach a classroom of Taiwanese English-school teachers (from different schools, of course). I don’t think I would even mind teaching my Taiwanese colleagues. If the intentions are pure, then it’s all for the good of your school. I suppose having your boss sit in would depend on your boss’s interactions with the teachers and your relationship with them as well. If he/she is decent to the staff, then it shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. If you talk to them and treat them with respect before this, then things will probably be fine. Cheers.