JustAGuyinHK

I am a Native English Teacher (NET) employed by the Hong Kong Government’s Education Department. I’ve worked at three schools thus far but am employed by the Government, which has checked (and double-checked) my credentials and ensured I am a qualified teacher. I am hired and can be fired by the school, but I am paid and managed by the Government. Every school in Hong Kong has one NET teacher if the Government funds it. There are rumblings, and all of this will change.

The Government is under a lot of pressure to cut costs and find efficiencies. It is not new. All governments are doing the same thing around the world. One idea is to decentralize the funding and give the schools a subsidy. Schools would be free to do whatever they wanted with the money. They could retain their current NET at the exact cost or decide to use the funds to hire two or three other NETs based on their own requirements and needs. It makes sense on a lot of levels.

In recent years, the Education Department has cut the number of teaching hours for English and increased the hours for other subjects – National Security, National Identity, and the teaching of Mandarin as it is more of a focus for the Government. While teaching hours have been reduced, the curriculum and the demands through exams and tests have remained the same. NETs, through the Education Department, are required to teach a set number of hours. These hours have not changed, but giving more flexibility to the schools would allow the schools to reduce the number of hours the NETs teach and provide more time to cover the textbook – which is on the assessments and exams. The move makes sense.

The flexibility offered by this proposal would be welcomed by some schools. If a school is lucky enough to find NETs who are well-trained, have a strong educational background, and have a lot of experience, everything will work out great. It would be a challenge for schools that struggle to attract talent.

These changes to the NET Scheme are proposals and from a few principals and administrators. The government is under financial pressure but also pressure to provide the same level of service. It will be interesting to see how it finds this balance if these changes become reality.

I got a bit older over the weekend. The past few years I had been feeling the age creep up. Professionally, I am comfortable where I was but personally there were issues. People were coming and going in my life more and more. There was this fear of growing old – alone.

This year, the feeling wasn’t as strong. It is because I found someone who may stick around a bit longer. It is someone with whom I feel I can build something. I have been hesitent at the beginning but he has won over my trust and feel I can build a future together more and more. It’s a good feeling.

There are other worries. The older I get, the older my mother, my grandmother and the other important people in my life get as well. They say old age is not for the weak. The more I grow the more I am under,standing this idea. It is getting harder it feels but it’s also rewarding.

I am lucky to have someone to share the challenges and joys.

I got the message last week from my brother. My 98-year-old grandmother fell and re-injured her pelvis. When they looked at it, she has a fracture. She would need to be on some mild painkillers and needs rest. She lives alone, in her own house, with no support. My mother drove the two hours north to care for her mother.

Living overseas is a fantastic experience, and I have been lucky to have had the chance for the past twenty years. The only drawback is when these things happen. I can’t help, run over, or lend a hand. All I can do is be a voice on the phone and try to offer some solutions and some understanding. It is tough, which is one of the costs of living so far away from family.

It is hard to hear the frustration in my mom’s voice as she tries to navigate the healthcare system back in Canada. There is this urge to make suggestions – you should, you could, you must…. It gives me the feeling of doing something or helping, even though it isn’t. These suggestions are adding more to her stress and strain, but it only makes me think I am helping when I may not be. I still remember when my father got ‘sick.’ It was a nasty skin rash, and then a few weeks later, he passed. It adds to the anxiety. It happened once, so that it can happen again.

I bought a ticket home for the Chinese New Year. After all the jet lag, it will be only ten full days there, but at least I will be home to do something.

I finally put up the Christmas Board in front of the English room. It is something I’ve been procrastinating for a long time. It’s the one part of my job where my motivation is not there.

I spent most of my lessons in an ‘English room’ where the students who came in must speak English. The room is decorated with English words, phrases, pictures and other things to help the kids have enough resources to do the writing, speaking and reading in the classroom. The board is in front of the room and takes up a lot of space.

Changing and maintaining the board is one of my ‘duties’ or my ‘responsibility,’ but it is usually ignored or unnoticed. That is why changing the board ranks low on my priority list. I still need to change it. I still need to maintain it. If it is mentioned, I feel guilty about not changing it. The last display was a ‘welcome back to school’ display. It has been up since September.

I did a Christmas one this year, as I have done last year as well. I went to Sham Shui Po, an area of Hong Kong where there is a ‘street of Christmas decorations.’ The street is called Fuk Wing Street and where a lot of the toy and stationary shops are found in the area. It would make the board easy to put up. I was lucky to have my partner to help me ask and find things which can help make the board nice.

I put it up today since it is December 1st and feel Christmas decorations shouldn’t be put up until now. As I was putting it up, the kids would walk by and mention how the board looks ‘nice.’ A few gave me a thumbs up, which was great to see.

It is up and will need to change it quicker, when I get back from the Christmas holidays in the New Year.

When my love left Hong Kong, it was hard, and I fell into a depression. Hong Kong in 2022 wasn't the best place with the borders closed up due to COVID. There was fear in the city because of the pandemic and the changes in society caused by 2019. The only thing keeping me through was my love for my partner. When he left, things for me got worse in my mood. I realized how much my life was built around him.

A few months later, I met someone through a hook-up app. I was looking for someone to talk to and not hook up with. We met, talked and enjoyed the time together. Brian just arrived in Hong Kong and went through the 21-day quarantine at his own expense when we met. He was new to the city, and it was amazing to show someone the place that I loved. The newness of things was a fantastic feeling. At the time, I still longed for my partner.

Over the months, we grew close. I've had problems with my feet for a long time until it came to a point where I needed surgery to have one of my feet reconstructed. I would be housebound – unable to move for a month. Brian would come an hour out of his way to care for me. He bought food and kept me occupied while I recovered. He moved in; I fell for him.

He is an interior designer working in food and beverage in Hong Kong in a time of hope, before the opening when new businesses anticipated more growth, which never happened. Restaurants and bars have been crushed here, with the value of the HKD (pegged to the US) being too high for places to survive. He wasn't getting paid on time. He had his extended family to support. There was pressure, and I tried to help bridge the gaps. It was hard for him, causing a lot of stress. I tried to help where I could.

Eventually, there was no work. Brian was told we would love to hire you, but you can't speak Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin). There was a job offer in Dubai, and he accepted it. I may have pushed because I knew Brian would need to do something other than interior design to survive in HK. He would struggle to support his family, and the pay for a Non-Chinese and non-Western' person as an English teacher would be low.

He is struggling. There are messages full of sadness and loneliness while I try to support him emotionally as best as I can. I feel a bit of guilt for pushing him to go. I feel sad about his situation and understand time helps, yet I don't want him to suffer. I care and worry about him but at a loss as to how to help, how to comfort when he is so far away.

I don’t know what to do.

Teaching is my profession. Counselling is also my profession. For both, I ensure I am prepared – as close to perfect as can be. It is never the goal but it is something to strive for since it is for the betterment of others. I do not ask for perfection in my life, in how I keep things which don't affect others. My only ask is my work is respected by the professionals around me.

When it is not, then I get cranky. It happened today when a teacher was late by 30 minutes. If they are 5 minutes late, it is understandable. If it is 10 then it is OK. When it is more than crankiness comes in. It grows even more when there is no notice – a message. When they come without an apology or something then it gets worse. It is not an excuse but an acknowledgement of being late or at least a respect for what I do and the effort put in.

The students came into the classroom as expected. They lined up outside the class and marched in groups except him. He ran in as fast as he could and started spinning around. I wasn't bothered, but the other teacher was trying to 'control him.' It was no use. I let him do as he pleased but gently tried to ask him if he would want to sit down and relax a bit. He grunted and let him be.

I am an English Teacher, and most of my lessons are taught by a local Chinese Teacher. I have been doing this for several years and know the ebbs and flows of how to teach here in Hong Kong. I will do everything in some classes while the local teacher will manage the class. In rare classes, we co-teach and finish each other's sentences. Either way, the needs of the students are met. When there is an SEN student, I tend to be more understanding with my background as an SEN student and my experiences working with students with challenges.

It was the first time it didn't work, and I was at a loss. The student didn't understand the need to sit still. The student didn't understand the importance of not bothering others. The other students were getting annoyed as the student would talk, touch and bother the other students. The local teacher tried to control. I tried to control a bit until I saw how all our energy was going to this boy instead of the class. The class's needs were not being met. It was not helpful.

I asked for help and was given suggestions, such as building a relationship outside the class. I am already doing that. Maybe I could use a reward system, which is already being used. We could place him in an area where he won't be a bother – it has already been done.

In previous schools, students with significant issues would be supported by a family member in the classroom. I have had mothers, aunts, and grandparents sit with students to help soothe their transition into school. Over time, the students would get better and start learning. I could see progress, and it was a wonderful thing. My fear is I won’t see it with this student.

A suggestion is to ignore the child. That hurts the most as it goes against everything about me.

I don’t know what to do and feel frustrated.