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November 06, 2006
Q & A- Will I have to face discrimination issues?
Hello Readers,
As we are becoming more and more of a global community, cities are increasingly becoming more international, with people from different countries, speaking different languages, and honoring different traditions. Along with this trend, it would seem to make sense that people are becoming less discriminatory and more tolerant of differences. But is that the case?
This week, we'll take a look at a question from Ty, an Apache and Comanche American who grew up in Asia and would like to go back there to teach. What kind of discrimination will he face? For the full question and answer, continue reading...
... and then share your comments about this issue based on your experiences in the countries you've lived in.
Question:
Hello,
I was born in Austin Texas but raised all over Asia untill the age of 20yrs. old. At which time my Mother and I moved back to the US (Texas). Now that I'm older I still love to travel and teach. I'm currently a H.O.D. of a private Chinese School in Medan, Indonesia. I'm the department head of the playgroup, kindergaten and Primary 1,2 & 3 (one building). The children here are great but as with any place in the world that is cut off from the world, there exists racsim at different levels that can and does affect your pleasant stay in that particular country. I have three years experience in teaching overseas and five years
teaching ESL in Texas to Spanish speaking students. I try not to let any of the negativity bring me down. I have lived with this all my life so I have learned to tolerate the ignorance of people in these matters.
So my main concern is that I want to go back to Shanghai where I first lived when I was young. I have been planning to move to Shanghai and teach there. I also plan on making my home there. I will still visit my family in the US but I really fell in love with China when I was small. Besides, with everything that is happening right now in China, I would like to see and be a part of it. I truely love change, especially for the better. Please let me know what I'm in for in Shanghai as far as racsim is concerned in the schools there. Just to let you know, for me there's no place that I know of where this does not exsist so I'm aware of this fact. I just need to know how much and how bad is it in the city that I would like to live and work in. For me as long as I know what I'm getting into I can't complain, plus I like challenges in life. I'm not scared of over-coming adversity.
Thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail.
Sincerely, Ty (Apache and Comanche nation)
Answer:
You've asked me a very difficult question, in that in order to answer, I
have to generalize about a situation that I haven't had to experience
first-hand. I've heard from friends who were part Indian, Native
American, Malaysian, or Asian, that they did indeed experience racism in
China. However, it seemed that for the most part, once their employers
and students go to know them, they forgot about the color of their skin.
I recommend that you go to www.thatsbj.com or www.thatsbeijing.com and ask
this same question on a forum to see if you can get some feedback from
people who are in China now. The links I gave you are both links for
English-speaking people in China (the first of which is in Beijing, but
the situation will be similar to that of Shanghai).
If you are teacher-trained, that will also be a plus. If you don't
already have a TEFL or CELTA, you might want to think about getting that
before you go or while you are there before you start teaching. (The
CELTA course in Beijing is good and not as expensive, especially when you
think of the cost of room and board, as it would be in most other
countries).
Good luck!
If you have any questions, that you'd like answered on this blog, send me an email at crueckert@eslemployment.com
Carol Rueckert
Writer, ESL Lesson Plan
E-mail: crueckert@eslemployment.com
Blog: www.esl-lesson-plan.com
"I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." - Chinese Proverb
*To read more ESL Questions and Answers, please click HERE!
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About the author of this entry:
Carol, a native English-speaker who hails from the small town of St. Joseph in Minnesota, USA, and lived and worked in China for more than 7 years. During that time, she worked with students that range in age from three to more than sixty years old. She worked in universities, private language schools, grade schools, international schools, as well as private tutoring. Besides teaching, she also worked as a head teacher, an education manager, and a material development manager. In addition to working on this newsletter, she currently writes a monthly column for Time Out Beijing. Carol is also currently working on her MA in TESOL at the Oxford Brookes University in England. Look for her posts on the ESL-Jobs-Forum discussion boards!
Posted by crueckert at November 6, 2006 06:09 AM
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Comments
Hi, I live in Jiaxing, a city a little south of Shanghai. In this city there are not as many foreign teachers or westeners as Shanghai, so I feel more comfortable walking around Shanghai then I do here. The fact that I don't speak a lot of Chinese also helps because I don't understand what they are saying about me but the body language is enough at times. It may be a curiousity more then anything demeaning and I don't let it worry me as this is not my home and one day I'll pack up and leave. However, I've put a lot of work into friendships and found that the people I work with or the people I see at the local shops and markets are friendly and helpful. But the folks at home (Australia)are surprised when I mention racism in China. You have to be here to understand.
Posted by: Barbara at November 6, 2006 07:04 PM
I agree with Carol's comment.
When we first came to China, we met with racial discrimination on our first job. We were very upset when they said they wanted a white face for their college.
However, we have been in China for five years now. We have not faced any other racial discriminations. We are Chinese Americans.
The two strong points we have are our MA in Education/TESOL degrees. The other is our experience in teaching (more than 5 years) and the strong recommendations we have from our colleges and our students. We love to teach and our professionalism and skills are the keys to overcome discriminations. But they still exists in some schools so finding the right school is important.
Posted by: Ellen Tann at November 7, 2006 09:37 PM
Korea is often considered the most racist of the Asian societies, but within the schools themselves (whether you're teaching kindies or unis) you will still find that students like or dislike you based on how you treat them and your overall teaching skills. I'm not so sure what you will encounter outside the classroom in China (it's such a big country that there will be regional differences), but inside the classroom I am sure it will be similar. There is a strong tradition of venerating teachers throughout Asia, and they may well just love you to death. Here in Korea, in a town that is so racist they just Hate Us All (and refuse us admission to PC Rooms, swimming pools, etc.), a young black male teacher from the US teaches in the local elementary and the kids just adore him.
Posted by: canuckophile at December 8, 2006 07:04 PM
Small bit of humor (at least attempting it!) ... Ty, if you come to Korea, you can point out to the Koreans that you are their distant cousins, since Mongolian peoples migrated to North America some 10,000 years ago and became the hundreds of Indian nations. I am supposed to be part Cherokee (I have my doubts - have noticed nearly everyone in Tennessee claims to be part Cherokee), but I mention this to my Korean students, and they are amazed, and in some odd way, I think, rather touched by some kind of connection with us North Americans.
Posted by: canuckophile at December 8, 2006 07:26 PM
