Job Discussion Forums

[bdawg]

[naturegirl321]

[vikuk]

Kindy and primary education are vital foundations for building those skills to take a child into further educational levels - homing in on the child's social development and problem solving capabilities. Here in China the focus is on just producing a child that on the surface seems to have learnt something - being able to recite poetry, sing songs, identify characters, play a musical instrument like a machine, copy pictures etc etc - but deeper down, being able to realise their own potential and take responsibility for their own lives these children - processed by rote learning - are often empty shells. You guys in middle school/uni see the product - these kids take years to form.
Sending your kid to kindy/primary school in China - in my opinion - would pose great problems if that child was to then move out of China to take secondary education. Of course all children and parents are different, as are schools, and situations - and this post must be taken as a genralisation - just food for thought. I�m sure a family that was really clued up could send their kids to a normal Chinese school with whole thing being a positive experience � but I�m sure it would take a lot of work and energy just monitoring the situation � before even acting on any eventual problems.

[naturegirl321]

[vikuk]

[tw]

The most important issue to keep in mind is your husband's visa. While the school will have an obligation to sponsor a Z visa for you, they don't have to do so for your husband and as such, he'll have to come with a tourist visa and getting it extended every month or every three months can be quite a hassle.

The only solution is to find a school that is looking for English AND Spanish FT's.

[naturegirl321]

[Steppenwolf]

It is terribly hard to give someone so obsessed with coming to CHina any sound advice: you have set your mind and won't tolerate diverging opinions...

Has it occurred to you that your Peruvian husband might dislike China? Or the Changchun climate? Or the social life that revolves around meeting fellow English speakers to the detriment of Spanish speakers?

And you should take your child's interests more seriously! It seems transplanting families to China in the interest of making one's progeny bilingual has become a major fashion statement to make; you don't know how hard up foreign children are in Chinese classrooms where they stand out like a green Mars man.

Others have pointed out the gruelling quality of Chinese classroom management: it's not just rote-learning - it's the killing off at a tender age of the child his or her ability to think for themselves, to imagine things, to think outside a box.

And it's the never-ending cascade of homework assignments to keep them busy rather than to teach them anything useful. Their spare time gets controlled this way; there is little time left for pure recreational activities.

Your child, once accustomed to the Chinese teaching methodology, will find it hard to adjust to a different style.

I think a western child should not be put through a Chinese kindergarten; if you want to do your child a favour and benefit from local Mandarin instruction, enrol him or her at a primary school for one year. One year is enough! After that, your child deserves better, and Mandarin can be taught as an extra subject anywhere in the world. Maybe you can practise with your child by then! But putting your child through more than one year deprives your child of the avenues a humane education has to offer!

And don't forget - foreign kids are also viewed as cash cows now by Chinese schools of every level!

[naturegirl321]

[tw]

[blowinlicks]

Perdoname, pero usted hablas espanol, no? Hablame en mi correo: deebartok@ yahoo.com. Puedo ayudarse...

DM Dowse
Beijing

[colonel]

[colonel]

P.S.

[quote="Steppenwolf"]

I think a western child should not be put through a Chinese kindergarten; if you want to do your child a favour and benefit from local Mandarin instruction, enrol him or her at a primary school for one year. One year is enough! quote]

[lychee]

I have a friend in China whose children attend local schools and have done for many years.

They are amazing. They are confident outgoing, speak like the natives and are doing well in school. A pleasure to talk to. Their father has a business here though so money is never a problem but they chose to send their kids to local schools.

I met another foreign kid a month ago, grade six,again lovely, no problem with the local school. He had a British accent, had only been there once and can read and write both languages well.

I asked one of the kids who is in primary school did the teacher let you do other stuff in English class? No, I have to follow the lesson like the other children. That I thought was stupid

I know this is anecdotal but I was very impressed with these kids.

OP I would be looking for a city that needs Spanish teachers and then you find a job in that city.

Good luck with whatever you decide on

[HunanForeignGuy]

Your Z visa and resident permit should automatically be extended to your husband and to your children. You just need to indicate that on all of the relevant applications where you are asked with whom you are travelling.

There are Spanish available here in China; they come up irregularly but they are hard to fill when they do come up. There is one prominent university in Jilin that comes to mind as well as various schools in other provinces. Your husband will most likely need to have a university degree and I hope that he does as that will gain him access to the university jobs.

As for coming to China on a Romanian or Peruvian passport to teach English, that would complicate your life beyond all complications and cause you to loose many good jobs.

Next, you can pull this entire thing off with just a little difficulty but you will need to check all of the sites that offer jobs for Spanish teachers. Such sites do exist.

All the best,


HFG