How to Survive (Teaching Mandarin) in South Central

Good article. Of all the places to land a job teaching Chinese, South Central has to be one of the toughest.

Yeah. I wonder if China has an equivalent?

Taipan: Thanks for sharing that, one of the most interesting aspects of the article, was the trials and tribulations of 赵老师, trying to keep control of an unruly class, and the great cultural disparity between Chinese and inner city Americans, finally making breakthroughs with his students. It almost seems like Lean On Me with Chinese.

Yeah, great article Taipan! I always get told by my dad that I could always come back to America and teach Chinese there if I get tired of living in China... but I can't imagine dealing with American high school students, even if in smaller cities like in Idaho where I come from. Even though you'd think those who chose Chinese would take it because they have interest, maybe not, as it might just be a reason to not study Spanish like most people do, as some said the reason was in this article. And don't even know if a white guy would be wanted to teach Chinese in America, even though I strongly feel that sometimes Chinese just don't see the language the way westerners see it (and need to see it in the much shorter time they have to study, unlike Chinese who are exposed to it and just told to memorize, memorize, memorize), it seems like it is preferential to have a native speaker from China. That is why ChinesePod does well, as it has both.