Why I am leaving China

So this is a long story to say the least. I have cut it down to the basics, but it has actually been a lot more complicated than this. And despite this less favourable end to the journey, I have had an amazing time in China; I have learned so much from the experience, and I have no regrets whatsoever.

So firstly, it is worth pointing out that it was never my intention to leave as early as October, and I am  very disappointed that my adventure has been cut short. A few weeks ago, I made the decision that I would most likely return home in December/January, having had 5/6 amazing months teaching here, as opposed to the 10 months as planned. I have enjoyed every moment of my time in China, but I feel that teaching here is not something I want to do long-term, and five months is enough time for me to get everything I need and want out of the experience. I needed to make my decision so early, in order to allow the school enough time to find a replacement foreign teacher.

I cannot express how truly incredible my time here has been, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity. I am immensely proud of myself for taking the plunge and giving it a go, I never thought that I would ever have the guts to do something like this, and I have accomplished so much in such a short time. It is crazy how much I have learned; about myself, about life, and about how much I appreciate all of the people I love in my life. I have also improved and gained some useful teaching skills and methods.

BEAR- GRRRRR

The process of my leaving early started when a problem came about relating to my VISA. My employer asked me to come to China on a three month tourist visa, and that they would organise getting my working visa when I arrived. This was because they wanted me in China as soon as possible, and a working visa is a longer and more complicated process than a tourist one. However, when the time came to apply for my working visa, it emerged that I cannot apply for a working visa in-country, because of the type of tourist visa I have. And I actually must leave the country before my three month tourist visa expires. I can then apply for a working visa when I return to England, the problem with this however, I will need to wait several weeks before I can apply for re-entry to China, it will then take at least four weeks to process my working visa application. By this time, it will be late December, and so it would be senseless to return to China for one month.

I have considered going ahead with returning home to get my work visa, and then returning to China in January, and remaining until July/August, which will be the length of the teaching contract. The principal and other teachers at the school have expressed that they wish for me to stay as long as possible, and will be very sad to see me go. After two weeks of conversations, emails, and some heated discussions with a certain senior member of the school (someone who has caused me many problems since I have been here, and is responsible for the mix up with my visa), I have decided that returning to China for a further 7-8 months is not the right decision for me at this time.

The Pictures below show the  moments after telling the Children that I will be returning to England, I was showered with hugs and kisses from the adorable little people. Some of the Chinese teachers at the school have praised my teaching methods, and have asked if they can have copies of my teaching materials before I leave (English videos, songs, cartoons, and home-made worksheets).

I am in here somewhere!

I am indeed very disappointed that I have to go, but I don't see it as a wasted opportunity, rather as something that will open many doors to other opportunities. One thing I have taken away from this journey, is that everything happens for a reason, even if the reasons are not always clear at the time. And so I am looking at the positive aspects of returning home (KFC is my main priority.... Hugging my mummy is a close second!)

Being a Teacher

I absolutely love teaching. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than seeing the children learn and progress because of something that I have done. I prepare all of my own lesson plans from scratch, and create all of my own materials and resources.

I have three different classes at the moment; A class of older children aged 4-6, there are around 25 children in this class and the number is growing as the weeks go by. There are then two classes of younger children; aged 2-3, each class has around 25+ children [trying to control a class of 20 two/three year olds who don’t understand a word you are saying, is most definitely as hard as it sounds!].

I realised quite quickly how much more I prefer working with the older children than with the younger ones. Classes with the babies can be fun; they are incredibly adorable, and they do the funniest things. But, I find that classes with the older children are a million times more rewarding, as well as more engaging and fun. I struggle to create lesson plans for the younger children, and can sometimes find it a chore. I am very restricted by what games and activities I can play because of the rather strict way the classrooms are run, and so classes are becoming repetitive. The Chinese teachers want the young children to stay seated at all times, and anytime I get them up and excited to play/dance, the Chinese teachers make all the children sit back down. With the older class however, I have free reign, and I love thinking of ideas for our lessons, I can be as creative as I like, and I always look forward to delivering my lessons with them.  I spend hours of my days off searching for useful material, and creating worksheets/resources for them, and I enjoy doing so. The other teachers at the school have praised my teaching methods, and the children always seem excited for my lessons.

I have definitely learned that teaching very young children is not right for me, but it is proving to be an interesting experience and I have still learned lots from my lessons with the babies. I feel more passionately now, about completing a PGCE in Primary education when I return to the UK, and I look forward to a career in Teaching.

The one thing I do not like about teaching here in China is the way the schools are run and organised. Of course I anticipated a different approach to education and learning when I came here, and although I fully respect their own customs and ways of doing things, I do not feel they are something I could deal with on a daily basis as a long-term career. One aspect of the school day is that in a 10 hour day (The Chinese teachers are at school for 11-13 hours every day!), the children actually only have about 3 hours’ worth of actual lesson time, the rest of the day is spent eating and sleeping. This involves a lot of standing around, and can be very boring for us teachers. The most frustrating aspect of the way the school is run, is the strict code of conduct, there are many rules; most of which inhibit fun and exciting ways of learning. 

The School day:

8am-9.15am: The children have breakfast

9.15am-10am – lesson time

10am-10.15am – fruit break

10.15am -11am – lesson time

11am-12pm – The children have lunch

12pm-2.30pm – Nap time

2.30pm-3pm – snack time

3pm-4pm – lesson time

4pm-5pm – dinner time

5pm-6pm – children go home at all different times during this hour 

My Lessons: