• What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

In China everything is about face, I cannot stress that enough and it is practiced from the top of the government down. I wouldn't say the principal doesn't care about early childhood development but I would say she cares more about the school's and her image first. Twice a year people from the board of education would visit the school. For the weeks leading up to the visit the school switched from actual learning to making it appear like they have been learning. They will have the kids do hurried art projects, a few of them a day, sometimes cutting out my English class completely just to make some fake project that made them look like they knew some English. It reminded me of the scene in Matilda when they saw the principal coming and hid all the pictures and painting behind drab curtains except here it was the opposite. "Make them look like we did stuff". Sometimes the teachers, who are 18-20 years old and bend to the principal's every demand, will sleep over night at the school to "finish" the kid's art projects. It would not surprise me if the principal also slipped these inspectors some money on the side. So in conclusion all I know is what I saw at my school. I know the parents are eager for their kids to start learning, especially English, as young as possible so they have a chance to compete for a good college. I don't think they actually know what is going on behind the scenes though. My school made it a rule not to let parents in the front door. As long as it appears like they are learning the parents are happy and if they are not learning it must be the child's fault.

• What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

For a white English teacher from America you have China in the palm of your hand. You literally can work in any city at any level. If you have more experience you can earn better pay and have better chances of teaching in better schools. Me and most people that came to Beijing over the years had 0 experience teaching and 0 experience with little kids. But I learned and after 3 years my salary grew. It grows even more now. I have my resume posted on websites and I still get emails from schools all over China. They want to pay me 20,000RMB ($3,170) a month which is like double what I was making. It's because demand is skyrocketing at light-speed and because I have 3 years experience. I could teach at University level, but the problem with that is that you would make like 8,000RMB a month but the hours are shorter and you have to make dreaded lesson plans, yuck. I'll stick with singing ABC's and playing games for 20,000. I worked at a recruiting company that works with schools all over the city. They train the teachers, sometimes, and send them out to the schools. These companies are popular and an easy way to find work. I was trained with a large group before the school year started for 2 weeks. People who come -mid-semester might get a few days or no training and propped up in front of a class before they can get over jet-lag. You also have the opportunity to tutor kids on the side. I tutored some of my students and their parents. I could make a cool 3,000RMB on Sunday alone. Enough to pay all expenses for the month and then some. I also had a job at a training center where I taught a few classes of 20 kids. The opportunities are literally endless with little to no experience required, where else can you find a deal like that?

• What are some of your professional goals?

Although I took my job seriously in China my real goal was to become a screenwriter. My stay in China was a way to make ends meet while I wrote my scripts, but it became a bigger part of me. China sucked me in. I have thought about going back if I wasn't ready to make it as a screenwriter yet. If I did go back I would rather not teach classes but be a trainer for new English teachers. The pay is great and all I do is watch, evaluate, and give advice.

• What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

I have been living in L.A. for over a year now trying to push my screenplays through the door. I landed an agent finally and last week a producer optioned one of my scripts. So I am very happy about that and where it might lead. After I get in the door I would have a great paying job where I can from anywhere and have tons of free time. I really want to go back to Beijing. Maybe see more of China or just get an apartment in Beijing and live there for a few months out of the year. Maybe I'll go back to teaching just for the experience of it. I think you get a deeper, richer, more intimate understanding of China when you work there, especially with children. You get the opportunity to be invited to the children's house for holidays and help them make new year dumplings, and be taken on trips outside the city, stuff you cannot do when you just visit. The funny thing is, through all of my experience in China, I come back to the states and cannot find a teaching job because here there are strict requirements. You need certificates and early childhood development degrees and the cost of living here is high. It is a much better deal to do it in China where you can make at the very least, five times more than a Chinese teacher. Haha, I really felt bad when the Chinese teachers would show me their pay stub for 1,200RMB a month when they do everything in the class; cleaning, feeding, teaching, crafts. I teach two classes for 45 minutes then play and I made 11,000RMB. It's good work if you can get it.

My insights:

It suprises me that they hiring almost anyone to teach. I always thought they had high qualified teachers. Chinese people are seems to be way more knowledgeable then were are. 

I also would like to take this time to thank Kyle who was willing to email me back and fourth what a great experience.

References

Kyle. (2014, 10 15). (Cheryl, Interviewer)