Teaching English
I blogged a few weeks ago about our visit to Myles' friends' evening English enrichment school. It seemed that the purpose of the invitation was to entice me to teach some English classes there. It was hard to say "no," even though that was what I most wanted to say. My friends had been very enthusiastic about this school and were very hopeful that I would share their enthusiasm. They had told me that they had been talking with the school director about me, though in what sense I don't know. They also nudged me a little with a "It will be a chance for you to make some money." I gave a very non-committal "I'll think about it."
What was strange was that no one asked about my interest, experience, or even my ability to teach English. In five years of living in China, I already had plenty of opportunities to find work if I wanted to teach English in kindergartens and grade schools both in Shenzhen and Beijing. People came up to me in all kinds of places, like on the street or in the produce department at WalMart. About two weeks ago one grandmother even seemed to arrange to bump in to me as I was exiting the apartment building to take the kids to the park. She bid me good afternoon then launched into a description of her grandson's school and their need for a good English teacher. So many schools in Changping would love a native English speaker to add to their staff but have difficulty attracting talent. If someone wanted a job like this, it would be easy to find in Changping. With my interest in classroom teaching any subject low (which is shameful considering I come from a family of public school teachers), it's hard for me to get excited about these possibilities.
I had been very open with the school director that I had no experience teaching English before, or any previous jobs teaching children. Somehow, though, I agreed to teach a half-hour trial class to 6- and 7-year olds. One recent Friday evening I brought a few books, like Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and conducted a few games based on the colors and animals in the books. What I dreaded most, keeping classroom order, was never an issue as each child had at least a mother or grandmother (if not both) in the room with them. The kids enjoyed it, but I wonder if that would have mattered much at all. The school director wanted to start talking to me about schedules immediately, but thankfully, I had a few very busy weeks with guests coming from the US and Holy Week.
I have so many reservations about pursuing this further, my interest and ability notwithstanding. The timeslot is certainly a big factor. The classes are during our normal supper time. One of the main reasons we live in Changping is so that Randy can even be late coming home from work and we can still all eat supper together as a family. The amount of time involved is also a consideration. I am already busy enough with homeschooling, cooking, and cleaning (oh, the cleaning). Something would have to give to make this work, even on a part-time basis. And of course, there's the money. The proposed pay is certainly very good for this kind of work in Changping. Quite frankly, though, if the amount I would make on a month-to-month basis (like US $100-$200 per month) would make that big of a difference in our family finances, there are many other expenditures I could cut out (like twice a week Starbucks, to start) that would make a similar impact and don't require hours of unpaid preparation.
Randy has been neutral on the subject, ready to provide encouragement which ever way I want to go. He has said it might help further with my immersion, and provide me endless things to write about. If only that were motivation. Besides, he has reminded me, if I really felt the need to work, there are abundant opportunities to get involved in some magnet and motor projects with him. I haven't taken him up on that yet, either.
Even though I know I am unqualified (and uninterested!) in this kind of work, I still feel awful about not pursuing it further. I am afraid to let my friends down, because they really want me to do this. But I just can't do it. My life in Changping is already challenging enough that I really can't add the stress of a job I don't need and can't properly perform.
I have so many reservations about pursuing this further, my interest and ability notwithstanding. The timeslot is certainly a big factor. The classes are during our normal supper time. One of the main reasons we live in Changping is so that Randy can even be late coming home from work and we can still all eat supper together as a family. The amount of time involved is also a consideration. I am already busy enough with homeschooling, cooking, and cleaning (oh, the cleaning). Something would have to give to make this work, even on a part-time basis. And of course, there's the money. The proposed pay is certainly very good for this kind of work in Changping. Quite frankly, though, if the amount I would make on a month-to-month basis (like US $100-$200 per month) would make that big of a difference in our family finances, there are many other expenditures I could cut out (like twice a week Starbucks, to start) that would make a similar impact and don't require hours of unpaid preparation.
Randy has been neutral on the subject, ready to provide encouragement which ever way I want to go. He has said it might help further with my immersion, and provide me endless things to write about. If only that were motivation. Besides, he has reminded me, if I really felt the need to work, there are abundant opportunities to get involved in some magnet and motor projects with him. I haven't taken him up on that yet, either.
Even though I know I am unqualified (and uninterested!) in this kind of work, I still feel awful about not pursuing it further. I am afraid to let my friends down, because they really want me to do this. But I just can't do it. My life in Changping is already challenging enough that I really can't add the stress of a job I don't need and can't properly perform.
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