You do realise that being a so-called 'real teacher' doesn't exactly earn you a shitload of respect out in the real world, away from a school, don't you?

In fact, that's probably why many teachers are absolute arseholes, they are so insecure about the fact that they haven't been that successful in life and nobody respects them, hence they tend to take their frustration out on kids. The same could probably apply to many lower-level managers in other industries whose career prospects seem to be rather limited; if you switch kids for entry level workers.

When I teach, the other teachers that I look up to and feel inspired by are usually the ones that previously had a background in other industries and have quality life experiences that they can refer to. These are often old school teachers or university professors of mine that have actually achieved stuff in life, they usually switch to teaching for a change of pace or a job that suits their lifestyle during their 40s or 50s.

The fact is that you can train to be a teacher at almost any point in your life, you don't have to have been a teacher all your life right from leaving university, to become a decent teacher.

I can't imagine Silverboy being too offended at the idea of not being a 'real teacher,' he's probably done far more important things with his life. He admits his limitations, doesn't teach kids, prefers teaching conversational English etc. I'd certainly hold nothing against him for that!

Let's face it Beth, nobody really takes a word of what say seriously and I'd say that this quote from Greg Davies (a comedian who actually used to be a 'real teacher') sums up the teaching profession (worldwide, not just in China) for those excessively devoted teachers who are a bit naive (like you), perfectly:

"Teachers don't start each day by swearing allegiance to the Education Fairies under a portrait of The Queen. It's not so much a calling as a graveyard for the unlucky and the unambitious. Between you and me, the only reason anyone teaches these days is that they've taken a more relaxed stance on police checks in recent years."