FEAR kept me from this job opportunity for over 6 months! I had a friend share about how amazing it was but the fear of teaching foreign students English online and passing the long interview process scared me. I also had fear that I would not be good at it because I had not taught students, besides my own, for over 11 years! I was an elementary teacher for one year before we traveled over seas and started a family, but that was a LONG time ago! I was pretty rusty and didn’t know if the early mornings would work with my schedule either. Excuses, excuses!
I let that fear say “no” to this opportunity for awhile. Finally, after many conversations and pleading from my friend, I decided to apply! Worst case, I would not get hired but at least I tried and that is what I want to teach my kids. We might not succeed at everything we try but we learn and grow from these moments. Around mid May 2018, I started the interview process at VIPKID. With sweaty palms and a shaky voice I went through my demo classes and by the end of the month I was hired! I couldn’t believe it!
(**If you are ready to learn if you can apply, I share what is needed at the bottom of my post in the “Can you apply” section.)
I AM HIRED! NOW WHAT?
I opened up the time slots I could teach. I did not have many because I had to get my three kids fed and off to school in the morning. So I opened up 4:30am to 6:30 am EST to teach. (This is 4:30pm to 6:30 pm Beijing time for the students.) This allowed me to teach 4 – 25 minute classes. 🙂 Then I had time to wake my kids, feed them breakfast and get them to the bus stop by 8:05am.
Just because I opened up slots didn’t mean they got filled by new students though. I was a new teacher and did not have a lot of experience under my belt on their teaching platform, and parents could see that. I had to earn their respect and show them I was a good teacher through experience.
I was very thankful that it did start off slow because I was a nervous wreck!! Each class that got scheduled, I had such high anxiety! I would take forever the night before to go over the lesson slides and get my props in order. I wrote out so much stuff on paper about the lesson to make sure I knew what I was to cover. I am thankful that their lessons are all laid out for you. I did not have to create any lesson plan, just follow their tips and incorporate some TPR (Total Physical Response) and props. 🙂 It took two weeks of teaching before my nerves settled and I started to enjoy it more.
WHAT I BOUGHT
I purchased some lesson planning prep cards for my Level 1 lessons from Kennesons Kreations on Etsy to help stress less.  I bought these plastic bins to organize all the lesson prep cards and a 15 drawer organizer cart to help me stay organized with props in a small space. I also needed headphones, so purchased the Logitech USB Headset H390 with Noise Cancelling Mic and love them! These were my only purchases, the rest of my props I found in my house from my kids rooms! (*The links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase a small fee comes to me. I use this money to help run the website. Thank you!)
I wanted to be able to have access to everything while sitting and teaching and this organizer cart was so helpful! I used the small drawers for props and the large drawers to plan out my lessons with props for easy access when teaching classes back to back. I spun the cart around to close me into my teaching space and had all the drawers facing my seat. When December came around my husband surprised me with a ring light to make me look even more professional for parents with great lighting! It made a huge difference!
HOW LONG UNTIL I HAD A FULL SCHEDULE
After about two weeks and a few 5 apple feedbacks from parents, my bookings started to climb. Around a month into teaching I was filling all my slots! It is May 2020 now and I have been teaching with VIPKID for 2 years and have had a full schedule the entire time. I have had many regular students who selected me to be their teacher and have been with me for over 150 classes each. I feel like finding those regulars that keep coming back help fill your schedule more consistently. 🙂 I don’t take vacations often but during spring break and a few weeks in the summer I do. I miss my students so much! They always are excited when I return to my normal teaching schedule. So they do come back if you take vacation time. Don’t worry! Enjoy that time!
TEACHING WHILE TRAVELING
Last summer, I created a fold up classroom and took it down to my parents for two weeks. I didn’t want to miss my students for that long, so I set up class down there! The students loved seeing my parents place and hearing that I was at their house. I didn’t have my ring light, so lighting was not the best but it worked and my students were happy to continue class with me. I did not bring all my props since that would have been a lot. I just brought the essential teaching items I use daily. The lesson cards were helpful here because they took up little space but had all the pictures I needed to show my students and help them learn the lesson vocabulary. 🙂
THE FAMILY CONNECTION
The connection with the families is an area of this job I didn’t know was there. They welcome you into their homes and their lives. You get to travel in cars with them, through airport security, to the park, out camping, or to the beach. I have been so many places with my students. They cannot wait to the end of class to share what they are doing and show me around. I have met their siblings, moms, dads, grandparents and pets. I have been invited to their dinner table to see what they were eating that night. I have been part of birthday parties and got to sing to them! I have been introduced to the new baby brother who was born recently. I have witnessed the fireworks outside during one of their many holidays. It is a job that is so close to my heart.
LACK OF SLEEP
The hours are hard and I will admit I have slept past my 4 am alarm before and have missed classes. I felt horrible but life happens. I learned I needed to get to bed earlier to make sure I wasn’t so exhausted when my alarm went off. I also set two alarms for safe measure. HAHA I have rushed into class with a minute to spare before too because I hit snooze too many times. Once you see the smiling face of your student though, you wake up and the joy overwhelms you! I have also used my Energize drink for mornings I needed an extra pick me up! It is a lifesaver. It is meant for pushing through workouts but works in this area too. HAHA I have also used it for long road trips. So many possibilities!
Me before then after my energize kicks in! HAHA I LOVE being silly and using props. The kids learn better and have fun! When they have fun they are engaged and learning! So just be goofy and have fun!
CAN YOU APPLY?
Here is what you need: If you have a Bachelors Degree (in anything), have had at least 1 year of teaching experience (this can include homeschooling, coaching, mentoring, tutoring or other life experiences with kids), and are eligible to work in the US or Canada you can apply to this job. YAY! They prefer a teaching qualification (in any subject or ESL) but it is not essential. I did not have my teaching certificate because it expired. I was able to take a short TESOL course as part of the application process to get hired.
Good personality traits that make a good teacher in my opinion are that you need to be able to have fun, keep a big welcoming smile on and have energy. If you have all the requirements and have those qualities as part of your personality, then you will do great! If this sounds like something you want to go for and try like me, then I would love to be your mentor teacher during the application process! Sign up here and it will connect us together. Â I will reach out to you and guide you through the process to becoming a VIPKID Teacher like myself! You won’t regret it!
MORE ABOUT MY CLASSROOM:
My favorite props I use every class are my star, microphone, hand clapper, pom pom, the characters Meg, Mike and Dino and the pictures of our American and Chinese flag. I currently teach Level 1 and Level 2. They go all the way up to Level 7! My most popular rewards are the ice cream, candle, emoji and animal clip rewards. I use what I have on hand. I haven’t bought much besides what I shared above for getting organized. I do have a fancy laminating machine that helps keep my rewards long lasting. I stick magnets on the back to use them over and over. 🙂 I also got these metal cookie sheets to use as a magnet for my rewards to stick onto.  I did buy my orange shirts from Michaels if you were wondering. There is no requirement to wear the orange shirt, but it is the companies color and I like to have a set way I look for my students. 🙂 I always have a pad of paper next to me that I write out my classes on the night before. Then I can write notes down when teaching. I write down the areas they are excelling in and areas they need to practice more to incorporate into my feedback to the parents. 🙂
When you find areas that fill a passion they become a joy to do, rather than a job. I love to teach and to bring joy to others. This job fills those buckets for me. 🙂
To stressing less and playing more,
Melissa 🙂
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