September ... I once again pulled out the VIPkid link, dusted it off, and this time I filled out the application form online, following the advise of others from Youtube and blogs. I scraped out any and every child teaching experience that I could think of and listed it. AND they were interested! Looking back, there was one I should have written down. The year I taught kindergarten, I had a little girl that was learning English as a second language in my classroom ... but I forgot.
The VERY NEXT DAY I had a returning email... Let's set up an interview!
So, now I panic. I needed to set up a space, we were still moving and unpacking. I needed a headset too. And it took a few weeks to get all of the required essentials together. I contacted the company... what is the next step?
We set up an interview ... and wouldn't you know, our city had a frightful thunderstorm roll in right as the time for the interview rolled in. It was loud enough that Oscar heard it and laughed a few times. Twice during the "mock class" our internet and lights were knocked out for a brief second, and God blessed and brought them right back. I certainly would pass on the tech side! And ... I passed! Without a teaching certification, I was not offered the top dollar ... but it was a lot more than I've ever made! You get offered a "per hour" rate ... but you are actually paid per class with bonuses at certain milestones. Such as, if you are on time, you get a bonus for every single class that you are on time for.
So, now I was on to step 3. I needed to set up a mock interview to pass a certification for actual teaching. Up until that month, the set up had been ... two mocks and you are out of here. Now, you take the mocks until they feel you are ready. It took 3 for me to get the background and lighting and pacing down to what they liked. In the process, I rearranged my living room 3 or 4 times.
But finally, I passed the Level 2/3 Certification. This would give me 2 levels to teach .. except, they were switching kids over to learn in the "Interactive" Level 2. So, I decided to go for that one as well.
Knowing what I do NOW, I would not have signed my contract until I passed the second certification, but ... I did. And while it was not related ... I promptly got very sick. I ran a fever for 4 days, and slept much of that time. Obviously, I did not open slots to teach while I was sick. In fact, I didn't do anything.
By the time I got myself pulled together and started to open slots, nearly 2 weeks had passed. I got booked, cancelled, booked cancelled. Sigh.
Eventually I slugged through the mail and found the "take these special workshops for new teachers" email. I started in on the list, but missed out on several bonuses because I didn't get them all in within the first 2 weeks.
Eventually, I did pass the Level 2 Interactive as well, but it took 3 tries in the "fake classroom".
Maybe this wasn't for me?
Thanksgiving was approaching and the company began to offer "PPT Short Notice" bonuses ... most kids in China take their classes between 7pm and 9pm Beijing Time. Most teachers dropped the number of slots that they were willing to open during the Holidays.
So each morning, I got up at 4am, set up the classroom, and waited to see if anyone would book me on short notice. Crickets.
On the other side of the coin ... I managed to watch the entire 5 Seasons of an old favorite TV program in order on Amazon Prime. That had been on my bucket list for ages.
I kept taking Workshops. I kept doing Hutong Challenges. I joined various FB groups. I changed my pictures. I changed my video. I changed my tags. I had plenty of time between 4am and 7am to do all kinds of things in the absolute quiet.
Then, on Christmas Eve's Eve (43 days from signing that contract) ... I was booked. It was 1:30 AM ... BUT I was booked!!! And I taught my very first class. The next morning, I taught a Short Notice class at 5:30 AM. Christmas Morning - I had all 4 of the PPT slots booked! and of those 6 classes 3 of them rebooked for 2 weeks out (one of those is still with me)! By the end of December, I had taught 10 classes. The first week of January was similar to Christmas week. I finished January will 46 classes. And some of those kids were coming back! My first payment in January was not much (November and December combined), less than $200 ... but it was money! And I more than doubled that for the month of January!
So, now the challenge was to keep the kids coming back and giving them a great class.
AND THEN ... it was Chinese New Year .... turns out the Chinese are fiercely Family Oriented and Holidays were frequent and important....
And a friend found a garden decoration that was a sheep on a stick. Now, I collect sheep. My house has so many of them... so it was an excellent prop. I named her Sparkle and let her give the stars. The kids LOVED this! And suddenly - I had my gimmick for the parents and kids to remember me.
So ... what next? Will I fly or flop?
