Weifang China-Singapore Bilingual School

I began an earlier post about Weifang in here, which was a general-enquiry about the
place, rather than the school.

The school-principal has come back to me now to offer
the teaching-job. He'll be forwarding me the contract later tonight.

I did some googling, again, on this school, and found an interesting
blog, a young American lady who has just finished up there.
She describes her experiences there in very positive terms, however,
here,  
http://mllewoods.blogspot.com/2009/11/weifang-china-singapore-bilingual.html

she expresses her shock at the physical "whackings" she saw the Chinese teachers handing-out to the young primary school kids.
I have had only limited experience in a Chinese
primary school - heard the teachers getting a bit 'verbal',
at times, but never saw anything like what this lady describes.  
Just not sure if I'd be too comfortable
watching these types of teachers' behaviours either.
Is this the norm in primary schools?
 I'm a bit soft, I dunno...just that if I do decide to accept this offer, and go there, then my inclination would be to stand-up and strenuously-oppose such rough 'methods', if I witnessed them when I'm in the class-room.  
As you see in her photos, these are very young tots!

What are your thoughts/experiences?

Corporal punishment is pretty common in Chinese schools, I fear. Even if you wanted to, there would be a huge hew and cry if YOU did it, but Chinese teachers seem to use it pretty casually.
If you suggest banning its use in that school, they will probably smile thoughtfully and nod. You can at least not do it yourself, and not allow anyone to do it in your class. (Make it a private conversation- never countermand another teacher in front of the students.)

Singaporean schools can be quite good. Schools that are owned and administered by Singaporeans often have very rigorous standards, highly developed curricula, and generally be the real deal. Schools that have Singaporean backing but are owned and managed by Chinese will pretty much be Chinese schools with all the usual problems. Often there are NO actual Singaporeans involved in any way- unscrupulous schools just add the word 'Singaporean' to their names for its cachet value. Make sure you know what you're getting into!

Hey, sorry i dont mean to hijack this thread. I just want to say harry thanks for the very encouraging pm (unfortunately as I'm a newbe I cant pm just yet)
Anyway cheers and best of luck in your job search

Schools that have Singaporean backing but are owned and managed by Chinese will pretty much be Chinese schools with all the usual problems. Often there are NO actual Singaporeans involved in any way- unscrupulous schools just add the word 'Singaporean' to their names for its cachet value. Make sure you know what you're getting into!

Sigh. You are so, so spot on, Raoul. Thou art wise indeed.

Why do foreigners who come to China want things done the way they were in their country? This is their country. Just because their way is different doesn't make it wrong. Yes some of their business practices are shoddy and out and illegal doesn't mean everything they do is wrong. If local or national laws and customs allow punishment of this sort then who are we to change it?

Why do foreigners who come to China want things done the way they were in their country? This is their country. Just because their way is different doesn't make it wrong. Yes some of their business practices are shoddy and out and illegal doesn't mean everything they do is wrong. If local or national laws and customs allow punishment of this sort then who are we to change it?

You may want to know that BOTH the local and national laws do not allow punishment of this sort. It is the local customs that allow. Teachers who hit their pupils in China risk being reported (though such a thing may not happen unless it is serious) and losing their jobs.

The question we should be asking is - does a local custom take precedence over a national law? Think about it...

I'm not surprised that custom and tradition are often the higher law.

I'm not surprised that custom and tradition are often the higher law.

Higher law? Only when the eye is turned. Once something goes wrong, and someone decides to clamp down, all hell breaks loose...

If a teacher in China is caught or reported beating a student, he would be punished severely. He could be fired or put into jail. And it costs nothing and is very easy for the parents to report a teacher, all they need to do is to make a phone call.

Corparal punishment does happen in Chinese schools, but it's getting less and less. The school mentioned above is very good school in that city. Corporal punishment is seriously forbidden there. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. What's important is that they are trying hard eliminate it. Most teacher realize now that it isn't worth risking their job to educate a child in a unaccepted way.

Chinese teachers are in an embarrassing situation. The expectation of children's achievements has got unreasonably high, but the teachers get little usefull instruction on how to make naughty kids behave. All they are told is just not to beat. That is very different from American schools. Teachers in America are not allowed to touch their students, but they have very thorough and obvious school rules, which are precise and relevantly easy to follow. They have a variety measures to make sure children behave themselves, such as behaviour chart, principal's care, and even expelling.

Teachers of Weifang China-Singapore Bilingual School have just visited two American schools. They are taking firm steps to make some change.

Another thing to consider is that some parents will actually instruct the teacher to hit the child if they are naughty.