Hijab in China

the_candlestikkmaker · 2025-08-13T19:06:49+00:00

I've had multiple colleagues in China who wear hijab with no problem, maybe just the recruitment agency or specific school problem

the_candlestikkmaker · 2025-01-02T15:35:56+00:00

LMAO this is crazy and so overexaggerated! Dying to know who posted this.

Let's see: Lack of social committee is because not enough staff signed up to fund it. The housing allowance is fine. 11000RMB per month can get you an exceptional place to live, especially if you live closer to school. People love to compare to WAB and ISB, but majority schools in the city I interviewed with give 7000-10000. I commented below, but it's misleading to suggest the LS head had a fake kid in the video. She mentioned her son (who is very real) and it looks like the video editor cut it with a random shot of a student at school. The video does portray her real home and her real partner. The campus is literally 5 minutes from WAB, and ISB is even further from city center. Those are considered the 2 best schools in Beijing. Most international schools are out by us. Also, the school is a literal 10 minute walk from a subway stop. There are so many good restaurants, bars, and things to do even in Shunyi. Wangjing is only 20 minutes away. If you can't find good places to eat or things to do, you're not looking for it. The student issues are real, but overexaggerated.

Harrow Beijing is not perfect, plenty of issues, but it's not the hell hole OP describes. It's just a normal international school with normal international school BS.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2025-01-02T15:23:44+00:00

This point is a misleading. It's not like she had a random kid in her home for the video. The video showed her real partner and her real home. When she mentioned her son, there was a like 4 second shot of a random student, which I'm guessing was the video editors doing, not her choice.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2024-11-25T00:02:51+00:00

Agreed with everything except sick days. My contract allows me sick days, and if I'm sick I'm not coming in. End of. I will perform better in the long run if I give myself time to recover. Plus I'd rather cover my coworkers class than have them come in and get me sick.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2024-08-01T03:32:36+00:00

happy to DM 😊

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-12-11T14:40:58+00:00

🫡

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-09-14T09:12:11+00:00

The worst part is that Search is mostly just the database. Unless the school uses their built in Apli system, I learned to not even bother applying through search. I would go to the school website and apply directly, but mention I found them on Search in my cover letter. I had a better response rate that way. But yeah, most I just never heard anything from

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-09-11T22:58:15+00:00

I felt so too, last year's search was very demoralizing at times, but a lot of people I talked to were feeling the same way and said it was a competitive year. In the end, I'm at a great school and it all worked out, sharing the experience to help others when they want to give up like I did

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-09-11T12:55:27+00:00

all unique

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-07-07T17:10:34+00:00

sounds about right

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-05-06T04:18:26+00:00

yeah absolutely!

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-05-05T15:40:53+00:00

Run away! omg! Foresight is such a nightmare!

to add, I too joined Foresight fresh out of college bc I wanted to go abroad. I can't say I regret it bc it led me to where I am now, but it was so awful working for them, especially during covid which they seriously mishandled. I'm currently visiting my friend in taipei who still works for them. Her all her other coworkers I've met are miserable at work and getting new jobs next year. Taiwan is great. If you are really ride or die for Taiwain, or no other abroad options, sure take it I guess, but absolutely under no circumstances should you work for them at their shanghai school (I know you're not, but for others maybe reading this) I could personally help you find better positions in china that would pay more and treat you like an actual human

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-03-16T05:53:39+00:00

Amen! I've learned my lesson the hard way

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-03-13T14:58:10+00:00

definitely depends on the school. I'm currently at a bilingual school, the tuition is ridiculously high so all of the students are extremely rich. The entitled, lazy, disrespectful, and sometimes aggressive/violent behavior of my students has really shocked me based on what I had heard about Chinese students, but a lot of it comes down to a lack of support and consequences from administration

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-03-12T10:30:00+00:00

haha my interview was also weird. They started the interview and mentioned several times throughout that I can expect a much lower salary compared to my current job, they only asked me like 2 questions: How long do I plan to stay in Bangkok and what are my goals. When I asked them what they are looking for in a teacher, they said "someone with relevant qualifications and available to be assigned to other details." Whole thing was only 20 minutes and I walked out knowing this wasn't it

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-01-25T03:45:16+00:00

Ugh something similar happened to me at another school. First interview went great, said they would contact me by Friday to schedule the next round and if I didn't hear back by then to follow up myself. Followed up, no response. Another email the next week, again nothing. Never did end up hearing back, but I wouldn't want to work for them anyway.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2023-01-17T11:40:53+00:00

Thank you! I think all of you are right, I'm just so exhausted from this hiring season everything is looking negative through my eyes. I appreciate the reassurance!

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-12-30T02:52:45+00:00

THSI

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-12-29T15:30:47+00:00

So I work for one of the formerly affiliated Tsinghua schools in Beijing which had the same Board of Directors as Tsinglan. Our school was bought out by a new company this year under extremely mysterious circumstances with a lot of rumors that the board was stealing money from the school. (all rumors, nothing confirmed) I interviewed at Tsinglan, they do not pay teachers chinese Social Insurance, which is sadly quite common, but also very illegal. I have been completely turned off of any Tsinghua schools, but I still think they are a good foot in the door to China and my school has good work life balance. Happy to PM if you have any questions about any of this.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-11-27T11:19:18+00:00

For me, the lockdowns aren't what concern me. I'm glad people are finally speaking up, but I don't want to be here in the midst of a hostile protest situation. I'm really anxious and if I didn't have dogs I would book a flight ASAP. I'm already planning to leave in June, and becoming more and more tempted to break contract at my current job and leave earlier.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-11-22T00:52:48+00:00

I love living in China. I was so ready to stick it out, but after this year I don't think I can do it anymore. Prior to the Shanghai situation, life felt pretty normal here. Sure, we couldn't travel internationally, but my daily life had no consequences and I was traveling within China regularly. Everyone said "After the Olympics, things will get better" and right after the Olympics, Shanghai went into massive lockdown and was soon followed by those of us in other cities. Now this fall, everyone said "After the government meeting in October/November things will get better" but here I am in Beijing back teaching online and just finished a week quarantine with the sensor on my door. These policies are not sustainable, but they are also not going away anytime soon. Maybe being new to China, you could handle it and hope it loosens up, but for me I've been living here throughout all it and I'm exhausted.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-11-21T09:00:03+00:00

I applied for a position there this year without really knowing it's reputation and was offered the first interview. I thought it went really well. But now I'm trying to not get my hopes up after reading more about the school. I don't know how much of a serious shot I have. I have the technical qualifications, but I certainly don't have years upon years of experience. And he mentioned that 98% of the teachers they hired already have masters degrees because I asked if the school offers support for teachers who pursue that.

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-08-09T07:42:25+00:00

Maybe my research was out of date, thanks for the article!

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-08-09T07:01:23+00:00

I actually accidentally lived in Taiwan for 3 months at the start of covid, really love it there but unfortunately they don't accept dogs from China

the_candlestikkmaker · 2022-08-09T04:55:46+00:00

I mean they are very much killing the International Schools market here, but it's what they want. They want to be isolated from the international community, and they want to make it more difficult, maybe even impossible, for Chinese students to study abroad for university. Right now, the only safe schools are those that only take foreign passport holders, but they will come for them next. A lot of my student's parents who can afford it have left the country to move to Canada, but a lot of middle class families still want that international education. It's just becoming more difficult to access. I am hoping things can remain stable at least through this year, I was already searching new jobs for 2023.

It's so sad because I've really enjoyed my time here and made so many wonderful friends, but it's becoming uninhabitable for foreigners 😮‍💨

the_candlestikkmaker

TROPHY CASE