Confucius Says: Teachers Rock!

It is nice to be in a country that values education and teachers.  Taiwan, and much of Asia, puts great emphasis on education at the family and societal level – children are strongly encouraged to do well in school and schools are funded appropriately by the government.  We’ve all seen the statistics of how US students compare to their Asian equivalents in standardized tests – they are well behind in science and math.  This is in addition to the fact that students in Taiwan, China, Korea, and Japan all start learning English, in addition to their native language, beginning in Kindergarten!  They have an entire additional subject to learn, but still manage to outperform American students.

A lot of experts have weighed in on this issue, but it seems clear to me that the high value of education stems from Confucian values that place great responsibility on the younger generation to serve and learn from the older generation.  Also, Confucius himself was a teacher and taught of the importance of learning from the society’s elder members. Confucius thought and philosophy are alive and well in Chinese culture – there is even a National Teacher’s Day which was celebrated last month.

Teachers in Taiwan not only enjoy a more respected social status than their US counterparts, but they also enjoy a better salary.  Although my hurried googling didn’t result in any definitive numbers that adjust for cost of living, I can speak to our experience as English teachers here in Taiwan.  We are able to live a much more comfortable life here in Taiwan by working just a fraction of the hours that we worked while in Texas.   Combined, Jess and I now work under 30 hours a week, but are able to afford an apartment downtown, eat out at restaurants most days, and travel around the city as much as we like.  I’m not saying any of this to brag, but to highlight the contrast with our financial situation while in the US – we worked 100 hours a week combined, cooked at home for nearly every meal, and dared not waste gasoline.  Of course this comparison involves more variables than just teacher salary, but it is a huge difference in lifestyle for us made possible by being professional educators.

It hasn't all been easy. My search for a part time teaching position has had many ups and downs over the last month, mostly because I have very limited hours of availability due to Jess’ schedule.  I interviewed and was offered a job as an online tutor working in the evening (8-10) and weekends.  I even signed an employment contract, but there was a misunderstanding about which kind of foreign visa I have, so I couldn’t apply for a work permit.  Luckily, the very next day I was approached by one of Jess’ coworkers about a tutoring opportunity for twin 1^st graders who attended Jess’ school last year.  Two days after being disappointed about the online tutoring job, I was sitting in a fancy apartment tutoring two cute kids in reading for twice the pay of the online position!  Again, it is because society places such a high value on education that tutors are so well compensated and teachers are able to enjoy comfortable lifestyles. 

We're looking forward to getting back to the States, but we will miss the perks of teaching here.  We'll just have to plan on working to raise the status of the education profession in the US so that teachers are given the respect and economic incentives they deserve.