网友讨论:关于在中国当一名收入过高的外教的负罪感
2022-06-10 Harmony 16091
正文翻译

I am a foreign teacher in China. I start work at 9am, I have a two-hour lunch break from 12 noon, and then I leave at 4:30pm. I go home to my apartment, play with my kids, see my spouse and visit friends. I even have enough disposable income to go do fun things every weekend.

我是一名在中国的外籍教师。我早上9点开始工作,有两个小时的午休时间,下午4:30下班。我回到我的公寓,和我的孩子们玩,陪伴我的爱人,拜访朋友。我甚至有足够的可支配收入每个周末去做有趣的事情。

My Chinese colleagues typically arrive at 7am. They get a 30-minute lunch break and then leave at 5:30pm or later. Most go home to rented apartments, but some stay at very basic dorm-like accommodation provided by the school. I’m sure they fantasize about one day having a disposable income.

我的中国同事通常早上7点上班。他们有30分钟的午饭时间,然后在下午5:30或更晚时候才下班。大多数人回租房子住,有些人住在学校提供的非常基本的宿舍。我敢肯定他们梦想有一天能挣到足够花的钱。

Like most foreign teachers in China, I work alongside many just-as-qualified, hard working and brilliant Chinese teachers who toil for longer hours for less pay than me. Salaries for foreign teachers in China tend to range between 15,000 and 30,000 RMB a month, depending on the type of school and the workload. This usually averages out to an hourly wage comparable to, or better than, what teachers are paid in the West.

像大多数在中国的外教一样,我和许多同样合格、勤奋、才华横溢的中国教师一起工作,他们干的多,领的少。根据学校类型和工作量的不同,中国外籍教师的月薪通常在15000至30000元之间。平均到时薪来算的话,相当于或优于西方教师的工资。

Most Chinese teachers, however, are lucky if they can scrape 8,000 RMB a month, even with a university degree. And aside from the classes they teach, Chinese teachers often have other duties to attend to, like answering the phones or monitoring lunch times.

然而,大多数即使有大学学位的中国教师运气好的话每月就挣个8000元人民币。除了他们所教的课程外,中国教师通常还有其他职责要做,比如打各种电话或管着学生按点吃午饭。

A foreign friend of mine was once grumbling about the lack of interest her administration seemed to have in the grades she gave her students. “Do they care at all how I teach, or if my students actually learn anything?” she mused after a staff meeting. “It’s as if they hired me to put on a foreign clown show.”

我的一位外国朋友曾抱怨学校行政部门似乎对她给学生的分数不感兴趣。“他们是否关心我的教学方式,或者我的学生是否真的学到了什么?”她在员工会议后沉思,“就好像他们请我来演外国小丑秀一样。”

As a foreign teacher in China, it’s easy to feel guilty when you know colleagues you respect are paid a fraction of your salary for working arguably harder. But should you? Economics dictates that your salary is not really related to theirs. Chinese teachers are not paid any less because foreign teachers are paid more. To think that schools would pay the Chinese teachers more if foreign teachers took a pay cut is a nice daydream, but capitalism doesn’t really work that way.

作为一名在中国的外教,当你知道你尊敬的同事比你更努力工作但得到的报酬只是你工资的一小部分时,你很容易有愧疚感。但你是否该内疚呢?从经济学的角度来看,你的工资与他们的工资并不相关。中国教师的工资并没有因为外籍教师的工资更高而减少。认为如果外籍教师减薪,学校会给中国教师更多的工资,这是个白日梦,资本主义并不是这样运作的。
原创翻译:龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


In fact, for some schools, it could even be argued that the sole reason the Chinese teachers even have a job is because the school was able to recruit a few foreign teachers. The focus for many non-public schools, which are of course businesses in their own right, is to sell classes, typically English classes, taught by foreign teachers. Without the “foreign clowns,” the school itself may not survive.

事实上,对于一些学校甚至可以说,因为学校能够招聘一些外教,这些中国老师才有工作。许多私立学校(当然它们本身就是企业)的重点是销售由外教授课的课程,尤其是英语课程。没有“外国小丑”,学校可能都活不下去。

Because of this, I personally try not to feel too guilty when I hear my Chinese colleagues talk about the big ways in which their low salaries affect their lives. This is easier said than done, however, as often, it’s not just that they can’t afford an outfit they like or that they have to save up longer to buy a scooter. It’s that their present and future stability is in jeopardy.

正因为如此,当我听到我的中国同事谈论他们的低工资对他们生活的影响时,我个人尽量不要感到过于愧疚。这说起来容易做起来难,然而,通常情况下,这不仅仅是因为他们买不起自己喜欢的衣服,或者为了一辆踏板车不得不存更长的钱。他们现在和未来的稳定都处于危机之中。
原创翻译:龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


When asked if she planned to stay a teacher, one of my Chinese colleagues replied, “On 5,000 RMB a month? How can I buy a house? No, this is not a job for my future.” Another colleague told me of the pain of being apart from both her husband and child, as both parents were forced to stay at accommodation provided by their workplaces as their salaries were too low to afford rent for a place of their own. As is the case still with many migrant workers in China, my colleague’s son is being brought up by her mother in her home town.

当被问及她是否打算继续当老师时,我的一位中国同事回答说:“5000块一个月?我怎么能买房?我的将来不能靠这份工作。”另一位同事告诉我,与丈夫和孩子分开的痛苦,因为夫妻俩都被迫住学校宿舍,因为他们的工资太低,租不起房。与中国许多农民工的情况一样,我同事的儿子交给她妈妈在家乡养大。

Because so many talented and qualified Chinese teachers find it hard to secure their futures or enjoy a normal family life on a meager salary, they eventually turn away from education, ultimately hurting the students that could have benefitted from their expertise.

如此多有才华的中国教师发现,他们在微薄的工资上看不到未来或过点正常日子,因此他们最后放弃了教育事业,最终伤害的还是本可以从他们的专业知识中受益的学生。

While I try not to feel personally guilty, I do wish capitalism worked differently. I wish that parents and schools understood the importance of good Chinese teachers and rewarded them accordingly. A good education in China is about so much more than the foreign clown.

虽然我尽量不让自己感到内疚,但我真的希望资本主义能换种方式运作。我希望家长和学校能够认识到一个好的语文老师的重要性,并给予他们值得的奖励。在中国,好的教育远不是只靠外国小丑的。

评论翻译
Guest19494226
The reason that foreigners are paid more is because the cost of living in the teacher's home country is much higher than what it is in China. When a foreigner is done teaching in China, the policy is "GTF Out!" (by way of no gesture to settle here). There isn't any reasonable accommodation to take your domestic goods, furniture and appliances with you. There isn't any Pension or Retirement granted to you on the outside. If anything, your social retirement benefits in your home country are diminished for the years that you haven't been paying much into the tax system. Any money that you accrue in China is all that you may have when you return home and start life again (unless you have your own home etc. already). Furthermore, the domestic salaries are not enough attractive to foreign talent in a way that would be enticing from a lucrative standpoint. Finally, China's own Ministry of Education requires (by national policy) that spoken English must be taught by a native-English-speaking foreigner. Face it, if you come to China, it's because you want to see the rest of the world, you have some degree of humility, you love what you do as a teacher, and ultimately you want to help others as well as experience international culture first hand. So collect your paycheck with a smile, go visit an orphanage with a group that is allowed to do so, and put your conscience at ease.

外国人工资高的原因是,他们国家的生活成本远远高于中国。当外国人在中国教书时,政策是“他*的滚出去!”(没点欢迎你在这定居的意思)。不提供任何合理的住宿来放你的家庭用品、家具和电器。没有任何养老金或退休金。如果有什么不同的话,那就是你在老家的社会退休福利减少了因为你没在老家纳税。当你回到老家重新开始生活时,你在中国积累的所有钱就是你的所有积蓄(除非你已经有了自己的家等)。从钱的角度来说,国内工资对外国人才的吸引力不够。最后,中国教育部要求(根据国家政策)英语口语必须由以英语为母语的外国人教授。面对现实吧,如果你来中国,那是因为你想看看世界其他地方,你足够谦逊,你热爱你作为一名教师所做的事情,你最终是想帮助他人并亲身体验国际文化。所以,微笑着领取你的薪水,允许的话和别人一起去拜访一下孤儿院,让你的良心好过一点。

CanadaMonkey
You should probably feel guilty if you suck as a teacher and are only doing it to avoid flipping burgers at home. In my case, I'm worth every penny and I've been doing it my whole life. "If you're good at something, never do it for free" - The Joker

如果你教的很差劲,干这行只是为了避免在老家这边烤汉堡,你可能会感到内疚。就我而言,我一辈子都在这干这行,我值得这么多钱,。“如果你擅长某件事,千万不要免费做”-小丑

LloydinYibin
You should study economics and business. If you are so guilty you can give your check back to you boss

你应该去学点经济学和商业学。你心里这么过不去你可以把钱退还给你的老板。

Guest14963676
Foreign teacher earns a fraction of better than the local citizen. It happens in most of the countries, whereby talented and qualified individual who fitted the job are employed to fulfill the job obxtives.

外籍教师的收入通常比本地人高出一部分。这在大多数国家都是这样的,在这些国家,有才能和能胜任这份工作的个人被雇来干活。

Andrew373
Chinese teachers are entitled to retirement at 51. If they live to 81 then they worked 30 years at 8000 and receive 30 years pay while retired. As far as I know Foreign teachers can not collect retirement in China. So in fact over the lifetime it works out about the same for foreign and Chinese teachers. Further I do not agree that Chinese teachers work harder. Foreign teachers often have 20-25 teaching hours a week a Chinese teacher may have 8-12 teaching hours a week. Further Chinese teachers get to live close to their family and friends. I have not seen many of my family and friends for years. I could not even return home to my fathers funeral . Honestly no one cares about us here. While I do respect most Chinese teachers and some have perfect English in fact many have poor English and really have no business teaching English.

中国教师有权在51岁退休。如果他们活到81岁,那么他们领8000块干个30年,退休后可以再领30年工资。据我所知,外籍教师在中国不能领取退休金。因此事实上,从一辈子的角度看,外教和中国教师的情况差不多的。此外,我不认为中国教师工作更努力。外籍教师通常每周教20-25个学时,而中国教师可能每周教8-12个学时。此外,中国教师还可以与家人和朋友住在一起。我已经多年没有见到我的家人和朋友了。我甚至不能回家参加父亲的葬礼。老实说,这里没人关心我们。虽然我很尊重大多数中国老师,有些老师的英语很好,但事实上,很多老师的英语很差,真的没有资格去教英语。

nzteacher80
Don't feel guilty about it. Start gifting your salary to your Chinese colleagues! Better than just wringing your hands and feeling all guilty. Plenty of other people are worse off in China.

不要为此感到有负罪感啦。把你的薪水送给你的中国同事吧!总比扭动双手感到内疚要好。在中国,还有很多人的过的更糟。

Nashboroguy
I am not confident in my response, but I understand that the bonuses that public school Chinese teachers receive is quite substantial. I have the mindset that I do not make the rules and policies. It seems that most "normally" employed workers in China are paid about the same amount, regardless of career. It is through continued employment that salaries increase. I also think that if you are a party member, certain benefits come with it. As for me, I am not selfish with what I have. Since I do not belong to a church here, and I am a Christian who believes in tithing my wages, I do give back to the community, the school, and through other sources. As for our status here, I doubt you would have "native" English speakers willing to come to China for less than $1000 per month, even with all expenses paid for. I believe we are paid what the market allows for. I am not ashamed of my "wealth" in China. I do not apologize for it. Again, I did not set the rules and policies. I have no guilt in it. As for working hours and contributions to the school, I do many voluntary projects, invested in the school in several ways, and treat my teaching as a profession which requires many hours of work outside of the office. During these Covid years, the majority of the foreigners in our school told the company that has hired us to forego the annual salary increase. Many even offered to take a certain pay cut. Due to the lesser amount of students, some of even volunteered to give up our positions and go elsewhere if needed. The company that hired us had none of that. They gave the annual increase, kept us all on staff, and assured us of a good future. I wish our Chinese counterparts could earn more. I wish the cost of living in China was not increasing with stagnant salaries. I wish for many things for our Chinese friends. Wishes do come true, but in this case, it will take the determination and severe change from the governing bodies of this land to help their citizens.

我对自己的回答没有自信,但我知道公立学校的语文教师获得的奖金相当可观。我的心态是,我不是规则和政策的制定者。中国大多数“正常”就业的人,无论从事何种职业,工资都大差不差。工资基本随工龄增加而上涨。我还觉得如果你是一名党员好处更多。至于我,我对我所拥有的并不自私。我不属于这里的教会,而且我是一个会捐出自己十分之一工资的基督徒,但我确实会通过其他渠道回馈社区、学校。至于在这里,假如你是英语为“母语”的人,以每月不到1000美元的价格来中国,即使其他费用全包,我怀疑你还会不会来。我相信我们得到了市场默许的报酬。我并不为我在中国的“财富”感到羞耻。我不会为此道歉,再说一次,我不是规则和政策的制定者,我不内疚。至于工作时间和对学校的贡献,我做了许多志愿项目,以多种方式资助了学校,而且我的教学在课余也要付出很多时间。疫情这几年,我们学校的大多数外国人跟雇主说放弃涨薪,有些人甚至要降薪。由于学生人数较少,其中一些人甚至自愿放弃当前的教职,去有需要的地方。我们的雇主公司没有这么做,他们每年都给我们加薪,没有解雇我们,并向我们保证有一个美好的未来。我希望我们的中国同行能赚得更多。我希望在中国的生活成本不会因为工资停滞不前而增加。我希望我们的中国朋友能拥有很多他们想要的。想要实现这个美好的愿望,在这种情况下,需要这片土地的管理者下定决心并作出重大改变,才能帮助他们的人民。

Kitanocos
Sssshhhhh, don't ruin it for the rest of us. Also, how can i get an easy job in China?

嘘嘘嘘嘘小声点,为我们其他人着想一下,别毁了它哈,还有,我怎样才能在中国找到一份轻松的工作?

Nikita_R
I have come to realise that it is the same situation in countries all over the world. I am a qualified Language Consultant (English and Chinese)Each time I secured a job In the Chinese field in MY country the following happens 1. My Salary will be lower than all my colleagues' 2.)Students prefer to be taught by my Chinese colleagues. I remember how I would beat myself up for it the very first few months, Eventually I started working on myself, my work ethics, My craft as a Teacher And it it feels great. On the other hand,Whenever English is involved...it was vise versa kinda of situation. I cannot say I have a better Suggestion to resolve such a Situation But I know How it FEELS to be amazing and passionate about something And not be appreciated. I encourage all of you who come accross this to know that "YOUR DREAMS are VALID". Keep on Shining

我逐渐意识到世界各国也是这种情况。我是一名具有资质的语言顾问(英语和汉语),每次我在我的国家找到教汉语时,都会发生以下情况1)我的工资将低于所有同事2)学生们更喜欢由我的中国同事来教。我记得在最初的几个月里我好想打自己,最终我开始提升自己,提升自己的职业道德,锻炼自己的教学本事,作为一名教师,我感觉很棒。另一方面,每当涉及英语时……又反了过来。我也没有更好的建议来解决这种情况,但我知道对某件事感到惊奇和热情,却不被欣赏的感觉。我鼓励所有经历过这一切的人都认识到“你的梦想是对的”。继续发光发热吧

Stiggs
Feel guilty? I personally know foreign teachers who badly want to leave China but know that when they do the school will close and the people they work with will lose their jobs because in the current situation they're impossible to replace.. They're sacrificing a lot to help their friends and workmates. As for the Chinese people and the pay difference...it sucks for them but that's life. If they had the skills and qualifications for a better job they'd take that better job.

有负罪感?我个人认识一些很想离开中国的外教,但我知道,一旦他们离开,学校将倒闭,与他们一起工作的人将失业,在目前的情况下他们是无可替代的……为了帮助朋友和同事,他们牺牲了很多。至于中国人和工资差距……这对他们来说很糟糕,生活就是这样。如果他们有技能和资格从事更好的工作,他们就不干这行了。

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