Having a degree does not automatically qualify you to teach and the persistent assumption that somebody with a degree in, oh, let's say fashion, is any more qualified to teach English than Joe Bloggs off the street is is frankly ludicrous.

Neither should be teaching. In an ideal world every teacher would have a degree relevant to the subject that they teach, an additional teaching qualification such as the PGCE and if they are teaching ESL then a L2 teaching certification such as a CELTA. And like any teacher should complete ongoing training and development to keep their skills sharp.

But this is not an ideal world and reprehensible leeches like SB can waltz in to a classroom in Asia and pretend to teach English. In Europe they wouldn't even get a foot in the door of a reputable school. So with that in mind, I really don't see the point in making a distinction between the degreeless and the irrelevant degree holder. Neither is suitable to teach.

SM made the mistake recently of saying he didn't bother with sixth form, where you sit A-Levels, which is what gains you admission to university. And he had no idea what an access course was back when I mentioned it, so unless there is another route to university it doesn't sound like he went at all! Does your philosophy of degreeless teachers being unwelcome here extend to him too, I wonder?

thanks. fell out/off of her highchair today and my fault-took belts to wash and didnt have time to put back. my fauly because i pich her up too much and allow no time to do important stuff-only left her 5 secs. shes asleep now-must be stress haha-exclam mark. anyway a god time afterwards i didny pich her up, she stopped crying and took to cursing me da da da- da means beat/hit in english. if she hits her head we hit the offending furniture and say da da da.

The pics of Esther that you post show a lot of love, compassion, dedication.
I can feel it.
This is why I am glad that maybe you will consider education.
Add a couple of courses during the evening.
And one day, a bachelor degree in education....

Thanks. At the moment it's a job I'm after and not especially teaching. I have a problem, Esther is beginning to cry to sit with me when her mum (a very good mum) is present. I feel it's more natural for them to favour Mum; hence my wish to become the worker. I feel that inadvertently over the last couple of weeks her mum's feelings have been hurt. On the bright side we have the long China holiday approaching and then I'll be able to be the assistant and take a back seat.

David...
Nice name
Gives me hope that you will get nicer with time...
The reply you got: This is great news! I can imagine that your experience in China could be precious in some settings where you are dealing in the UK with students from China for example. And other settings of course. As you like children, and as you can have a lot of empathy when you want, you could be a great teacher. Maybe you could bring little Esther to the classroom where she could play with toys while you teach....
Just saying.... It is a scene that I like to imagine... Keep us posted.

A child is just a trainee adult, Fifi, I neither like or dislike them, in an all consuming requirement to do either; some are nice and some are not so so nice. However, it's nice to teach people, small ones or big ones. In China I enjoyed teaching people at both ends of life.. In Training Centres I happened upon the very young and the very old- old folk can be lovely too, and eager to learn

Wot do you mean "Gives me hope that you will get nicer with time!? You're cheeky hahaha! But I forgive you.

I entered my profile on a site with other jobs in mind and not for teaching. I have a wish to exchange my role as main child minder with my wife, who currently brings home the bacon. I never expected to attract the interest of the teaching providers. I shall not be following it up but posted the occurrence to give hope to some FT's who find themselves tin stacking or slopping out somewhere when they return from China to their own countries- you may still be able to teach if you want to is my message.

Much to my surprise unqualified teachers can teach in the west after all- so there is hope for ill-educated FT like myself. Even those kipping in derelict cars. I have just received a somebody who sent me e-mail. I politely declined as below and she answered as following. Well I'll be blowed! Mind you might have misunderstood and a 'cover supervisor' is a latrine cleaning operative?

Thank you for your e-mail. My teaching qualification is only a TEFL. That's okay for teaching ESL which I did in China for a few years; however, it won't allow me to teach in UK primary or secondary schools. I did teach English in Chinese Middle Schools, universities and training centres; all in China. Many thanks.

Regards, David.

Hi David,

Thanks for getting back to me, it's appreciated.

You should be able to teach in a school as a Cover Supervisor now, due to
having teaching experience. If this is something you would be interested in
and would like to discuss further, then please let me know a suitable time
to give you a call for a quick chat.

Kind regards,