Competition

I generally really like the job that I have.  If I had to pick one thing that I dislike the most, it would be the competitive atmosphere among the teachers.  We basically compete against each other in order to keep our jobs.  Students evaluate us and if you're "above average" then you're "safe."  If you're below average, well then you should be worried about getting your contract renewed next semester.  And the admin actually does drop the hammer on a couple people each semester so it actually is a reality and not just empty threats. 

Even more bizarrely, the admin picks out the top 3 people each semester and makes them give presentations, basically along the lines of how they got such high evaluation scores, to "help" their colleagues attain such scores. 

My coworkers are smart people that have a grasp of basic math.  If I help someone to raise their evaluation scores, and then I maybe have a bad class or two and my scores are low, then am I the next to go?  It's a system where other people's success might come at the expense of my own job.  It creates this atmosphere that is certainly not friendly or cooperative. 

I will have 12 new co-workers this semester and I have a feeling that they're going to have an extremely hard time finding any help with anything from any of the foreigners here.  And that's not how it should be.  And I wish it wasn't the reality.  It's kind of sad and demoralizing.