« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2 3

Dumb just got dumber

  • 44 replies
  • 4922 views
*

xwarrior

  • *
  • 2238
Dumb just got dumber
« on: October 23, 2010, 04:28:07 AM »
On Wednesday night the staff and students of my college were notified that there would be classes this Saturday and Sunday.

It did not make sense. We had done the required 'make-up' days for the ridiculous arrangement of national holidays.

Tonight I found out the reason.

Because of the threat that students might get involved in protests against the Japanese (a la Xian et.al)all students in Baoji will be required to attend class on Saturday and Sunday.

So, because someone thinks that something might happen I am expected to teach in the weekend.

How dumb is that?   
Logged
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler
*

The Local Dialect

  • *****
  • 3886
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2010, 04:43:51 AM »
That's absolutely ridiculous, xwarr. I would show movies or something, or better yet, just not show up. I always teach the holiday switched weekend days without complaint (ok, with minimal complaint)) but no way would I work through the weekend if there's no holiday to make up for it, especially not coming so soon on the heels of such a large number of makeup days (the week before last week we did 8 days straight, did your school?). Your college is smoking crack if they think that's reasonable. My sympathies. 
Logged
*

Monkey King

Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2010, 06:43:21 AM »
This is pretty stoopid.  I usually suck it up, but I wouldn't do those classes.
Logged
*

xwarrior

  • *
  • 2238
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2010, 03:13:43 PM »
I will go to class. I am considering a lesson plan that requires the students to:

1. identify any Japanese products within the college precincts

2. deliver a one minute inflammatory speech on any one of the products (mark out of 20)

3. GROUP WORK: discuss various strategies consumers in China can employ to express their love of the motherland when confronted by choices in the market place

4. EXERCISE: Class implementation of any one of those strategies within the college precincts
- the college Photocopy Room is not our of bounds to students
- the projection systems in most of the classrooms can be used for the purposes set out in the strategy
- electronic devices carried by students can be turned off before any terminating action
- the leaders carpark can be integrated with any plan

Note: I am not taking my camera to class today   
Logged
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler
*

Borkya

  • *
  • 1324
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2010, 03:51:05 PM »
So wait, I'm a little confused. (Call me dumberer!) You are having class just to keep the kids busy basically? So is it an extra class or will your classes end early because you are teaching on the weekend?

But yeah, this whole things sounds pretty dumb! llllllllll
Logged
*

old34

  • *
  • 2509
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2010, 04:15:51 PM »
In April, 2005, there was a similar situation regarding a nationalist outpouring against the Japanese in several cities. I remember our school got wind of it on Friday and the school went into complete lockdown for the weekend. Teachers and staff were allowed in and out through the campus gates, but no one else. No classes were scheduled, though. Other schools put no such restrictions on and the next day large mobs groups of youths rampaged through the streets smashing the windows of Japanese restaurants and overturning Japanese-made cars (with Chinese drivers inside). Japanese restaurants had posted large signs outside saying, "We are a Chinese-owned, managed and staffed restaurant. Please don't harm us." It didn't help.

They are trying to avoid a repeat of 2005.

Logged
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. - B. O'Driscoll.
TIC is knowing that, in China, your fruit salad WILL come with cherry tomatoes AND all slathered in mayo. - old34.
*

chinalin

  • *
  • 208
  • The Great wall in winter.
    • Lin's China Travels
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2010, 05:25:08 PM »
Hey, I feel sorry for you guys having to work the weekend.  I have the exact opposite situation here.  There is a typhoon hovering about somewhere.  Not sure where at the moment, but the weather here is idyllic, lovely breeze, and slightly reduced temperature.

At 10pm last night, I had a call from the head of our department.  She wanted to know if any of my students from this morning's class had contacted me.  When I told her I had heard from none of them, she informed me that due to the proximity of the typhoon, the students decided to cancel today's classes!!

What worry-warts!!  We have never felt the impact of a typhoon here, and are very unlikely to, but they are afraid of the storm approaching!!

And yes, I have to work every Saturday.  That is because my students are all in an International Nursing Programme, which effectively means that they do a full load of Nursing classes, and then have to squash the extra English classes in, whenever they can!!

Lin
Zhaoqing, Guangdong.

 bxbxbxbxbx
Logged
*

Dex

  • *
  • 368
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2010, 08:24:10 PM »
To give a fair and balanced response, yes, it's effing ridiculous - however, the fact that this is to prevent what could possibly be (based on past experiences?) a day which could see some degree of violence and maybe even bloodshed... it's not such a terrible idea. Of course, for us, the teachers, we have to teach which annoys us, but in principle it's better than the authorities thinking something big could occur and not doing anything about it. Put it this way, if you were Japanese, in China, you'd certainly appreciate it (even though the war was a looooooong time ago now)!

Still, it is all very f*cked up and yeah, I would teach (Pearl Harbor, 2006 version?) so long as i got two days off the week after. Oh, and I would also voice my unhappiness at the late notice (lack of timely communications - AGAIN)!

More than likely, the school has been told to do it by the local authorities.
Logged
Train + China + Spring Festival = Torture
*

xwarrior

  • *
  • 2238
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2010, 11:47:48 PM »
Quote
You are having class just to keep the kids busy basically? So is it an extra class or will your classes end early because you are teaching on the weekend?

We are required to teach this weekend because the Shaanxi authorities are worried that students might go out on the streets and protest against the people of Japan.

In other words, and as I said before:
Quote
because someone thinks that something might happen I am expected to teach in the weekend.

Apart from being a dumb solution to a perceived problem - students could be required to stay on campus without the added requirement of attending class - what is going to happen next week or weeks thereafter if the threat is still there. I think that if this becomes a standard procedure to deal with similar situations in the future then teachers shouuld start looking at their contracts.

At this stage no word has been said about extra pay or ending the semester earlier. As the Leaders are generally incapable of giving advance notice of a date for the end of any semester (even a month out) I would not believe any announcement that they may make on ending the semester early 
 
Logged
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler
*

AMonk

  • *****
  • 7826
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2010, 01:01:59 AM »
Quote from: chinalin on October 23, 2010, 05:25:08 PM
At 10pm last night, I had a call from the head of our department.  She wanted to know if any of my students from this morning's class had contacted me.  When I told her I had heard from none of them, she informed me that due to the proximity of the typhoon, the students decided to cancel today's classes!!

What worry-warts!!  We have never felt the impact of a typhoon here, and are very unlikely to, but they are afraid of the storm approaching!!

To check its progress, you can go to http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/
Logged
Moderation....in most things...
*

Day Dreamer

  • *
  • 4427
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2010, 04:22:10 AM »
Hey xwarrior, maybe you can make a list of all the products your students have or use that is Japanese:

- anybody's parents own a Honda, Toyota or Lexus
- anybody have a Sony camera/computer/whatever
- anybody like anime
- anybody eat sushi
- anybody like Astroboy
- anybody interested in Disney-Tokyo
- anybody study or learned any Japanese
- anybody's previous schools' tought Japaese

then tell them this time the Japanese invasion was a success   ahahahahah
Logged
For you to insult me, first I must value your opinion
*

xwarrior

  • *
  • 2238
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2010, 06:03:30 AM »
The college has been in lock-down for the weekend. Students were not allowed out the gate under any circumstance; local shopkeepers and restaurants were asking me what happened to the students!

We had classes on Saturday (now called Monday) and Sunday (now called Tuesday).
 
At 8.00am today (Sunday for the rest of the world) I asked our office if there was a plan for the rest of the week. They said a notice came around at 8.30am but it did not make sense so they were trying to find out the details.

Five minutes later my Period 1 class told me the plan:
Monday will be Wednesday classes
Tuesday will be Thursday classes
Wednesday will be Friday classes

This was confirmed by the office at noon. When I asked about Thursday and Friday I was told that the leaders were 'still deciding.' llllllllll

I can see the leaders problem - they will want to hold classes but need a 9 day/week calendar to do that.

In recognition of their bureaucratic efforts so far I am proposing that:

Day 8 is known as Cretinsday
Day 9 is known as Foolsday   
Logged
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler
*

latefordinner

  • *
  • 2378
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #12 on: October 25, 2010, 06:24:36 AM »
Maybe they want you to teach 24/7 until the end of the summer?
The thing is, the school "leaders" (I know, I hate arch quotation marks too, but how else to express this?) are probably taking their marching orders from people who think that yes, locking everyone up for days or even weeks at a time is perfectly normal.
Logged
*

Day Dreamer

  • *
  • 4427
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #13 on: October 25, 2010, 01:31:21 PM »
Quote from: latefordinner on October 25, 2010, 06:24:36 AM
Maybe they want you to teach 24/7 until the end of the summer?
The thing is, the school "leaders" (I know, I hate arch quotation marks too, but how else to express this?) are probably taking their marching orders from people who think that yes, locking everyone up for days or even weeks at a time is perfectly normal.

It is. Where I come from we don't call it school, it's call

J A I L
Logged
For you to insult me, first I must value your opinion
*

Escaped Lunatic

  • *****
  • 10856
  • Finding new ways to conquer the world
    • EscapedLunatic.com
Re: Dumb just got dumber
« Reply #14 on: October 25, 2010, 05:38:03 PM »
Quote from: Ben-Dan on October 25, 2010, 04:50:07 PM
My most recent internet searches didn't turn anything up about new protests, OR about students having to go to weekend classes. Only WE know about that, I guess.



Without saying anything downstairs that could get us in trouble with the powers that be, what's the beef with the Japanese this time?  Last I heard, people were annoyed about the Chinese captain of a fishing boat, but he was returned awhile back.  I really can't picture a protest over that going much farther than boycotting sushi bars.  Did I miss something major?
Logged
I'm pro-cloning and we vote!               Why isn't this card colored green?
EscapedLunatic.com
Pages: [1] 2 3
« previous next »