Voice of Will: Unhappy in China

2006-05-13 - 4:49 p.m.
Here is what is happening (as far as we can figure it out). A group called the tentmakers (a missionary group) has volunteered/been hired to recruit individuals to work at SIAS. One of their big things is being Christian missionaries (obviously).

Now this year started out pretty well. We had 92 teachers and about 30 of them were either non christian, or non religious. These teachers were not going to take the same stuff that the 10 non christian teachers took the year before. They were pretty upfront about their beliefs and views. Well apparently I became the focal point of a "war of the SIAS" I invited these non christians to form a community for support and friendship.

What i didn't realize is that by doing this many of the more zealous christians felt that we were "splitting" SIAS. Now I spoke to David m, dave P, nigel and a few of the more prominent christians who were here and let them know I was just trying to make the non religious people feel they had a community and that they didn't have to feel ostracized (sp). Well they didn't tell the newer christians, and so we had this split in the faculty.

In october, the advisory committee (run completely by the zealous christians, no non christian, no ethinic minority, no first year teachers involved) had jammed down the throats of the first year teachers lots of "rules/suggestions" and it all came to a head around me. the first year teachers (especially the non christian ones) often heard things from this advisory comittee and would come to me to ask for opinions, beliefs, or to vent. Because of this, in october they tried to get me fired from SIAS. Things got so bad at one point there was a threatened boycott of a staff meeting (there were 35 teachers who were going to refuse to come). Shawn Chen heard about it and came to SIAS.

In his address to the faculty he told us all to "Quit it. and Get a long." He told us the head of ICED was being used for petty issues, and she would be removed because of it (megan wang), he also told us the advisory comittee was being disbanded.

Winter break starts about 3 weeks later. 10 teachers don't return (5 christian and 5 non christian) over winter break we have an attempted petition to have me fired, and banned from china by Albert Kenney. This petition (actually spelled partitition) accused me of having secret 2 am meetings in the computer lab to "steal peoples identities", lying to students, slandering christians, and even hinted that I wrote a letter to the PSB about the religious issues here (I didn't do any of these items, and albert was asked to leave, while Wanda developed "medical" problems in the states.") Instead of having albert on a plane the next day, SIAS let him stay for 2 weeks having free reign of the place, meeting with numerous people further slandering my name. I was told that SIAS would address this issue when school started in the Spring. It was never mentioned.

With the start of the spring semester several intersting things happened. The first was this lack of anything said about Alberts letter of "partititon". The second was a shifting of peoples duties and responsibilities. A great example is that 2 young women here (both are very pretty) were asked to write a pronounciation textbook for sias. They work with the TENTMAKERS group. They were supposed to have a PhD in Davis CA to help them, but the PhD stopped answering their emails in February (after only 2 weeks). neither one of them have any real experience in teaching a foreign language, and not only do they not have a masters in TESL, they don't even have the simple TESL certificate. They don't ask Criss for any help or suggestions.

David M, and the powers that be have decided the biggest issue at SIAS is pronounciation, so they have the teachers doing 30 minutes of pronounciaton per class (long a, short a, long e, short e) but they have removed all writing in the classroom. teachers can no longer give written vocabulary tests, and they have to give oral exams, and the test is compromised. (without a doubt, and they know about it). The fourth example would be this group the tentmakers. they have a recruiting video that is at www.plugintoyours.com This video was shot at SIAS, and uses stock footage taht was compiled when Ryan Coyle was here as well as current footage that was filmed over winter break. Their website states get ready to go to "spiritual bootcamp" and get a TESL certification and go to SIAS (doesn't say SIAS, but the video is pretty easy to tell they are here. My last example is a direct quote from David M. "SIAS is a travesty, a sham, a mockery. We like to call that a traveshamockery." At the same time he told some teachers here about an issue he had his first year where he gave a student who had earned an F an A so he would leave him alone. This is the person leading the "direction" sias is going.

now at the time the school stopped the full staff meetings, and broke things down by what the teachers teach. There is no longer an advisory committee, and this semester has gone by great. No real issues.
There are a lot of people who come to christine for advise, but NONE Of the current "leaders" ever speak to her or with her and yet she is the only one who has any experience or training to make blanket predictions, and she has told them they are wrong.

We asked about next year in march when christine was going ot the TESOL confrence in Tampa, and they told us we would be coming back. Christine went there to learn the stuff in the field, and found out there are 3 schools in china that are doing what she suggested, and they are getting MA TESL/TESOL people for 4000 RMB a month. SIAS keeps saying we can't do that no one would come. the new president of TESOL is from a chinese school and Christine spoke to him at length.

So here comes the first of may. John Moll, Mary Alice Meeks (they decided to invite her back after telling her no for 2 weeks), myself, Christine, a US attorney named Les Harvel, and Lloyd Ringrose (he started out last year a very poor teacher, but Christine has been working him to become an average teacher (not great, but considering how bad he was, a vast achievement) are not invited back. what is more interesting is the group that is back has only one non christian (a jew who keeps to himself), and several of the younger more managable teachers, and LOTS of the zealous missionary teachers.

The only thing we can put together is that the teachers with experience, who know their stuff were being removed from any position at this school so they cannot undermine the "new direction SIAS is taking" by knowing how badly it is being done.

My last example. The young woman I mentioned earlier who is compiling the pronounciation textbook has just been put in charge of the SIAS speach team ahead of a VASTLY superior speach and debate individual. And they told Leslie Harvel during dinner one night, "oh you need to teach Katie how to do this." Unlike with us they waffled on whether they wanted Les back until yesterday. No word, no answers. maybe we want you maybe we don't.

In an organization you don't screw your employees around. If they had not wanted us they knew in march and could have told christine and myself and we would have made plans. But they told us we would be back. The same is true of les.

What adds insult to injury is the fact that since Christine is a Fort Hays Professor, Hays says where she can go. We can go to SNU or UIBE. But not really. SNU is parttime (we can't afford that) and no one at UIBE will come to SIAS. So by doing this stuff we have been effectively fired. This has been a constant state of discriminiation and harassment, and we are considering legal action when we get back to the states. This has effected our professions, and as we see it, it is because we are non christian and the christian missionaries don't want any competition for the SOULS at SIAS where they are actively breaking the law.