Job Discussion Forums

[eldavid87]

As you can see from my picture I am of mixed black-African and caucasian-English decent. I am an English native. I have been looking over these message boards for some time but have as yet failed to come to a conclusion as to where best to start working when taking into account racism. I have a great respect for those tough-skinned teachers working in the most racist/ignorant countries. They are doing their bit to open up minds across the globe. A great cause. I, however, am an inexperienced teacher. It would prob be unwise to tackle too many big problems before I get a bit of teaching experience. I had been hoping to work in South America or/and Asia but have become frustrated that what seems to be the most suitable country, Brazil, had to be ruled out as a long term choice due to the difficulty of getting a working visa. I am not looking for short-term placements, eg. working on a tourist visa. France was another obvious choice but I was looking to work in a new culture further from home. Money is also an issue because I need to support myself, hopefully for many years, and will not begin with much money saved. France is not a good place to earn money as an inexperienced teacher, as far as I can tell.

Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated.

[johnslat]

Dear eldavid87,
It would probably help if you could tell us your qualifications. I gather from your post that you have little or no experience.
Regards,
John

[cmp45]

[william wallace]

I'd say North Asia in general.I know lots of blacks have had trouble here in China,though, many/most are African,and that brings extra baggage -Not least is the fact that English is their foreign language,and sometimes pronunciation and grammar are atrocious.Strangely, I find Asian descent folks have the hardest time,but I have no idea as to why.

[eldavid87]

Thank you all for your advice. I have studied to degree level, and have recently finished a batchelors degree in English Language and Literature. I am now considering taking a CELTA/Trinity TESOL 4 week course. I don't have any teaching experience.

[william wallace]

The Africans take it on the chin here in Beijing, the western blacks have a very hard time...unless your 6'7'' and kick azz in basketball, Mr. Olympia, 30-0-29 KO boxing record, or can rap or hip-hop like craze-y.

[johnslat]

Dear eldavid87,
I think your taking that "a CELTA/Trinity TESOL 4 week course" (at a minimum) would increase your chances of finding a better job, no matter where you might look.
In Asia, I'd recommend Indonesia - although the pay is not that great. But it's a wonderful country and the people (at least in my experience there) seemed to have very little racial prejudice. I worked with Black American teachers there, and they never spoke of any such difficulty.
Regards,
John

[JZer]

Maybe they have learned something as a result of being looked down upon by other Asians for their skin color. If so that is great.

[slaqdog]

Spain is a good first job destination -you will come across racism but I knew quite a few black/asian teachers who lived and worked there and regarded it as a nuisance nothing more

[Kootvela]

I think no-one can be 100% sure that no rasist-related problems will not arise. That includes Caucasian people as well.

[william wallace]

Koot dear, there are countries more suitable and ones that are less so- You can avoid creating a conundrum .

[eldavid87]

Thank you people. It's very useful to be pointed in some directions to look. Indonesia, from what I've read so far, seems like an interesting opportunity, but by no means an easy choice:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=61232&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Also that's very interesting about Spain and N. Asia.

Once I am confident teaching I should be fine. In my case a solution could be to teach in England for a while if a month's training is not enough experience. It does seem that this is a problem that goes together with travelling the world. I guess it's the price for leaving behind British rain!

I am looking for a country where I can live and teach and socialise without too much problem. I keep returning to Chile, but somewhere where there is a significant minority group and significant black population might be a safer option, especially socially.

I am still interested in Indonesia. Can I ask where you worked in Indonesia Johnslat?

[johnslat]

I worked just outside of Jakarta for an outfit called International Language Programs. But that was back in 1988 - my Lord, twenty years ago. It's a franchise operation, but I had a great time there. The students were government employees who were going to the States to get their BAs and MAs, so a lot of it was TOEFL Prep. And the students were all highly motivated and quite bright.
It was a most pleasant experience.

[arioch36]

It's true that being perceived as black will make it more difficult to get a good job in CHina. And William knows the score in beijing, especially now with the olympics
But finding a decent job in China shouldn't be a problem if you are British (there is a list of African countries that are "blacklisted" from coming to China ... though China is sending a lot of Chinese to these countries, to help the natives "develop" their mineral resources)
having a decent cert, and being british, you shouldn't have a problem in finding a job in China, just be a lot easier if you are blonde and blue eyed. Right now where I work, a lot of colleges are still looking for teachers.

At every uni with at least ten foreign teachers (most) always seems to be one or two black teachers
But you do face more stares then the average laowai

[Kootvela]