Trouble maker Indeed

April 10, 2006

I dont know if there is some sort of netiquette concerning length of comments on other people’s posts. I wrote a comment on a Daniel post, which turned out to be quite long. I also had some trouble uploading it, so I put it here as well. Here it is:
I really enjoyed this post by Daniel (and the comments); it made me read earlier, related posts there and elsewhere. After having lived 7 1/2 years in Indonesia and 5 years in Taiwan, I can say that there are some strong similarites as well as some marked differences between these two Asian countries. Naturally, these similarities and differences extend to the way in which foreigners are dealt with.
One of these, for example, is the “boss as all-knowing, all powerful king”, never to be contradicted or questioned–especially in public. However in Indonesia, the boss usually also takes on a father-like role and assumes certain responsibilities towards his employees. To wit, the word for father and boss are the same. From my experience, this role is taken quite seriously, by both employer and employee; it’s not just a formality. For a Westerner, this can sometimes feel overbearing and intrusive. But it does offer the possibilty of a genuine personal dimension to the “king/subject” relationship which is somewhat, if not entirely, lacking here. But back to the subject at hand… Instead of commenting on what has been said already, I would like to add a couple of variables in the equation which may sometimes be overlooked.
First, let me posit the following statement, which is of course based on my limited personal observations: If a laowai is blogging about teaching in Taiwan or if he shows a genuine interest in trying to objectively deconstruct the ethos of being a foreigner in Taiwan, (appart from whingeing about the traffic or the bad smells emanating from the stinky tofu vendors) this would put him in the minority. There are far more foreigners here who are either in it (teaching English) for the quick money to repay loans, fund the next trip to Vietnam or accumulate enough green for getting rightly pissed on the weekend(which often begins on “hump day”–that’s wednesday for you non-alcoholic degenerates…)There are those too who end up here, because it seemed the easiest choice at the time, the path of least resistance. I would hesitate to call it the majority as I have no scientific data, but I can say with confidence that these groups combined make up more than just a minority.(It would be interesting to hear if there is general dissent or agreement about this.)
Perhaps my view is skewed as I too fit into a couple of the above categories a few years ago–won’t mention which ones ;0). In any case, I’m not passing judgment. I am just setting up a theory of sorts based on the following two facts:
1. The role of teacher is a highly respected and coveted one in Chinese culture.
2. ESL has become a huge business in Taiwan, and thus massive amounts of “English teachers” are required to fill the market.
These two facts are a recipe for friction, if not disaster. In general, the ESL machine in Taiwan is set up to attract large numbers of people that are not going to fulfill the local expectations of what a “serious teacher” should be, since the typical buxiban would not be able to attract such a teacher, at least not in large numbers. This goes on to validate already negative stereotypes that Taiwanese may have about foreigners. If all the so called “non-serious” teachers were to disappear, the industry would probably collapse. I make no direct correlation between the Taiwanese ideal of “serious teacher” and quality of teaching, by the way. (Though the two do intersect at some obvious points: being punctual, prepared, dedicated, etc.) The school/buxiban owner recognizes this reality and deals with it by putting his head in the sand until some situation becomes too blatant (read: public) to ignore. Unfortunately, this laissez-faire attitude comes with a necessary by-product: lack of respect for the foreign teacher. It’s not personal. It’s just a starting point.
As demoralizing as it may be for many of us, it is an effective defense mechanism for those times when the boss has to deal with teachers who do runners, call in sick on Monday mornings 5 minutes before class, or simply don’t show up. If you are seasoned employer of foreign teachers, you know this happens often enough. Chinese teachers simply don’t do this, not even a minority of them. And it’s not *just* because they are afraid of losing their jobs. It’s about basic self-respect for the role they perform and a feeling that what they do is also respected by their community. The boss needs to cling to some idea which he can hold up to his peers/family/employees/himself that will save him from the loss of face for having made a terrible hiring choice. I realize that I am making a sweeping generalization, but I still stand by it.

As Daniel says, it is possible, with relatively little effort, to start feeling like you are on the inside of things. But I also agree with Mark, that if you can penetrate the boss’s impersonal negative image of you and replace it with a positive one by actually being punctual, dedicated, etc. , you can often stand your ground and be heard. This is the experience I have in my current job. I feel respected and my opinion is valued. But it certainly wasn’t automatic and I don’t take it for granted. I also paid my dues in other jobs that weren’t quite up to par. I also have learned that there is a way of going about things to maximize results, but this is true of any corporate culture, regardless of which country you are in. It’s not about speaking Chinese, either (although it certainly helps). I have seen other fellows with much better Chinese and “smoother” personalities than mine get railroaded at every turn. It’s about cultivation of relationships and timing. I have always been a trouble maker, and always will be I suspect. But with time and effort the tactics evolve. The last time I raised all hell, I got a promotion and a raise…