Guide to Appearance and Conduct

source：易口教育 time：2018-06-22 08:45:57 read:7025

Professional Appearance and Conduct......... 
One of the first pieces of advice you will receive about teaching in Asia: Appearance.  Always be conscious of your appearance and professional conduct. Remember we communicate first visually before language. Foundations of trust built on our visual presence before any language exchange takes place. You may argue this is fickle and in no way considers a teacher’s teaching ability, knowledge or skills... Yet it’s import to build that initial professional trust between teacher and student. 
What to wear? 
Our training centre schools, Echo Kids, issue branded polo shirts and jackets to teachers. Most training centers in China take a more relaxed approach to clothe with the emphasis on uniform and brand awareness. Remember training centers operate more in the corporate environment where the relationship is teacher-customer focused rather than teacher-student focused as in public schools. 
  
Attire for public schools is ascribed by your personal choice but must be at the very least considered smart casual. Males are encouraged to wear long- sleeve smart collared shirts with smart trousers (no jeans). Footwear should be smart but practical, polished shoes are recommended and absolutely no sportswear outside of PE lessons. Use of a tie is optional but very welcome (some School Heads may be more insistent than others). Females are welcome to wear skirts or trousers, casual blouse and smart shoes. 
You will have access to a laundry room and washing machine in your apartment. Ironing can be a little difficult; clothes steamers are more common in China and very cheap. Be conscious of any clothing with loud vibrant coloring or obscene writing. It’s always useful to keep a spare shirt in the office or keep your shoes in the office and change out of your casual wear once you arrive. It can get very sweaty during the summer so keeping a towel handy is advisable and changing into clothes at work is more practical 
Tattoos, Jewelry, Make-up & Hygiene 
Nowadays, most of the world consider tattoos a welcomed expression of individuality and fashion. However, in Asia tattoos are only just gathering a more accepted reputation. By tradition they were associated with crime, prison, and lawlessness... and particular only witnessed on males. Yes, you will see some of the younger hip Chinese sporting tattoos but in general they are still frowned upon by the older generation of parents and grandparents. It’s strongly encouraged to cover all visible tattoos when teaching, especially with kindergarten and young children. Tattoos can be a very curious thing for children and somewhat distracting from lessons. 
In regard to piercings and jewelry. Obviously watches, wedding rings and ear studs are welcome. Please be conscious of large flamboyant pieces of jewelry and perceived 'bling items’. Although jewelry is very well liked in China, especially as a way of gaging social status, teachers are expected to be more astute and modest. If you wish to wear ceremonial dress for religious purposes please inform HR before your arrival. Remember to keep all jewelry and valuables safe. 
Make-up. We welcome a teacher’s discretion when applying make-up. More natural and subtle tones are advised. The most important thing is that your presence in a classroom is used to channel education and not as a distraction to learning. Please remember young children can be very susceptible to distraction. Also perfumes, aftershaves and deodorants should be applied sparingly. In general, Chinese people don’t use chemical based scents for hygiene and there’s a general mistrust about them. They can find overtly scented westerners quite disorientating! But please be conscious of your personal hygiene. We all have different grades of bodily odor and when diet and hygiene are taken into consideration we sometimes forgot that what is tame for us may be especially pungent for someone else. 
Professional Conduct 
Punctuality is very important. We understand that in a new environment life can be challenging. You may got lost, miss the bus or the taxi driver can’t understand you. This is ok, it’s important to keep your school informed of any delays or potential lateness. It’s a good idea to grade your journey to work early on... do a couple of practice runs if possible. Many of our apartments are located on or next to the school grounds, cutting down on journey time. Punctuality will be considered in your monthly performance index.

Professional conduct is something which is hard to quantify. You have your contractual obligations in which you adhere to our rulebook. Every company, job, school or club has rules and regulations... but sometimes there’s a level of conduct which goes beyond should and should-nots. It’s really about how you choose to carry yourself in any given context. We welcome our teachers to be open and friendly, try to be engaging with the parents. Be overly helpful around the office and especially be overtly polite. It’s considered a strong form of professionalism in China. Please be mindful of your language. Chinese adults and teachers DO understand foul language. They know it’s considered impolite although they often ignore it as they are embarrassed they understand it. 
   
Finally, we want you to have a great social life. We want you to enjoy yourself... but the repercussions of this should not spillover into the classroom. Under no circumstances will we tolerate intoxication of any description during your contracted hours. Hangovers and ill health do to excessive partying is noticed. Schools are astute and we know when a teacher is underperforming or physically inept because of the previous night’s enjoyment. This is something we monitor closely and will invoke disciplinary action if need be.