Turncoat Teachers

From time to time I've observed something here I find most distressing.
A number of our fellow foreigners, especially those placed into some kind of management position, apparently cross over to the other side...

They don't just tolerate the lies and dirty tricks that are played sometimes...they take part in them. They become apologists for the local ownership/management, trying to explain and excuse even the most naked and greedy and inexplicable weasel behavior said managers may pull. When you're ripped off and burned by a school, they expect you to simply accept it as "one of those things" and quietly move on without raising a fuss (ie alerting others to problems and bad experiences at the school or company).

I'm not saying anyone should always back the foreigner's side...as we've all seen, many, many foreigners here are as full of as a Christmas turkey, and quite often just plain ol' wrong. When the school's in the right, we oughta back the school.

So, what is it that makes these people decide to go along with the worst elements in Chinese EFL (and sometimes other businesses), and actually help us get sold down the river?
Is it raw, naked, out-of-control career ambition by foreigners who still think they can actually win here?
Do they maybe think they "know more about China than these unwashed yahoos they must work with" if they become part of the sleaze themselves?
Is it the gold, glory, groupies, and glamor that come with being some kind of face card at an English school?
Is it simply an evil, nasty nature at play?

Whut up with this? I just HATE when I see this happen...

It's actually a socio-psychological problem. A case of "us" versus "them".  And NObody wants to be one of the "them".

The "down-trodden" rise up to become the "massa" and in their own turn put down and tread upon the newest elements of their particular segment of Society.  Witness the Irish, the Italians, the Puerto Ricans.  As each group became accepted into the US, they didn't turn around and help the next group of immigrants, instead they helped to keep them down.

I agree with AMonk. But I'd also not that there are probably personal psychological issues at play here:

A deep-seated sense of shame, inferiority, or identity confusion to name a few.

Perhaps the individuals feel that they cannot effectively assert themselves in a positive manner, and thus must do so in either a shifty, or an aggressive manner.

Perhaps the individuals don't feel a sense of generativity to their lives here in China, and feel like they cannot fully control their lives, so they must control the lives of all around them.

Perhaps these individuals are so full of an inner pain, struggle, or problem that they NEED the problems of others (by their own creation) so that they can avoid the unending self-loathing that settles when they close their eyes at night.

Perhaps these people did not receive enough appreciation and encouragement growing up that they're like the rowdy kids in our classes: any attention from somebody in a higher position is good attention from somebody in a higher position.

Perhaps it's just $$$$.

Those are just a few of my thoughts

Maybe Joe, but i think it's as simple as being the screwer rather than the screwie.

Screw a stranger - make some money. Does it matter where the stranger is from? Blighty, Oz 'merica who cares?

A number of our fellow foreigners, especially those placed into some kind of management position, apparently cross over to the other side...

Yeah, and they are usually called DOS, which stands for Director of Studies, who is usually a foreign supervisor under a Chinese boss in a private school.

And rhymes with toss, as in "What a tosser"
I'm more than a little inclined to agree with LE. These are people who would be weasels back home. Or anyhwere for that matter.

Stockholm Syndrome.

Great thread, and great posts all.

Let's ignore the assholes for a moment: no mystery there.  The rationalizations are what fascinate me.  Y'all have mentioned many, so I'll try to add some new ones (but they'll overlap with previous posters' points).

Management is stressful: you are responsible for preventing problems, by definition a losing battle.  When problems come up, you are responsible for EVERY one of them.  How tempting it must be in the worst crises to fudge a little to get compliance.  How easy it must be to convince yourself that business is sometimes messy, and some toes sometimes have to be stepped on to get the job done.

Teachers generally take the attitude "Hey, I teach.  Period.  Organizational problems are someone else's job."  The occasional DOS can't do this- it IS their job.  I can see how they could come to identify with ownership rather than the teachers.

Then there is the Sum-Zero/Net-Zero frame of mind, which nearly all of you have touched on.  Every teacher starts out teaching... not as well as once they've gotten some experience.  I have yet to meet a teacher who doesn't doubt their ability at some point or other, and have never heard a teacher deny that they worry about the quality of their lessons.  I think this can lead some into cannibalistic behaviour: If I caught Hell and/or cringed about my mistakes, every teacher should, and that guy isn't up to standard; besides, he's responsible for his own troubles, and in his place I wouldn't have gotten into his mess.

To mistreat someone you have to disengage your sympathy, i.e. blame the (your) victim.

Rationalizations all, and not one of them excusable.  Swine is swine.

Again - on the psychological side of things - there are some people who view the world simply as s sinking boat with limited space. If they see a way to push people off the boat, and get THEMSELVES one step closer to THEIR goals, they will do so. Whether these people are managers, teachers, random drunks in a bar, or ravenous hermits not deemed acceptable to society - they rear their heads when it will be beneficial to them to do so.

I think some people just have an inherent need to screw others over.  Others will act un an upright fashion and then quickly screw over others the moment that things don't go as planned.  Either way, it's a psychological failing and they'd do the same thing no matter what country they are from or what country they are in.

i agree with joe.thinker  and many posters here, that its a  personal belief picture thats at fault. We are all dispensable, we should aim to be content with what we have. Hey its far from perfect but its good to focus on the positive, see the crap for what it is but there is plenty of good stuff to get involved in.  To be involved in a child or young adults life as a foreigner can be quite a heady thing if you havent worked with kids before. Basic human qualities take a back seat as we can wallow in the attention and aweness of 'oh my God, you are a foreigner, lets talk together or even 'lets sleep together' the latter being my favourite.
nah, but joking aside. its just human frailty stuff isnt it that causes people to act selfishly, revengefully or that they think they are greater than other people, a bit of humility in our posts, and always looking for the positive in the kids and administration is surely the way to go.
strange that this individual told lies about the uni to interested parties, so what happened when they took up the post? does she like getting punched???