Trouble Deciding Between Jobs - Any Opinion Helps

Just FYI, there’s a difference between a controlled demo where the best kids are selected and warned to be on their best behavior (if actual students are even present, which is actually illegal if you don’t have an ARC yet) and last period, late summer Friday afternoon class teaching a bunch of shitty, unruly, emotionally volatile middle-schoolers who are playing with their phones, sleeping, fighting, yelling swear words, ignoring you, and having random behavioral outbursts… sometimes violent and unpredictable in nature.

Here’s some light reading for you, and also the reason why I only teach adults and Uni-age students now.

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I taught in Taichung for a month, they did not have time to process my visa yet because the teacher came back to work. I taught 1st and 2nd grade.

I am not sure your purpose Drew. I don’t mean that in a good way or a bad way. Are you trying to dissuade me? :slight_smile:

He’s saying, demos are almost done with the easiest class with someone telling the kids to behave and having someone there with you. Kids are mostly not going to act out and misbehave for what, 15min? Having your own class on your own is wayyyy different. I had easy classes, I had classes I felt like I wanted to blow my brains out before going in, smart student, over achievers, under achievers, class clowns, snobby kids, and just all sorts of kids in a classroom. I guess, from my own interactions with you, and from you leaving 2 teaching jobs…why are you so bent on teaching English? Because it’s a challenge? Why? And from my own interactions with you, you seem like a very nice guy, but very indecisive and panic and overthink things when they don’t go as plan and as smoothly. These are traits that don’t go well with teaching kids.

It’s just that this is the 3rd time you asked about teaching English.

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It’s only third time? :open_mouth:

Thank you for your advice and assessment. :slight_smile:

The first time, I had experience and had no idea what I was doing. They threw me into teaching end of semester advanced classes without any training.

The second time, I got training, and I led classes in Taichung, 1st and 2nd grade, however, it was only a substitute job.

Do you have a weird axe to grind, because I swear that I don’t know you. :wink:

Anyway, I am confident in myself, so you are irrelevant. :slight_smile:

No. I’ve been teaching for 10 years. I’m trying to educate you and prepare you, based on my own experiences. I wish someone had done that for me when I first started out.

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I’ll shut up…

If you already picked up the job, good luck to you. I’m just scratching my head on why you want to teach English so much. To me it was just a means to an end, i didn’t want to teach for life. I did enjoy parts of it, and I was a competent teacher for my level. I just haven’t picked up on anything you said that makes me understand why you want to teach when there was another option for you. You want to teach because it’s a challenge? The other job also pays better no?

If you’re confident, then you’re confident. But confident people don’t usually say that in my experience. But I don’t know you personally, so you do you.

I don’t want to be a teacher forever. I want to stay in Taipei, and I cannot find another job. Besides some side jobs I have been offered, that are unrelated to teaching, this teaching job will allot me the opportunity to pursue, because it will give me an ARC and allow me to stay in Taipei. I tried for other non-teaching jobs, but I was passed over for a copywriting job. My former boss in Taichung was really impressed at the way I interacted and related to his kindergarten aged son. It was fun playing with him too. Also, I am not sure if I want to go to Japan or not in the future, but there is a really nice lady who wants to offer me a job as an ALT in Japan, so if I did get teaching experience, it would be useful if I did go that route. Plus, once I get my ARC, there is an agency that wants to hire me in a job unrelated to teaching and a Judo school near Xinyi wants to hire me to be a weekend Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher. I was also going to continue to learn Python on my free time, so that I will have a back up skill, that would allot me the opportunity to have more choice at non-teaching jobs; more than just one chance offer.

There is confidence and false confidence and there is bravado. This is not directed toward you. People often exude confidence but have no idea what they are talking about. These people are never challenged and live a sad life in a false assumption.
And other people often go through life, who are supposedly confident, but who are to insecure in themselves to make necessary changes to become who they want to be. I have seen this too much in my life. My brother, sister, etc. It makes me sad because I know that they can be whatever they want to be. Anyone can with hard work. People just get so beaten down that they lose faith in themselves. It is sad. People are way more powerful than their perspective of themselves. :slight_smile:

Sure, those are legitimate motivations. You didn’t mention any of those reasons besides you think it’s a challenge and fun. But be careful, i believe the ARC only allows you to work at one place, even if it’s the same company. Don’t be dumb and get deported even though it’s all to common to get paid under the table.

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You apply for a job posing as a teacher. You do a demo and fool the administration into believing you can teach. Then you complain when you realize you don’t actually have the skills needed as a teacher and say they threw you in without any training.

Oh boy…wow! You need to know how to teach before you go applying and selling yourself as a teacher. If you don’t have the skills and require on the job training, then you need that to be clear up front.

You taught a month as a substitute for 1st and 2nd grade. That’s nothing. Kids tend to behave well for subs. There is a carrot dangling in front of them for a report of good behavior when their teacher returns. At best, you played with some kindergartners and had an easy month playing with some young elementary age kids. Give it a semester and they will eat you alive if you don’t know what you are doing and lack confidence.

Did you have a bad day :wink:

Here we all give you our thought based on our impression to your posts, because you asked our opinion. It seems you already decided your mind, or your priority of being in Taipei became more clear through the interaction here. That is good.

I am not saying you cannot teach. Just saying non teaching job seems better for you, because you said there is that option and I know teaching English is not the career you want to pursue. But, if being in Taipei is a must for you, Taichung job cannot be an option no matter how good it is.

If you made a decision, be confident on it. You don’t need our approval or assurance on your decision.

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No, not at all. Just giving you a simple dose of reality.

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Listen, do what you need to do. We don’t know you, and you don’t need our approval. Some of the comments are blunt, but I can see where they are coming from based on what you wrote on here. Go prove everyone wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oia53xOLDmw

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Now that’s good advice! @Andrew0409

Blimey! Greenocelot is being given a hard time here. Only experienced teachers should teach? How does that work? Everyone has to start somewhere.

IME it takes most teachers, including those who have qualified with a tiny amount of practicum, around 3 to 6 months to become competent. After that it’s generally a case of whether teaching is right for them or not. It’s definitely not for everyone.

As for the horror stories - I’ve never experienced such badly behaved students in Taiwan. They’re generally good kids. At least compared to the UK.

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It’s okay. Thank you for standing up for me. But I kind expected this kind of thing on a forum, so its okay. Honestly, I had already made my decision, I was just trying to bounce my ideas of others to see what they would say. I have been talking to real people about it too. There was a scientific article that even if you challenge someones viewpoint, even if its defending yourself, that people’s brains experience a “fight or flight” response in way of similar to feeling physical pain. Some people, like you are objectively helpful and I appreciate it. Some people relate to a mob mentality and must be so insecure and happy in their real lives to act that way to a complete stranger. It is kind of sad, and I feel sorry for some of these guys. Its even more sad that they have to hide behind a keyboard to do so.

I appreciate your help, and other people who voiced objective peoples. And I already made a decision before posting this thread. I had already talked to people I know in real life about it too, who were helpful too. Thank you for your objective response, It was helpful :slight_smile:

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You were objective and I appreciate it. But the idea of proving some of the others here wrong implies that I care what they say and think, but I don’t :slight_smile: