Hierarchies

I spent a lot of time working on a curriculum for an English improvement class, we're doing for an area middle school. At the end of the first day, I was pleased. Then Barry got a call from their director. Two of the middle school teachers had observed the class. They had serious reservations about what we were doing.

I was really upset. Not only had these people second-guessed my curriculum, but they had failed to come to me with their concerns and had reported me to my director. Barry shrugged and talked to me about altering some aspects of the curriculum without throwing the whole thing out. As for the way the information was communicated, he said "The Chinese are like this."

When I reported to the middle school next day, I was pains to be as professional with the teachers who had complained. To my utter amazement, they were extremely warm as we talked together about the class and its goals. I was told Barry had GIVEN PERMISSION for the teachers to speak directly to me about adjustments to the curriculum. Chinese protocol demands that when a concern arises with someone outside an organization, an employee notfies a supervisor who speaks to the superior of the outsider. If the outsider's superior says it's OK, then matters may be discussed with him or her directly. The teachers were not being sneaky or high-handed. It was simply a differnce in culture.