Job Discussion Forums

Breezy · Joined: 11 Mar 2007 Posts: 22 Location: Amsterdam

Hi guys!

I have been thinking about this for a couple of months now since I have been baby-sitting (and was an Au Pair a few years ago) here in Holland.

In general, how would you describe Taiwanese children's behavior?

I mean ALL children are bad in some way (for example, Dutch children are all spoiled and mean "I want this and I want it NOW!" is what you CONSTANTLY hear. and if you are an Au Pair then you are basically a slave-this is based on stories not just from me, but as well as many other former Au Pair friends) I also apologize for the negative reference, but this was only to make a point.

So my next questions is a strange one but how are Taiwanese children bad? This is also a generalization. Especially to teachers? Do they throw things at you? Are they spoiled? Or are they just plain cruel?

What about the parents? For example, if you saw a Taiwanese family at a store, and the child was acting up, how do most parents behave?

Here's my last question. Have you ever had a Taiwanese child throw a temper tantrum in class? How long did it last? How did you handle it? Do Taiwanese kids throw a lot of temper tantrums?

I would love to hear your stories, good and bad!

Thanks!

Bre Smile

matchstick_man · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 244 Location: Taiwan

Define cruel. If the teacher being called 'fat', 'big nose' or a 'pig' is cruel. I've seen one female teacher crying about this.

Then Taiwanese children are cruel. Taiwanese children can get very rowdy. Some are quiet and hard-working too though. If you teach at a cram school you'll find yourself with a lot of kids who don't really want to be there and a few that do. Those that don't want to be there have generally been to a lot of other classes beforehand and let off steam in the classroom.

A lot of the teaching jobs in Taiwan are really baby-sitting.

Taylor · Joined: 24 Oct 2003 Posts: 384 Location: Texas/Taiwan

Dear Readers,

In my opinion, the age range of 'kids' here is about 20 years....from 3 to 23!

Overall, I've been very impressed with the behavior of children here in Kaohsiung. I am a 36 year old American male who uses Chinese in and out of the classroom, so that may have some influence on my students--for better or worse.

We've had one overweight 7th grade boy get angry and run out of class, kick out out a small window in the staircase on his way down..... I wasn't at the school that day.

Looking forward to hearing the opinions of others.

Taylor
Kaohsiung