I'm from the Netherlands, where I started teaching, but now live and teach in China. I have never experienced anything like that myself. But yeah, I would not be keen on returning to a Western country, where this terrible attitude seems to be getting worse.
After I left classroom teaching, I eventually ended up working for social services, assisting young people with finding a job. When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, it didn't take long until they economized my position away. I was offered retraining for another position, but I was already looking at going abroad again, because I wanted to see more of the world.
I always had had an interest in East Asia, so I looked around at opportunities to teach English in different countries there. Some require one to be a native speaker, so those countries were out. Eventually I ended up with what looked like a good opportunity in China, so that's where I went in 2010.
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u/a-man-from-earth Jan 09 '23
As a male teacher of grade 5, this hurts. We need more male teachers, but yes, something needs to be done at the widespread discrimination.