[MSL]

Why we stopped working for UK Locke International Kindergarten (英伦洛克国际幼儿园) in Haikou

  Here is why we stopped working for UK Locke International Kindergarten (英伦洛克国际幼儿园) in Haikou. (By the way most of the teachers there left it in a period of one year, except two so far.)
 To make this long story short: the the head of kindergarten (the kindergarten's principal; in Chinese: "园长") wanted good English learning results and at the same time didn't allow us to maintain the discipline (I was told that I even shouldn't raise my voice when a student bullies his classmates via hitting them, robbing their things, pushing them, etc., plus disobeying the teachers, singing during the class, shouting, going out without permission, chatting with others, not listening...)

 And now, the details in our last conversation with that kindergarten principal which doesn't understand the early education, the English education, the kids' psychology and the teachers' needs:

She: 你可以告诉我老师不在岗 (You can tell me that the teacher is not on duty) She means that the Chinese teacher who was responsible for that class wasn't in the classroom, so we had to control the discipline by ourselves and after one week of patient tries to make that little bully less unruly by different methods like talking, more presents, etc., we had to raise our voice, which had effect at last! If that teacher was in the classroom and did her job probably now we could still work there, who knows?

不管什么情况老师吼学生都是不对的 (In any case, it is wrong for the teacher to yell at the students) Even when one hits them and make them miserable? What a "humanistic" point of view!

因为我们是老师 (Because we are teachers) 

而且我们也是大人，这样对小朋友也是不对的，像是以强凌弱
为什么不会去吼一个成年男人
保护孩子和女性才是真正的
gentleman (And we are adults. It's also wrong for children. It's like bullying the weak with the strong
Why not yell at an adult man
Protecting children and women is real
gentleman)   (She even didn't understand what's going on -- exactly we were protecting the weak kids against that bully!And he is not the "weak one"! And I'm not the coward she imagines. Later I explained and proved it.)


Me: 如果我没有开始课说你们的幼儿园有这个纪律的问题，现在它还是乱的。你们没发现了吗？我来的时候老师们一点都不管了孩子们。现在已经水平是比较好的。我来了这里当老师不来了当gentleman.而且我的教育水平是高的，欧洲的。你觉得她们只有玩玩手机在在外面是成年人的吗？如果今天Lily在教室里我们不会现在有这个聊天。那个小朋友呢，他打孩子们，他要抢她们的东西。那如果他们告诉父母们呢？你不觉得家长会不要孩子来吗？

(If I didn't mention your kindergarten's discipline problem, till now it could be chaotic. Didn't you realize it? When I came, the teachers ignored the children, didn't care what they're doing during the class at all. Now the level is relatively good. I'm here to be a teacher. I'm not here to be a gentleman. And my education level is high, a European one. Do you think that those female teachers who are playing with their cellphones when they have to pay attention to kids are behaving like adults? If Lily (the female teacher responsible for that class) was in the classroom today, we wouldn't have this chat now. And what about that child? He beats the children and he wanted to rob them. What if they tell their parents? Don't you think parents will start to think that they don't want their children to come in your kindergarten anymore?)

She: 今天我会批评lily (Today I will criticize lily)

Me: 你说成年男人要跟我打架吗？教他来试试我吧。我天天锻炼。看看谁会谁的？我在三亚的时候打了三个流氓。

(Did you say an adult man were going to fight with me? Tell him to try me. I exercise every day. Let's see who's gonna be the winner? I fought with three hooligans when I was in Sanya.) (What I meant is that I'm not a hooligan and I'm a peaceful and educated person, but even I look not that huge, I'm doing 5 kind of sports everyday and I bet I can win against many of the nowadays adult men in a clean fight.)

...

现在我继续关于新来的男孩：他从一天开始的时候开始了打女孩子们，推她们。她们都说了，我也看到了，家长们肯定也会知道。我们告诉了他几次，可是他继续了抢她们的私人的物品。今天开始了随便吵，上课的时候原来一直聊天，不听话。看来在家里父母没教了他简单的礼貌，道德，价值观。说直接的：这个就是个小的流氓。我已经几天对他耐心的说了，说明了，教了。比如：“你不要打人。”；“
如果她抢你的东西你会高兴吗？”，但是没有什么用。今天我的伙伴（刘老师）好多次告诉了 他要停麻烦大家，要不说话，要听课。我也给了他多点礼物，可是都是没有用的。所以，就我开始了吵。几秒后他已经当了个很会听课的学生。如果有人觉得我保护他们不要打架不要推人，偷东西，等不是gentleman，我就不要当gentleman，我有心，我会可怜这些有麻烦的女孩子们，我不要在我的课一个男孩做黑手党一样。看看下次Lily会不会管他。不会的话，我自己来，因为这个就是对的。问问教育部在教课的时候老师能不能允许一个学生打，抢，麻烦，打扰其它学生们，我肯定它的回的是“不能！”如果有不同意的家长，叫他们跟我聊天能不能这样的。我不怕。下次来警察检查的时候，我也不会在等在里面，我就会出去，问候他“警察同志，早上好！”，因为我这个成年人已经什么也不怕。现在我去我的旧的公寓，什么都安排好，卖它250000元左右，后来我是个100%的自由的人；下次遇见这样没有感恩的情况，我会离开这里，因为我浪费了我的18年在这个国家当个穷的，没有幸福的老师。

(Now I continue to talk about the new boy: he, from the first day, started to beat the girls and to push them. They all said it to us, I saw it, and the parents surely will know. We told him several times, but he continued to rob them of their personal belongings. Today he began to shout casually, to talk during the class and was not obedient. It seems that his parents didn't teach him basic manners, morality and values at home. To put it bluntly: this is a little hooligan. I have patiently talked to him for several days, explained and taught him. For example, "Don't hit people."; “Would you be happy if she robbed you? ", but it has no use. Today, my partner (teacher Liu) told him really many times to stop bothering everyone, not to talk with others during the class, to listen/learn well. I also gave him more gifts, but all these methods useless. So I started to shout. A few seconds later, he had become a very good student. If someone thinks that if I protect them from fighting, pushing and stealing isn't "a gentleman", I won't be a gentleman. I have a heart. I will pity these troubled girls. I don't want a boy to be a like a mafioso in my class. See if Lily will mind him next time. If not, I'll do it myself, because this is right. Ask the Ministry of education if the teacher can allow a student to fight, rob, trouble and disturb other students when teaching. I'm sure its answer is "No!"
 If there are parents who disagree, ask them to chat with me can it be like this. I am not afraid. Next time when comes a policeman for inspection, I won't wait inside of the kindergarten. I'll go out and greet him "Good morning, comrade policeman!" because I am an adult who is not afraid of anything anymore. Now I go to my old apartment and arrange everything. I sell it for about 250000 yuan. Later, I am a 100% free man; The next time if there is such a situation without any gratitude from your side, I will leave this job, because I wasted my 18 years as a poor and unhappy teacher in this country.)

(Later, when I had to give her back the teaching materials and a gate's key, I was told not to go there at that moment, because there is a policeman. I answered that I'm not a criminal or something, so I am coming and I really went there with my partner, I saw the policeman, he saw me too, nothing happened -- I just gave the things to a teacher in front of the gate and I left the place with my partner. Why I have to hide myself? Just because her strange narratives?!)
 
To be continued...

[MSL]

Part 2
She: 您是一位老师，如果家长听到您对孩子大吼大叫，我会失去所有的孩子 (You are a teacher. If parents hear you yelling at the children, I will lose all my children)

According to her terrible opinion if I leave the bully to torture the kids during my class, the parents will keep all of their children in that dangerous place!

也会让孩子们感到害怕 (It also scares children)


The teacher who protects the children against a bully usually receives gratitude from the children. The children are much more scared and confused, and disappointed of irresponsible teachers who allow bullies to do whatever they want.

孩子们会告诉他们的父母，
你来这里教课，我是希望你把孩子们教好，我才会有更多的孩子，而不是让家长和孩子知道这里的老师很凶，我会失去所有的孩子，我也会失去工作 (Children can tell their parents,
You come here to teach. I hope you can teach the children well so that I can have more children. Instead of letting parents and children know that the teachers here are fierce, I will lose all my children and I will lose my job)

(How you can teach well, when there is a bully in a classroom who is ruining your class, your teaching, the kids' mood and so on?! What an abnormal imagination of "teaching well" in her head! Sounds like - you leave the bullies to do what they want during your class and then you can teach well... I even can't see one reasonable thing in her thinking!)

Me: 但是如果他打女孩子们，抢她们的东西，不让他们听课，家长们会说我是个很好的老师吗？你真的不知道对孩子们安全和知识是重要的吧 (But if he beats the girls, robs their things and doesn't let them to listen what is the class about, will the parents say that I'm a good teacher? You really don't know that it's important for children to be safe and to have knowledge, do you?)

 To be continued...

[MSL]

 Part 3

 She: 我们会耐心的教育他，而不是凶他 (We can educate him patiently, not be cruel to him)

 Cruel?! OMG! She thinks that after a week patient tries to raise your voice is already a sort of cruelty!
 
 Me: 如果她们告诉父母外教让他打我们，抢我们呢？父母会高兴吗？真是的！(What if they (the students) tell their parents that their foreign teacher lets him "to beat us" and "to rob us"? Will parents be happy? Gosh!)

 She: 老师是不可以凶孩子 (Teacher can't be violent to the kids.)
          这是中国教育的规定 (That's stipulated in the Chinese education.)

She is just even not a bit clever to understand that there wasn't any violence! Such lack of understanding I can call nothing but stupidity. So I explained her again:

 Me: 谁凶了他？！我已经说了我们几天非常耐心的试试了。好多方式的。但是没有了什么用。(Violent to him?! I already said that we have tried very patiently for a few days. Many ways. But it was all no use.)

 She: 如果你凶孩子，所有的家长都不会认同，而且作为老师我觉得大吼大叫不是好的教育方法 (If you're violent to a kid, all of he parents will disagree, also I think it's not a good teaching way to yell and shout.)

给孩子多一些的耐心… (Give the kid more patience...)

中教老师会负责教育 (The Chinese teachers can be responsible for the education.)

所以这是lily的工作 (So, this is Lily's job.)

At this moment I totally understood that she's not able to get the fact that we had to yell at that hooligan otherwise we had no way to stop him to beat, rob, yell, sing, bother, leaving the class, etc. I really started to wonder if someone like him bothers her daughters can she say that the teachers should be patient to the bullies? That's why I told her straightly:

 Ме: 以前一个老师在你们的幼儿园说了：这里的老板们是商人们，不是教育的人。她们不懂教育的。现在他已经不在这里。但是我已经相信他了。(A teacher once said in your kindergarten: the bosses here are businessmen (in fact -- "businesswomen"), not educators. They don't understand education. Now he's not here. But I already believe him.)

 To be continued...

[MSL]

 Part 4

 She: 她没有做好，我会批评他.  (If she doesn't do well, I'll criticize him.)

 Me: 我说了我没有凶孩子。如果有证明的话，给我看。这样的，我会一个月不来教课。你们试试找个随便的老师。他会让他们随便打，抢，尖叫，等。后来，如果觉得还要我，找我。(I said I didn't act violently to the child. If there's proof, show me. Well, I can stop teaching for a month. Try to find a teacher who doesn't care. He can let them casually to fight, rob, scream, etc. Later, if you think you want me, let me know; you can search me/find me.)  At that time I was thinking how pity are the kids there with this kind of kindergarten principal  who only think about her profit and doesn't care how the kids and the teachers suffer over there! Luckily, a colleague who left that kindergarten already told me that after we left many parents decided to stop sending their kids there too. So, now, I believe, most of the kids are out of trouble.

 She: 不要用不教课来威胁我，尊重是相互的 (Don't threaten me by not teaching. Respect is mutual)

 Threat?! She thinks I am not serious about it. Well, at that moment I decided to show her that I do not threaten her, I really mean it: I can't allow in my classes one kid to beat others, to push them, to rob them, to shout and so on! And I can't show respect to a person like her, who is not taking seriously the safety of the kids and allows a bully to do anything!

 She: 好吧…我相信你没有凶孩子，但是我不希望以后再对孩子大声说话，即使你不是恶意的，但是也会造成不必要的麻烦。(OK... I believe you didn't act violently, but I hope later not to talk loudly to children in the future. Even if you don't mean any harm, it will cause unnecessary trouble.)

 So, in a word, she forbids me to use even a loader voice as a way to stop the bullies and to maintain classroom discipline! That means that I'll have no any way to stop the bullies if they do something dangerous. And the level of the learning will decrease again (no good discipline = no good learning). So, I don't want to continue there as a fake teacher. The true teacher is the one who provides knowledge and security in his classroom, during his/her classes. If there is no good learning and no good safety that is what causes unnecessary trouble!!!

 To be continued...