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Q: English teaching is like prostitution
The people who make the most money are young, attractive females.
You make less as you get older.
Nobody wants you after 60.
The more experience you have the LESS people want you.
Hehe
10 years 47 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
You have to pretend like your enjoying it
You have to pretend that you like the person/people
You charge more for groups
You say what they want to hear
You make them feel "special"
You often think, "As long as they pay me, I don't care"
Drinking makes your job easier sometimes
Sometimes you just feel dirty at the end of the day
You do special requests
You are always looking for more clients
Your bosses make money off of you, unless you are freelancing
You feel 'wrong' when you give it away for free, unless it is someone you like
Yep... Sounds like a prostitute to me. But, then again the same thing can be said for any job. Even mine.
Xpat.John:
Silva/Mattie, I can honestly say that I haven't got a clue what you mean by that. But I am sure your heart is in the right place.
Traveler:
Yep. Silva's heart's in the right place; it's his brain that seems to have trouble working.
ElenaDob:
I have to put my two penny in. It takes heart to teach, not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. I've been teaching English in China for 10 years. Many people ask me, "Aren't you bored? You have to teach the same stuff every year." It's NEVER the same, I have two boxes of different lesson plans & there's even more stuff in my computer, every year it's different. I keep the lessons which work & get rid of or modify the ones that didn't work out.
It is test time now. I was thrilled to the core to hear a student saying yesterday that "the boss called him on the carpet for falling asleep at the wheel'.
A girl said she doesn't want to marry her boyfriend because "he smokes like a chimney".
Another boy said he "botched up the simple job the boss asked him to do'.
I'm proud to say that I taught them those expressions.
They were excited to hear about Queen Boudicca & compared her to Chinese Mu Lan; after the lecture about St. Alban, a boy drew his portrait & gave it to me; they were on the edge of their chairs listening to the story about Vortigern's plot, Hengist's treachery & compared Vortigern's love for lady Rowena with a Chinese stratagem (美人计).
It's my honor & privilege to be able to touch the lives of these students & witness their change. Western culture has too much to offer to ignore English.
So guys, while you're whining & complaining about China, I'm teaching your language & the history of your country.
Students feel your passion, it's contagious, you pass it on to them & they start looking forward to the next class.
Sorry, my message is not very organized. My point is: You have no idea how lucky you are to be in this country at this time period & teach the most beautiful language in the world.
Yours faithfully,
Non-native speaker.
Shining_brow:
Wow - Elena, what do you teach?? Are you doing English Lit?? History?? Dull boring language only studies doesn't get that interesting! Closest I get is teaching the history of the language (so they have some understanding of a) why it's so damn hard and the rules change all the time, and b) so they can start looking for the patterns (ie, Latin and Greek cognates)
ElenaDob:
They asked me to choose between "A survey of the Western Civilization" & "the History of the UK". I also teach oral English.
And don't forget who's making the most money out of the services. It's not you the teacher it's the person that tells you what to do. (
!
On the positive side:
I am being paid to serve the needs of 20-y-o girls - about thirty of them at a time. It takes some stamina, but I'm very happy to be used in this way.
You have to pretend like your enjoying it
You have to pretend that you like the person/people
You charge more for groups
You say what they want to hear
You make them feel "special"
You often think, "As long as they pay me, I don't care"
Drinking makes your job easier sometimes
Sometimes you just feel dirty at the end of the day
You do special requests
You are always looking for more clients
Your bosses make money off of you, unless you are freelancing
You feel 'wrong' when you give it away for free, unless it is someone you like
Yep... Sounds like a prostitute to me. But, then again the same thing can be said for any job. Even mine.
Xpat.John:
Silva/Mattie, I can honestly say that I haven't got a clue what you mean by that. But I am sure your heart is in the right place.
Traveler:
Yep. Silva's heart's in the right place; it's his brain that seems to have trouble working.
ElenaDob:
I have to put my two penny in. It takes heart to teach, not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. I've been teaching English in China for 10 years. Many people ask me, "Aren't you bored? You have to teach the same stuff every year." It's NEVER the same, I have two boxes of different lesson plans & there's even more stuff in my computer, every year it's different. I keep the lessons which work & get rid of or modify the ones that didn't work out.
It is test time now. I was thrilled to the core to hear a student saying yesterday that "the boss called him on the carpet for falling asleep at the wheel'.
A girl said she doesn't want to marry her boyfriend because "he smokes like a chimney".
Another boy said he "botched up the simple job the boss asked him to do'.
I'm proud to say that I taught them those expressions.
They were excited to hear about Queen Boudicca & compared her to Chinese Mu Lan; after the lecture about St. Alban, a boy drew his portrait & gave it to me; they were on the edge of their chairs listening to the story about Vortigern's plot, Hengist's treachery & compared Vortigern's love for lady Rowena with a Chinese stratagem (美人计).
It's my honor & privilege to be able to touch the lives of these students & witness their change. Western culture has too much to offer to ignore English.
So guys, while you're whining & complaining about China, I'm teaching your language & the history of your country.
Students feel your passion, it's contagious, you pass it on to them & they start looking forward to the next class.
Sorry, my message is not very organized. My point is: You have no idea how lucky you are to be in this country at this time period & teach the most beautiful language in the world.
Yours faithfully,
Non-native speaker.
Shining_brow:
Wow - Elena, what do you teach?? Are you doing English Lit?? History?? Dull boring language only studies doesn't get that interesting! Closest I get is teaching the history of the language (so they have some understanding of a) why it's so damn hard and the rules change all the time, and b) so they can start looking for the patterns (ie, Latin and Greek cognates)
ElenaDob:
They asked me to choose between "A survey of the Western Civilization" & "the History of the UK". I also teach oral English.
I'm not young or attractive, but I got some reasonably high paying jobs. I'm over 50, and qualifications and experience did count.
Of course, I knocked back about 95% of jobs offered, because the employers were unrealistic.
No, the people who make the most are the Chinese people who employ you, Blondie is a distant second place.
Expat John nailed the answer.
Most forms of work imply 'pimping' your services out to others while a superior of yours earn more on your hard work than you yourself will.
In my line of work, the holy grail of positions is to be a professor in charge of a pharmaceutical lab, because much of what comes out of that lab has your name on it. Even if all you did was approve the research. Any profit that comes out of it you get a sizeable take. More so than even those who worked on the project.
For teaching, I think the true benefit is not monetary, it is the impact you have on your students lives. When I was in my late-20's I often had to teach freshman and sophomore biology classes. I met many people who started out learning biology to meet degree requirements, then later changed to a major in biology partly because of the conversations and lab projects I had participated in with them. At the time, I wasn't making a killing doing this kind of work at my university, but knowing that I could pass on my passion in the sciences to others felt very fulfilling. I think this is a good teacher.
Later, you get your own store/ school and have girls work for you. You become their mother. So if you teach long enough you become a mother.
Only insofar as English teachers get constantly screwed (and not by choice) by oppressive Chinese autocrats pretending to be people/job management experts. But that holds true for Chinese teachers, as well. Exploited, intimidated, humiliated, poorly paid and overworked.
if your not in business for yourself , then you have to follow the bosses wishes.
if your gonna be a whore , be an appreciated well paid whore, the the well paid are in demand and can ask for more money and should always be looking for greener pastures.
if your a lousy whore'worker' and you know it and have a stupid boss, stay there and be content with the steady bed partner you have.
I have a feeling some of these lines are going to be stolen and used on open-mic nights at expat bars.
