Teacher Needs Some Schooling

[Squirrelly J]

So, my wife is a certified Teacher (Kindergarten/First Grade)with 12 years teaching experience here in the US. She holds a B.A., a MAster's and aN Ed.S. (Education Specialist...a thesis away from a Ph.D) but no TEFL. Experience is definately not an issue. Here is our dilemma. I am a not a teacher (but a lowly Wal-Mart supervisor) and we have two children ages 6 and 4. Neither of these children speak Chinese, just English with a Tennessee accent. We REALLY want to move to China, preferably one of the big 3 cities there and teach for a year possibly two. will she be able to secure a job there without a TEFL and with a husband and two children.

Now we don't want to live large, just live. We would need housing provided on or near a campus and would need to send our kids to school where they can learn Mandarin...but in English if you know what I mean. Plus, I would prefer to be there as well!! So obviously I would need a Visa and Residency.

Can we do it??!!

[kdavid]

Your wife won't have a problem finding a job at the typical private school, or even a public school. However, after 12 years of teaching back home she'll be in for a treat when it comes to how the Chinese schools are run.

There's a chance that if you're all set on one of the big cities that your wife may need a TESOL. It seems cities like Beijing, Shanghai, etc. all require at least a BA, TESOL and 2 years of teaching experience. She should just start applying and go from there.

You didn't ask about yourself, so I assume you plan on staying with the children, which will save you on having to send them to an international kindergarten, which would be very expensive. If you plan on teaching as well, it will be difficult for you to find a good job in these types of cities with a BA/TESOL.

I'm not sure about Mandarin classes for English-speaking children. I assume there is a big market in the big cities, but it's likely to come along with a price tag.

Granted your wife gets a good job with a good school, you all will be able to come over on a family visa.

How long are you planning on staying here? If you're in it for a short-term trip, I think it will be a great experience for you all. However, as a father currently raising a child here, I strongly recommend against you attempting to try to send your children to a typical Chinese school with other Chinese children.

Your children will certainly have more educational opportunities back home, granted they work hard and study well. If you're in it for the long-term, you'll need to look into either an international school, which as I mentioned above will be expensive, or home-schooling.

[Squirrelly J]

Wow! Great information! We are certainly trying for an International School where I believe are kids could go tuition-free. We do plan on at least two years there and although I am not a teacher...I am assuming that i could get some job somewhere. (Provided they speak a English) Is this possible...one teacher (with TESOL) and one working father?

[anonymoose]

Your wife will have no problem securing a job. Most teachers here do not even have teaching experience, let alone a TEFL. However, she will need to search carefully to find a suitable and reliable job. Teaching in private institutions often pays more than state schools and universities, but can be risky as conditions will depend heavily on the integrity of the management, so find a school with a good reputation. It is unusual for a teacher to bring an entire family in tow, so I don't know how easy this would be to negotiate from the point of view of obtaining the necessary visas.

As kdavid pointed out, international schools tend to be quite expensive. As I mentioned, teachers usually do not come with families. Those with families are more likely to be involved in business some way, and often have schooling for children included in their compensation. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find exact figures on the web, but at an estimate, I guess the cost of schooling for two children would amount to a large proportion of the average teacher's salary.

[HedgePig]

I really don't that much about schooling costs and even less about teachers salaries and almost nothing at all about the original poster's background, so don't take this too seriously......however I don't think this is veyr feasible. The average, or even above average, English teacher's salary will not support a family of four. (I'm assuming the OP wasn't counting on landing a job himself.) It seems to me that the only way this could work would be if your wife found job at an international school - which would pay relatively well compared with most teaching jobs - and your children attended either a local school or the international stream of a local school. Of course if the international school offered free or low cost schooling for teachers' children then that would be an option too.

International schools are more than quite expensive. I think you are looking at around US$20,000 p.a. per child although there is quite a bit variation. There are also local schools with international streams which are often considerably cheaper. Attending a local school (not the international stream) would be the cheapeast of all but is almost certainly not a practical solution as there is a huge difference in the approach to education and you won't get any support from the school in bridging the gap. You'd certainly need to hire tutors to help your children and even then it's going to be a rough ride.

If no-one in the family speaks Chinese, then moving to China, without any company support, is also a major undertaking. It's very different for a single person or a couple to try China as an adventure compared with a family uprooting and moving.

Sorry to sound so negative but from what you've described it sounds like there are some major obstacles. However, if you do decide to make the move, I wish you all the best!

[xianhua]

Is language acquisition for your children the key motivation for spending some time in China? If so, whilst the experience may be invaluable in some ways, returning home one year later without further exposure to the language may leave Mandarin as a distant memory for the children in years to come.

[Squirrelly J]

Xianhua,

Language acquisition is definitely something we are looking for our kids to learn, along with a new cultural understanding (which here in southeastern Tennessee is badly needed!). We would probably agree to a two-year committment and then return back to the US and be involved in the growing community of Chinese expatriates here in the US.

We are absolutely now focused on my wife seeking employment at one of the larger international schools for financial reasons and also looking to see if there is any work for myself as a non-Mandarin speaking US citizen. Tourism perhaps?