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donfan
Joined: 31 Aug 2003
Posts: 217
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 Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 7:37 am Post subject: preschool teacher's age |
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| I worked for a preschool in Taiwan previously. I am anxious to return to Taiwan and would really like to teach preschool as I loved my job when I was there before. However I am a 36 year old male. Am I going to find it hard to get a preschool teaching job? If so what type of job do you recommend I look for? |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 7:50 am Post subject: |
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You won't have any problems so long as you left on good terms, you are white and don't mind being watched all the time.
Good Luck,
A. |
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donfan
Joined: 31 Aug 2003
Posts: 217
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:37 am Post subject: |
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Watched? By who?  |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:56 am Post subject: |
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Every School I know of requires that you have a Chinese co-teacher in the classroom with you at all times.
The reasons for this vary from school to school but it is widely understood that they don't trust you.
Some schools even put video cameras in the classroom.
Welcome back,
A. |
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donfan
Joined: 31 Aug 2003
Posts: 217
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:33 pm Post subject: |
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Oh ok - when I was there last my Chinese teacher was very unobtrusive - mainly just sat there and wrote in the communication books - in fact a lot of the time she wasn't even in the classroom. They may have had a video camera but I wasn't aware of it. So you mean they would have seen me dozing off all those times in class?  |
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jason_seeburn
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
Posts: 399
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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[]][
Last edited by jason_seeburn on Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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brian
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 299
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| Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2003 1:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Aristotle wrote: |
Every School I know of requires that you have a Chinese co-teacher in the classroom with you at all times.
The reasons for this vary from school to school but it is widely understood that they don't trust you. Some schools even put video cameras in the classroom. |
That's ridiculous. The teaching assitants are exactly as their name suggests - assistants to aide you teach. Of course they will pass on what they see in the classroom to other staff including management, but to suggest that they are there solely to spy upon the foreign teacher is nothing short of ridiculous! I can assure you that these staff don't get paid enough to be partaking in this sort of behavior. Aristotle, if your experience has been that word is getting out to management about your behavior in the classroom, I would have to ask what exactly you are doing to your kids for this to occur.
I have to agree with Jason on this one - teaching assistants in pre-schools are very helpful members of staff that are a real bonus for schools that offer them.
The cameras that Aristotle is talking about are small but are not the hidden type. Once again they are not there for spying on teachers, but for the benefit of parents who can watch their kids online. Of course, some managers would sit and watch the video from time to time, but provided you are doing your job and nothing untoward in the classrooom, you really have nothing to worry about. Surely, there would be nothing more boring than sitting watching a video (without sound) of a foreigner teaching!
Whilst your age is technically on the higher end of what many schools are looking for, getting a job is all about suitability to the job. There are some excellent kindy teachers out there in their 50's and some deplorable teachers in their early 20's. Kindy classes require an active teacher, who is willing to get down to the kids level and just have a ball. If this is your personality then go for it. If at all possible, drop into the school so that they can meet you and gauge your personality before your age becomes any kind of issue. I guarantee you if you have a good personality and a good interaction with the kids that you will get hired on the spot for any job that is available. If you don't then maybe you should consider teaching older kids or adults. |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2003 11:47 am Post subject: |
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Ask the parents what the boss tells them about the "assistants" in the classroom.
If you are lucky, they actually do little outside of assist the foreign teacher. For the Chinese parents however they play a much more important role. Even if you speak fluent Chinese and have years of experience, Chinese parents will not put their young children in a classroom alone with a foreign teacher. The same is not true with a Chinese teacher. Much of it has to do with the fact that the only real qualification you need to teach children on Taiwan is a white face. No background checks or teaching qualificationsare required. The criminal government on Taiwan is more interested in filling their pockets than protecting the people and students of this island. Everybody knows this but the idiots who can actually do something about it are more interested in denying the fact.
You can draw your own conclusions but you can't blame them.
A. |
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brian
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 299
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Isn't having teaching assistants the same in western kindergartens. Having an extra paid of eyes in the classroom can be either a threat or a security blanket - depending upon what side of the line you are on. If you are doing your job then having someone in the classroom can be a real benefit, not only with assisting, but with ensuring that no misunderstandings occur. |
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