I consider it quite disgraceful that you even place any real value upon the idea of being a
teacher.

Surely you jest. Nevertheless, should you be serious, it begs the question as to the value of any or all of your own past teachers. Never had one who inspired you? Mentored you? Inadvertently triggered something that sent you on an amazing journey? l If not, 'tis a pity.

Foreign teachers - if that's what we're talking about - who succeed in China, even if it be by their own gauge, do so by recognizing that there is far more than mere utterances in front of a class that enable one to connect with their students and to participate in their learning process. If one sees it as a job and nothing more, it is because that's their mindset. I can't change that. I can, though, improve my own ability to connect with my students by focusing on them rather than myself.

It's easy to spot FT's abroad whose agendas have little or nothing to do with helping students achieve their goals. The silvertoddler even admits that his reason for trying to make it as a teacher in China was for the sex and the beer. There were many just like him. Fortunately, that's starting to slowly change.

I suppose there are many reasons a person can become embittered about the teaching profession. Many "teachers," for example, are lured into positions at training centers only to find that they've been duped in numerous ways. Such training centers have been discussed here, if not overly discussed, many times. I've read and heard all the terrible stories and am thankful that in the seven years I taught in China I never had to resort to teaching in such a place.

Finding one's self, though, in such an unexpectedly awful position ("Come to exotic China.") and in some cases not being able to make a clean get away, can indeed make one embittered in regards to teaching in China or, indeed, many countries where the same story often plays out. But whatever your reasoning is for making such a statement as that above, I can grant that it is your own and you've a right to it. Never too late to recant, though.

Real value. Hmm. Yeah, well, hmm.

In fact, one may as well just dress up as a 'teacher,' if pushed to attend any of the expat
Halloween parties this year.

Note to greenhorns. If you're new to China and want to actually get something out of the experience, avoid all expats and all places where they hang out. In fact, just avoid as many Westerners as possible.

And how does one dress like a teacher? I do so want to get it right.