Job Discussion Forums

[Guest]

Hello everyone, I have been reading all the threads on this Forum for about 6 months now and I think it is time for you all to have a go at me.
I am who you all love to HATE. I am teaching "conversational English" at a Boarding School 3 hours northwest of Shanghai. I have NO DEGREE, NO QUALIFICATIONS and NO EXPERIENCE. I have been here for three weeks now and have signed a contract until the end of June 2004.
I fully agree with a lot of what you have to say in relation to people like me coming over to China and "teaching" without any experience. But, I would like to point out that if you read the threads on this and many other sites, you will see that there are not enough qualified teachers willing to come here. They are always screaming out for people - so it is not as if I am taking someone's job away from them. I worked in a Real Estate office for 25 years (for the same Boss) and I was so bored I was suicidal.
I am very happy here as there are two other foreign "teachers" here - one from U.S.A. and the other a lady from Australia also.
I volunteer at the local Orphanage on the weekends and also will go there during the school holidays. I finally feel as if I am making some contribution and that I am valued. I decided that at 56 years of age, I was a bit old to do a TESOL Course or similar. I only have a couple of years left to teach or whatever. By the way, I am female.
I cannot see what a Degree in anything other than English can do to help someone teach these children. I do agree that it is much better to have teaching qualifications and experience but in my case it was just not possible. I would be interested in what all you "old hands" have to say to me.

[Gordon]

I think it is great what you are doing. I think you have most of us wrong. You are not who we hate. We don't like the people that don't have any experience or training and don't want to actually learn to know how to teach. These people think that native fluency=good teacher.

You're right when you say that there are many jobs out there that no one wants. Anyone can find a job, it's the good ones that everyone wants.

It's wonderful that you're doing something else in China that is worthwhile. Don't get yourself down if people are negative to you.

[gerard]

Oh my goodness.

Is this a TROLL of some sort??? If you have been reading this board for 6 months you will know why I ask. There is good reason to be suspicious here. Anyway you ask what Degree aside from English is useful for teaching. Or "teaching" as you call it. Maybe a Degree in ... Education! I would say though an English degree is fine.

As for not having a qualification I assume you mean a TEFL cert. Doesn't matter. These are a money making racket but that is another story. You write better than a lot of people with degrees (if you are who you say you are) so don't worry about it. Are you taking a job from a local Chinese??? Maybe and maybe not---I really don't know.

From what you say there is no reason to flame you. The people who bother me are the recent Uni grads who look down on China. They think because they are from the superior world they just need to bless the Chinese with their presence to educate and civilize them. And they spend the rest of their time complaining they are overworked and underpaid.

Just ask yourself what are you teaching your students. Prepare tests whether they mean anything or not. This lets you and the students know what you are learning...At first the classes might seem OK but that "honeymoon" phase wears out and then you really need to be doing something...Good luck to you 10 months is a long time with the same students...

Oh well maybe this wasn't abusive enough---pardon me.

[MyTurnNow]

Yo, if you have the guts to come over here, and the ability to find and hold a job, and the dedication to try and continually improve your performance, then I have no quarrel with you. Good on ya.

MT

[AKA]

Rhonda
If you're too old to learn, you're too old to teach. By "teaching", do you mean "talk to them"? My four year old speaks English to my students, but doesn't get paid. No "teacher" who doesn't know what they're doing should be in the job.
Do you?

[khmerhit]

Good on ya, Sheila.

Regardless, you are raising educational standards just by being there!

Don't pay attention to the Serious Ones.

[Guest]

Dear Gordon, I am NOT a TROLL (maybe I was a trollop when I was younger) but I am sincere and I was expecting to get flamed much more than I have been. My email address is : [email protected]
if you wish to discuss anything further.

[Gordon]

HEY HEY HEY.
Who called you a troll? Read the responses carefully. Don't blame me for what someone else said. I said nothing of the sort, in fact I supported you.

[AKA]

HMMM Rhonda, it was Gerard who suggested you were a troll, not Gordon.
3 hours NW of Shanghai puts you out past Nanjing somewhere on a fast train, and near Lanzhou on a slow plane. A bit vague.
And please tell me you're not one of those people who wrote real estate ads. in Australia. Their English must be the WORST in the world.

As for your comment that a degree in anything but English is useless, I'd have thought one in Education would be pretty handy, one in TESOL even better.......is your dentist back home qualified, or do you like him because he's cheap? A basic CELTA would serve you better than X years in real estate, but if you're "too old", what the hell.

Come in Martin.

[shmooj]

[Guest]

Yes I know it was Gerard. I am at a Boarding School in ZHANGJIAGANG which is a fairly new City of 850,000 people. It was set up about 15 years ago as a "model City" and it is very clean with wide streets etc. It is really lovely here and quite different from Wuxi where I went today to do some shopping. Wuxi is just over an hour by bus from here. Yes, I sure do prefer my Dentist to be qualified, but these Schools in China are really only hiring us to show the Chinese parents that they have a real live English speaking person on the staff. We are really only figureheads I think and if I were a qualified teacher, I think I would be frustrated. The impression I get from the Chinese teachers here who actually teach the english grammar etc. is that they want me here to correct the pronunciation etc. All my little children say EGGA for EGG and PAGA for PAGE as their Chinese teacher has stressed the last letter too much.
I play listening games with the smaller children (I stand behind them and give them instructions etc.) and I have more serious classes with the older students. I appreciate the fact that I am probably doing a lousy job at this point in time, however I am striving to improve every day and hopefully at the end of my time here I may just have made a difference. By the way I only get 2,500 yuan per month so I am not in it for the money and any qualified teacher would not accept that salary I presume.
I spent 25 years looking after 1,000 tenants and believe me that is not an easy job. I dealt with people from all walks of life.

[Roger]

May I ask how long you are going to stay in it, Rhonda? I haven't found any reason to rake you over the coals yet - but allow me to note that knowing how undervalued I am (getting a mediocre 2500 RMB in a sort of no-man's land) would not pump up my enthusiasm for a long time.
I mean you could easily get more even without any credentials. Why are you in it for so little?

[Egas]

Good on ya Rhonda. Your attitude is good, which is half of teaching. No doubt you will learn at least as much as you teach. Your pay is pretty low, as Roger pointed out (DAMN low actually). But maybe after you get a little experience under your belt you can move onto something more lucrative - if you want, of course! I'm an Aussie too, by the way - in Beijing but about to relocate (most likely).

[gerard]

[MyTurnNow]

In defense of Gerard, Rhonda, I think he's just sparring with you. He's an awfully nice guy. He isn't normally a flamer unless he's wearing his cashmere sweater, knee-length wool skirt, and brocade pumps.