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This is being a teacher, in China.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve written about our experiences in China. Things are a little crazy here at times and, quite frankly, I have forgotten about the blog. It’s not that I don’t want to share our experiences, it’s just that there are so many. So now, I will try to start again and document all that I can for everyone else to see. This blog will be about my experience as a teacher here so far. I will not be discussing any negative aspects of the teaching part, though. I feel that, in order to leave a good impression on someone about somewhere that has never seen or been to the place, you have to leave out the bad stuff and let them figure that out on their own. Reading further, you will find that the experience here has more pro’s than cons.

Let’s start from the beginning...

Coming to China was the easy part – all you need is the right visa and a return ticket. In order to get the right visa, you need to go through a lot of formalities (which I cannot get into now). Having the correct visa makes life a lot easier and safer for you, as an expat. Getting here and finding a job is fairly easy too. All you need is someone you have communicated with to show you the ropes around here. When you are settled and ready to start your new life, the fun begins. You never know what to expect here – that’s what makes it so awesome!

Let’s talk about the first steps – namely, getting an interview. This part is a little stressful as most teachers here have little to no experience with children. The expats hired to teach English as a foreign language have degrees and qualifications, but in a different field. You will see a lot of people who come from European countries like Serbia, Ukraine and similar countries that struggle to get the correct visas and, therefore, have to work on more strict terms than Native English Speakers. This all seems a little scary at first, but as long as you can keep smiling and be open to a HUGE cultural shock – you will be fine! Let’s go back to getting an interview. With this, you need to know a few agents or at least someone who is already working here to assist with this. You will need to do a “demo” video which is a 10 minute mock-class that is recorded to post on a social media platform called “Youku”(It’s like the YouTube of China). Here, schools view these demos and if they are interested they will contact you for an interview. Now, a “demo” or “mock” class is something you need to ACE in order to get a good job.

The “demo” class is pretty straight forward. Basically, you need to prepare a short lesson. You can literally teach anything you think is relevant to the market you are aiming at. So if you want a kindergarten job, for example, you will prepare a lesson suitable for kids aged 2 to 6 years old. This is Basic English conversation and phonics. The best choice, for me, has always been ABC’s, a book and a song. Depending on whether you want to go for more advanced or beginner level, you need to plan the demo ahead. When you have an interview it is like any other interview, anywhere else, in the beginning... You then have to perform a demo for kids and they will decide from there if you are suitable for that position, or not. You will be given a time and date to start. This gets a little frustrating sometimes because almost everything here, is decided last-minute.

If you have landed a job at a kindergarten, congrats! Those are the best places to work because they have the best working conditions. A basic day at a kindergarten is as follows:

- 7:30-8:00 am: Breakfast for teachers.

- 8:00-8:30 am: Breakfast time for kids.

- 8:30-9:15 am: Free-Play time. Kids play indoors in the classroom areas.

- 9:15-9:30 am: “Circle-Time”. Kids have an opportunity to share what they made and did during free-play.

- 9:30-10:00 am: Themed Activity. This activity is theme-related. This will be discussed with all the teachers, monthly.

- 10:00-10:20 am: Kids have their morning snack.

- 10:20-11:20 am: Kids have outdoor play. This usually consists of 20 minutes warm-ups, 20 minutes dancing and 20 minutes free-play.

- 11:20-12:00 pm: Lunch time for kids.

- 12:00-14:00 pm: This is nap time for kids. 12:00-13:00 is usually the lunch hour for teachers, but the teachers all have to go a separate times because kids need to be under supervision at all times. 13:00-14:00 is usually prep time or meeting time.

- 14:00-14:30 pm: Kids wake up and get dressed and have some water.

- 14:30-15:00 pm: English lesson.

- 15:00-15:30 pm: Special class. Usually Art, Cooking, Tennis, etc.

- 15:30-15:45 pm: Afternoon Snack.

- 15:45-16:00 pm: Getting ready to go home and read a book.

- 16:00-16:20 pm: Kids go home.

- 16:20-17:00 pm: This is some time available to prep for the next day or have a class meeting with the other teachers. Some kindergartens have dinner available for the teachers.

This probably seems like nothing, but on top of being a full-time, full-day teacher, you have so much paperwork to do too. For example, weekly plans, lesson plans, daily plans, upcoming events, classroom decorations and so much more.

Our days are filled with hard work, but what makes it all worth it, is the love you receive from the children and the smiles you put on their faces while you make a monkey of yourself. The children are what matters. Although, some kindergartens here care only about the money and consider the kindergarten a business, our jibs as the teachers is to keep the children happy and safe.

So if you are considering coming to China, be ready to work hard, be ready to have fun and best of all… Be ready for endless laughter and love from the most innocent of all – CHILDREN!!

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