Job Discussion Forums

[IchliebeHunde1492]

Hello everyone, I just got kicked out of China because I have deformities resulting from birth defects. I was a "cleft palate" child, had numerous operations as a baby/toddler, had to wear a halo and neck collar, and was in a "physical" (NOT mental/emotional) special ed class in 1st, 5th and 6th grade (for the three years in between, I did all right in a mainstream class, but then it was decided I did better in a special ed class - but the Chinese (or any employer in the world) do NOT need to know that, nor did I ever tell them that).

When I got to Beijing in March, one of the very first things the supervisor said to me was, "I didn't know you had neck problems [because I was hired by an American recruiter who didn't care how I looked]. Because of that, it's going to be really difficult to place you in a school." She did get me a job in a kindergarten for a week, but then I got parental complaints, most likely about my neck fusion/face deformities, since those parents didn't actually observe me teach. Just as I had predicted, the supervisor was unable to find a school for me and I was "kicked out" of China (not jailed and deported, I just didn't feel welcome there).

My flatmate was like, "Next time, you need to try a LESS popular city - NOT Beijing or Shanghai or Chengdu or Guangzhou or Hong Kong - or perhaps a small town in China." Uhh...I'm pretty sure I'll be judged everywhere in China. It happened in the fall in Liuzhou (southern China), a city of "just" 1.3 million people, and I was let go within three weeks, and I didn't even do anything wrong .

I'm just writing this to warn others who may have disabilities to please give second thoughts to China because depending on your exact disability, you may have a very hard time finding a job in China. Normally, and no offense if you're black, but black people also have a very difficult time finding a job in China. YET, in BOTH of the agencies I went through, a black person got a job before me, a disabled/disfigured person!

I'm done with China. I'm done with East Asia altogether. China is not the place to live if I love going to church on Sunday and hate hearing fireworks going off at random times (on more than one occasion, I was trying to go to sleep in China and heard "Boom, boom, boom"). I'm going to focus on Latin America because the people there are the least judgemental and nicest towards my neck fusion/face. I know, I know: I've been told here on Dave's - "OP, you have to be there. Especially Latin America." So, we'll see what happens next! I thought about the Middle East, but in order to teach in the Middle East, I NEED a Master's degree and years of experience and usually a related Bachelor's. During one interview with an agency in the Middle East, the interviewer was like, "Do you have a degree in English?" and I answered, "No, my degree is in German studies, but English is a Germanic language!" I never got a call back from them.

So, please reconsider China if you have any kind of disability or deformity. Feel free to comment if you've faced (no pun intended) similar problems with getting a job in China.

[Deats]

Hey, I'm really sorry to hear this. At the same time, I'm not surprised that this happened as many Chinese are douches.

They have a pecking order according to race. Han Chinese are obviously No.1 and it goes down something like Cantonese, Taiwanese, Singapore Chinese, whites, Thai Chinese, Vietnamese, blacks. This is what my students told me at uni. Sad but true. The country is full of racist bigots.

Chinese people lock away relatives with any disformaties/disabilities. You never see them in China as they are a 'disgrace' to their family. I also saw some children in kindergartens with disabilities and they were shouted at, scolded and hit. It was horrible.

In China many jobs are handed out on looks rather than ability. A white blonde woman is top of the EFL chain.

It makes you realise how far the West has come - it wasn't so long ago that we also behaved like this. My uncle had downs syndrome and I always remember whenever we were in town everyone staring at him and comments being made - this was in the 80's and 90's.

Their loss my friend. Onwards and upwards. best of luck with your next adventure

[Shanghai Noon]

When you applied for this program, did you fill out an application form? If so, did the application form ask you about physical deformities?

[kev7161]

Yeah, China doesn't do well with disabled people. I am surprised to see the occasional wheelchair ramp here and there. And of course, sidewalks are made to help the blind walk effectively on them, although I personally have never seen a blind person use them.

My school did not have a single physically deformed person there that I knew of. Sure, you'd see students on crutches or in a wheelchair, but that was only short term after they injured themselves playing soccer or riding their skateboard. There were obvious students who would have fared better with some sort of special education, but the school and the parents didn't believe in that so these very low-level kids would be mixed right in with the higher level ones for every subject/lesson. Maddening to me when I knew they would accomplish more if they were in one-on-one or small group sessions.

Would Taiwan or Japan be more open? I don't know, but it may be worth a try.

[wangdaning]

[rioux]

Why not go back to Ecuador?

[happyinshangqiu]

[Son of Bud Powell]

"No, my degree is in German studies, but English is a Germanic language!" I never got a call back from them.

That English is a Germanic language wouldn't persuade anyone who knows what that means either. Look up Grimm's Law and see what it means:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_law

[tlkdmc]

[AGoodStory]

[jimpellow]

Don't listen to tlkdmc. He suffers from severe emotional issues.

Sort of amazing how Chinese are so quick to ostracize those with physical disabilities yet have zero ability to understand mental illness. I used to work with one potentially dangerous borderline paranoid schizophrenic who was great for a laugh when we were not terrified of him. I would warn the Chinese manager and he would respond how he was weak willed, and the FAO would say how he had attempted to rationalize with him that it was all delusions in his head. Hate to sound harsh, but luckily he killed himself before he meted out an early demise on others.

I worked with one Physics-Math teacher (Know how hard they are to find in China?) and they wanted to get rid of him as he walked with a cane from an accident.

I am in Mexico now and concur that Latinos are much more tolerant and compassionate individuals. I think there are many regions where your dedication and talents would be appreciated. You can pretty much teach anywhere with a little digging and resourcefulness.

I really wanted to comment on the Middle East issue. The governments who issue the visas do tend to see a qualified ESL teacher as one with advanced degrees and an English academic background. I once applied for a Business/Economics (where my degrees and experience are) position in Oman but was told I needed my Masters in English??? But if you scratch below the surface you find there is another viable job market.

I did Saudi on a business visa which is quite common. The government knows that they have a ton of Americans and Brits, etc teaching in their Magic Kingdom on them. But as they have such a high demand that cannot possibly be filled even with the lucrative salaries and sweet housing, etc, they turn a blind eye on it as there is simply nowhere close to enough teachers that would qualify for an iqama under their own set requirements.

Pros and cons to each type of visa, but certainly not the situation in China where I would ever work even one day on anything but a Z-Visa.

PS. I do think the American recruiter was a bit green (to put it nicely) to not have foreseen the issues you would face.

[mike w]

tlkdmc = inhumane troll, devoid of emotions, of the worst kind.

One day, hopefully soon, something will go wrong for him/her, and the moaning will appear on here.

I will have no sympathy.

[RiverMystic]