Teacher’s Journeys with Totally Teach

At Totally Teach, we are so fortunate to be able to help so many people. Sometimes, we are lucky enough to get to know some of our teachers really well and continue to help them year on year. We love seeing our teachers grow and achieve their goals!

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Teacher James and he’s been kind enough to share his journey with us:

Teacher James’s story

When we returned to the city that never sleeps in 2018, we had become parents and that fast,

vibrant city didn’t quite suit our needs anymore, as a family. “It wasn’t an easy decision leaving Shanghai in 2020. It was basically a second home to me, a lad from the North of England, and to my wife, who originally hails from the North East of China.

Luckily, Rowena at Totally Teach provided our family with a great opportunity to move to a new, quieter city; Jinhua. There we were able to enjoy more days in the park and socialise with other families, as many of us had started at the new school together, we became and have remained what I believe will be lifelong friends. It also helped me to gain further experience in what would be my last exclusively kindergarten-based job.

I think part of the reason for trusting Totally Teach has been that they have instilled in me a sense that it is possible to find a job based on where you feel your journey as an educator should go. With this newfound confidence and a contract ending, I decided it was time to look for a job doing what I loved, teaching drama and dance.

This was what I first did out of university, years ago when I set up an all-boys dance company. I also taught theatre and dance workshops and lessons in various institutions in association with dance companies in Plymouth, UK. Yet I had never yet made that direct connection in China, I had taught kindergarten drama programs etc, but now I was looking to exclusively focus on performing arts again. So, it was natural that I turned to Totally Teach once more, as they (in my experience) are most likely to get you the right job that fits.

I found just that - a performing arts position with a top international School in Ningbo, I had a very positive chat with the foreign principal who left a great impression about the school from that initial interview. Fantastic unique facilities such as a skate park, and a well-run school with amazing classes that focused on the students’ learning experience. It sounded like an environment and an opportunity that was too good to miss.

I am happy to say that it is exactly as I thought and our family loves it here. I highly recommend using, and staying, with Totally Teach to help guide your teaching career - wherever that may lead.”

A big thank you to James for sharing his story and if you’d like to see any of James’ WeChat Channel videos of his life in China, head over to JamesN92 and give him a follow!

If any of our previous teachers would like to share their story to be published, please contact the recruiter you dealt with.