I entered this job with a feeling of trepidation. I had taught both adults and children in South America—I absolutely loved teaching adults and felt so-so about teaching children. So—honestly—I was a little nervous that I’d totally hate a year of teaching children full-time. But, after interviewing with Rob and feeling great about Aihua itself (hearing from multiple people that they actually enjoyed teaching children), I accepted the job offer.
Surprisingly, at Aihua, I loved teaching children from day one. It was a new challenge, a new adventure. And Aihua made it so easy and fun—the training included tons of examples on how to teach young children who understood very little English, lists upon lists of games to play in the classroom, and helpful classroom management techniques that were oh-so-helpful when teaching high-energy children. My first class—a Saturday morning Pockets class with six little 4-year-old children who were enthralled by a balloon and giggled at everything—stole my heart.
Aihua provides the tools necessary to be successful as one of their teachers. From ensuring that we’re provided with everything we need from a subway/bus card to a functioning cell phone, to providing helpful western management and Chinese staff and support for teaching, they emphasize providing for their teachers, which is invaluable when you’re in a sometimes confusing and frustrating country like China and don’t speak the language.
Teaching at Aihua has made me into a better teacher. I’ve learned how to communicate well and manage a class full of beginner English speakers, a level which I had minimal experience with before. I’ve learned how to teach a variety of kids’ classes, from my class of four adorable, shy 4-year-olds to my larger classes of older kids mostly ages 8, 9, and 10 who sometimes bring way too much energy to the classroom. Teaching is a lot of work in some ways (it’s certainly a job that’s high on prep time), but at the end of the day it’s so worth it!
Each time little chubby fingers hand me a piece of sticky food saying, “For you!”—that I secretly hide on my desk to throw away later after saying, “Wow, thank you!”—and each time a little student throws me a big smile and yells “Lǎoshī, Rachel, Teacher!” across the school in an excited voice, my heart is stolen again.