The Importance of Flexibility

When my friend, Sable, and I came to China, we had heard that we needed to be flexible. It is very true – if you are coming to China, flexibility is a must. For example, I thought that I would be teaching elementary school (grades 1-5) and Sable thought that she would be teaching high school. We thought this because this is what we had been told when we were talking to the agent online before we got to China. However, when we got to China, we were told that we wouldn’t know what grades we would teach until a few days before classes started. This meant a couple of things. First of all, it meant that we could be teaching any grades – anywhere from preschool/kindergarten through 12th grade. It also meant that we could not prepare anything in advance. Finally, the day before we started teaching, we got the grades we would be teaching. Sable, who thought she would be teaching high school, is teaching grade one. I am teaching preschool and kindergarten.
Another reason you have to be flexible – you never know when you really are teaching or not. At first, we thought we would just have a normal teaching schedule with a normal week. But no. Our first week, we did not get a weekend off because the last week we had an extra day off and the next weekend was a three day weekend. And that is the way it is here – when we have one weekend with three, four, or five days off, the weekend before that is not off. So you have to be prepared to teach through the weekend. Then, my first day of classes, I went my first class to teach and they told me that my classes were canceled because of a meeting. So, you have to be flexible. You have to be completely fine with changing last minute. If this bothers you, then it might be a problem to come here and teach, because many things here change last minute. If you are okay with it, then it is very fun. Teaching here is a great experience so far! I am having a great time – and the changes that I have to be okay with can make it even more fun – just think of them like surprises…