Schedule garbage compounded with the knowledge=power attitude is something that pretty much everyone in China (including Chinese) experiences on a constant basis. Give it a year and you wont even think of it as unusual anymore.

Tomb sweeping day.  Got torn a new one because I did not show up to class that Saturday.  In their defense, I will admit that they left me a note the night before (friday) stuck to my door. However, it was in Chinese.

Another time, in Guilin i got a call from my "leader" who was hysterical because "the competition" was going to start and I was not there. Supposedly i was one of the judges. However, they forgot to tell me.  She then wanted me to take a cab, give the driver the phoe so she could tell him where to take me. When i asked if I would be refunded for the cab, she said "maybe" (which my experience has shown me to be "no Friggin way" 99% of the time). So, I said "maybe".

Just to save your tail, ask the person "who was the one supposed to tell me". Who knows? i got treated to dinner as an apology for the Tomb Sweeping mistake!

There have been a few classes that were canceled or changed where someone didn't tell me. All of my classes are in the morning, so if they are canceled, I show up to class and no one is there. I call to see if both are canceled, then I go back to my apartment. If it's switched, same deal, just go back to the classroom later. It's annoying, but I guess it's not so bad. As for holidays, now I look up when they are so I am not surprised.

Usually your students will also be aware of any class changes, so make friends with a few who can speak decent English and ask them to help give you warnings about changes. They are usually more than thrilled to help you.

This sort of thing is completely normal, it's not just you who gets it. As to why they do it; God only knows...

Your situation goes beyond the level of typical bullshit. If they aren't telling you at all it means your school is pretty dysfunctional. Now's a good time of year to find a different company to work for.

I think it's rather normal. It ain't so bad at a university or high school because your students will probably tell you first.

Just torture your waiban with phone calls constantly asking to confirm some new thing.

Never make assumptions.

Maybe the answer for the failure to communicate properly is the fact that they may think you do not speak Chinese, so why try ?.

I do know that here the "leader" does communicate with his / hers subordinates a lot.  I am tired to see a bunch of workers standing like on military parade rest formation while the leader addresses them outside stores, restaurants, etc.

I think it has a lot to do with the Chinese culture of not wanting to lose face.

They don't want to confront an issue or don't want to look or sound dumb, so they don't voice their opinions in fear they will lose face. What annoys me most so they try aviod things or pretend issues don't exisit

No communication = never admitting that one made a mistake = never losing face.

And we can't have that can we?

This is perfectly normal. The best thing you can do is play it the same way, if you're sick just call in 5 min before you class, make some noise about not being informed early enough, this happened at my school last semester, such as there being a test (public school) and I arrive at the classroom to find the Chinese teacher watching them and they tell me this grade has exams! I said that if I didn't get info early enough then I would stop doing the "extra" things the school wanted me to do. This semester they have given me someone to tell me everything in advance!

Top Tip: Don't be bullied and think that you can't do anything about it. You can, just don't be afraid of leaving the school and finding a better position somewhere else!

Same old same old. I went to class on Monday - no students anywhere, chairs upside down on the desks, one teacher in the whole school. But this does not surprise me. I texted my favorite Chinese teacher "Ms Xx the students have disappeared!" She replied, "The students have the day off. You do not need to teach today." OK, I went home.

Ask the students. The students know everything and in most of my jobs they're the only ones who will tell you consistently. Ask them to tell you what's new? Any tests? Days off? 

You get the picture.

Its the same all the time friend, they expect you to be a mind reader and know what's happening all the time. Its the chinese mind and reasoning, or they will let you know at the very last minute, never give notice like in a normal situation.

The worst is when one is dealing with there visa details with a school, they never let you know what the hell is happening until the last minute, which puts one on the edge not knowing what's going on.

Like go to the visa office on the last day before your visa expires, and its a long public holiday like the spring festival, when the office is closed for some time, which happened to me a couple of years ago.

Yeah makes me laugh actually, They expect the perfect ,and impossible also...

It is a show of power. I have had that done to me: classes canceled, moved, whatever. just made sure to ask students who generally know. Another thing popular with students is 'leave'. I could arrive in for class only to find the students have some other activity on and that they have asked for 'leave', or decided to go home for a few days. Of course without telling me. In an exam class this is frustrating because a semester's lessons have been planned. One reason it REALLY annoys me is the fuss when i am even 1 minute late! But then there are times we are irrelevent.

Tomb sweeping day

Because That

Is what we have here...

What we got here    is      a failure     to communicate...

Sino:  dumbass.  Great word!  Dumbass..  heheheh

This whole thread appears to have been torn from my personal diary

communication sucks at the kindergarten where i work as well

Yeah, Mainland plans are based on the shining example of the CCP. Silence is golden. Speak up at your peril. When in doubt, let another do it, and point fingers when things go wrong.

"Inform the foreign devil? Hell no; my salary doesn't include risk fees for potential international incidents. Best to watch him crash and burn, then play dumb." Welcome to China.

3 years... wow! Again!

Personally, if I get that - I just say no. And stick to it. For those when they give me something new without telling me. If they cancel a class without telling me, I tell them they will still pay me for it (if I"m paid by the class - and not the month).

I will DEFINITELY "make them lose face" - publicly.... (remember, we don't 'make them' lose face - they already lost it by not being respectful enough to tell us these things).

The insta-threat of "if it happens again, I walk" usually has some effect... although, it usually turns a 20min advance notice into a 12 hour advanced notice.

Make sure your contract has these details in them - they can't schedule (or re-schedule) a class with less than 24 hours written notice without a penalty of X hundred RMB.

Alternatively, make up your own schedule.... :D

I've been asked to be white meat and perform a few songs on guitar at a Christmas event this year. I was asked today.

I ask the basic questions:

1. What day? This week

2. Where? We will tell you. When? I don't know.

3. What time? At night

4. How long will I play? I don't know

5. How much and when will I get paid? We will pay well.

Seems nothing could possibly go wrong at this well organised event