current frustration
May 29
Dear Choon Ling,
If you require a diversion from your tedious rumination over some accounting jargon, allow me to amuse you. Let me lament, weep, and rant while you sit and nod in your seat of tranquility and then share with me your wisdom and sharp perspectives after.
Yeah? (rubs hands with glee)
Anyway , I was sitting at the Crew Bar last night, and I met this Australian hostess. And she was like, “Ying, I can’t believe it! The new English Teacher is coming over and she’s my best friend! You’ll looooove her. She’s so easy-going that you have no problems, getting along with her.” And I was, “Yeah, I know. But I’ll only have the pleasure of being with her for a week and then, I’m leaving.” And her eyes opened, wide, and she gasped, “You mean she’s replacing you?” And I was like, “Yeah man”. Her mouth opened, closed and then opened again…”But wait….you teach..English? Oh, I’m sorry…I thought you teach Chinese or something!!!!!!”
At the point of time, I was thinking to myself. Basta! I’ve enough of this racial judgments that comes with this position. Obviously I don’t look like I can teach English even though I believe I speak better than most of my native speaker counterparts. Nonetheless, that’s not the issue. The issue is, I don’t see how I can establish a career that requires you to have the right skin colour and nationality to progress. At first, I was close to investing 1000 pounds in a professional teaching certificate but now, I think, why should I? It’s pointless. No matter how I speak or teach, it doesn’t matter until I have the right passport or accent. Which is bull but that’s how it is.
Time for a career switch-again.
I’m sorry, Steve. I know you’ve always told me that I can do it, and it was you who helped me get this gig, but this is all really hard to ignore.
No comments
Comment by @ロウ 。LOW@ on June 19, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Yes, passport does matters. Accent is not enough, though – it’s best of your could change your eye/hair/skin color.
Huh. Engelise.
Comment by J. on September 26, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I empathize completely what you wrote here. I have a British passport, speak standard english and when I had first visited China in 2001 (having been invited over by a Chinese woman who was the Dean of English Department at a University), I didn’t expect to have a red carpet rolled out for me. However, I was sent to teach in a school within the university campus for students who didn’t make it to a standard 4 year degree. Their parents paid for their education in a 3 year diploma. Well ok, that’s fine if students want to learn. However, having met the other foreign teachers – I found that they taught all English Major students on a 4 year degree, about 12-16 hours a week of class, with class size from 14 to 36. Me? I had 20 classes per week, and taught over 500 students per week and I’m not kidding! I had 2 classes with over 100+ students, one had 136 students. Apparently I got better pay – no I didn’t. So… even British passport doesn’t much help I’m afraid. After some time, they realized the students liked me and could understand me (unlike some of the foreign teachers who had strong accents). Even now in China, I’m often told how good my english is hahaha! Or for some reason, when Chinese find out I am British – they tell me I don’t have a British accent! (my American, Canadian, British friends will guarantee that I have). So yes, this kind of judging by skin colour does happen.
Comment by Ying on November 5, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for your comment and for visiting, J! That post was written quite sometime back and while things have gotten better for me, it’s still impossible to get out of the racial profiling. Nonetheless, I hope you continue to enjoy teaching English. For me, I’m going to try do something else for a change..hahaha.