Disclaimer:
This is just something that I am writing for shits and giggles; that might just be a little too spicy for me to submit via more mainstream channels, under my real name. Do not take it too seriously; it is not like I have actually conducted any real research and it is based solely upon anecdotal evidence and observations. Of course, those likely to be offended by such a piece would be very keen to point out my relative lack of evidence to back up my claims; yet it is also probably only a matter of time before somebody actually does some proper real and credible research and proves at least 50% of what I have just said to be totally correct.
Times are changing
There has always been a long held stereotype or two about the ESL teacher in China. Socially awkward, unskilled, unemployable back home, has a real criminal record and a fake degree, possibly a bit of a sexpat. It could definitely be argued that such accusations are unfair and lacking in truth, but throwing these claims around does tend to make certain types of people feel better.
Not only were such stereotypes lacking in truth to begin with; they’ve already started to become quite outdated as things have changed in recent times. Many of the long-term ESL teachers have decided to leave China in recent years for a wide variety of reasons. Some have got married to a local girl, had kids and after witnessing the quality of Chinese schools first hand; have decided to take the wise and sensible option of returning to their home country to raise the family. Others found that their fake degree certificates no longer worked as there was a need to notarise documents properly. Many got fed up of all of the other bullshit and got out of there before it was too late.
The idea that most ESL teachers of old were mostly complete scumbags is not all that true at all; but regardless, I’m already starting to feel that I am beginning to miss these sorts of characters. They were adventurous, loved a beer or two, weren’t afraid to admit that they loved chasing the local skirt. Such people may have not been the most successful people in the world, but they were winning at life in their own special way, rather than settling for the mundane, standard default option of what awaited them back home. I actually respected them for that.
Now, there are some new breeds of teachers heading to China. This list is by no means exhaustive. The categories listed below are still evolving and have yet to reach their final form.
Forever on the tourist visa ‘teachers.’
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These were always a thing, but their circumstances differ now.
When 10 year, multi-entry tourism visas became a reality for Americans and Canadians; some spotted the new unintended opportunities that awaited them. Such teachers may have fitted the description of the outgoing old stereotypes; but in the past their schools would use various loopholes to secure a work visa that weren’t entirely legal.
Employing teachers on work visas offered more security to the employer. After securing visas, they were then protected from regular visa raids, unless there was some deeper level of investigation going on because somebody forgot to send a hongbao. However, these also gave the school additional power and control over their teachers. A teacher’s freedom and ability to earn were always at the mercy of their employer. A visa could be easily be cancelled, putting a teacher at risk of getting arrested, detained, fined and deported. It also meant that a teacher was tied down to one employer.
Under these conditions, some may have come to the conclusion that there no point in actually working legally as long as you don’t get caught; some have found that their negotiating power has unexpectedly increased. Many teachers that would struggle to qualify for a legitimate working visa now work on tourist visas, constantly travel around rather than renewing contracts with employers under less than favourable terms, work a portfolio of part-time jobs not so legally tax free and get to regularly do those visa run trips to get that all important stamp in their passport.
Some teachers operating under such conditions have found that as they are technically working part-time, all the time; they are able to demand a higher level of hourly pay than those that have signed proper, legal employment contracts. These makes them potentially more expensive for some schools to employ. While native speaking teachers are what the parents of students desire, there is something that they desire even more: White skin, because parents are a bit racist like that.
Eastern European Slaves
Image Source: That’s Mags
Now so common that China vloggers and content creators have widely acknowledged their existence in some way or another. However unlike them, I’m not here to mock the individual teachers themselves; but simply attempt to categorise them.
New regulations have increased the cost of hiring a fully legitimate, qualified native speaking teacher substantially. Not only have standard pay packets increased, the amount of paperwork and processing costs have also risen. Schools have long employed not so legal teachers to reduce costs, but even the not so legal native speaking have found themselves able to demand better pay.
Schools have always found ways to cut corners. Schools also know that parents want white teachers and that actual speaking ability is not actually considered to be all that important. It’s not as though they actually care about educating students; it’s about making money right? Many schools have found that it’s not entirely necessary to employ a native speaking teacher. They tend to protest too much when mistreated, turn up to class drunk and may not even be all that good at teaching.
99% of Eastern Europeans are white and offer an excellent alternative solution to many a shit school in China. They’re often better educated than the average Western flash card monkey and speak English fairly well, albeit with a very strong accent. To solve this problem, they just need to claim that they come from Canada. Why Canada? Nobody actually knows the answer to this question, but they all pretend to be from Canada for some reason.
If you have noticed a recent influx of stunningly beautiful, yet modestly dressed young Eastern European women in your neighbourhood, chances are that the local school got a few of them in. They’ll often accept lower salaries than native speakers as the lower than usual ESL pay packets offered often still compare favourably to genuine bona-fide teaching positions back home. They’ll also accept other awful conditions that a native speaker would never tend to accept such as 40 teaching hours per week, living in shared dormitories and working on a student or business visa.
If you have spotted these Eastern European teachers in your neighbourhood, you may find that they rotate on a regular basis. The schools that tend to hire them are usually not licensed to hire foreign teachers, get busted frequently, a bribe is paid and replacements will come in after those teachers get deported or do a runner.
Trump/Brexit refugees and millennials:
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When Trump’s election victory was confirmed, a member of the recruiting for one of China’s better known brands of English language training centres were audacious enough to advertise opportunities for those that did not want to live in Trump’s America. Two years on and the economy at least for now, is still booming; making one wonder why one would take such an opportunity, when better things may await those that choose to stay back at home. It possibly also explains why some of the older teachers have decided to leave China, leaving a void that was waiting to be filled.
In the case of Brexit, I have actually met teachers that have said that they came to China as they feared the worst for the UK, some fearing the increased hostility, some fearing the negative effects upon the economy and so on. Some are those that previously taught ESL in various nations across the EU that due to fears relating to their long term job security and immigration status, have decided to relocate to China, the largest market for teaching English in the world.
It may therefore come as no surprise that many a newly arriving teacher is considerably more politically liberal than those of the past. These teachers tend to increasingly be more woke, not quite as exclusively heterosexual and are quite demanding when it comes to dietary preferences; in a country that mostly doesn’t give a shit about such trivial matters.
However, to their credit it should also be stated that they are often better educated than those that came before them. Not necessarily smarter than the old school stereotypical teachers, but at least their gender studies and liberal arts diplomas are genuine. Unfortunately, this can give them a self-perceived sense of superiority, they will often take the chance to criticise the behaviour and words of fellow laowai, while failing to apply these standards to the local population thanks to that thing wonderful thing that is cultural relativism.
These people will often come to China in the hope of adding foreign work experience to their CV and lots of travel photos on their Instagrams and blogs. Their social media presence will usually contain stuff about Western restaurants in China, learning a token few phrases of Mandarin, pretending to help poor people and really cringeworthy selfies. These can often be quite entertaining as you can often laugh at the rise and fall of such characters that are not always capable of sticking around for the long term like those teachers that came before them.