Reflections: The Different "Asian" Teacher Personalities.

Even in working with other teachers of asian descent in childcare centres, I have met a wide range of teacher personalities.

With regard to those from Singapore and Malaysia, versus China, Japan, and South Korea. I have realised that the teachers possess different needs based on two factors, mainly the language needs and temperament factor. 

Language/ Communication Need
The first difference is the language/ communication need. I have observed from my time in different centres that for where teachers whose English is not spoken as the first language, or much at all, they are not so 'pedantic' about the application of textbook manual instruction verbatim.

The study of early childhood pedagogy in the english language is no mean task, and requires certain fluency to handle the teaching instruction.

Further compounded also by the differences in culture, it will take a while for a teacher to get acquainted and used to a foreign classroom, before being able to prepare a contextually appropriate classroom programme.

A teacher's temperament also comes into play, in how teachers view their teaching instruction.

The Temperament Factor
Have you heard of the Humors, the four different temperament types namely, Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic, Sanguine?

There were teachers I were able to get along due to their easygoing personality (sanguine choleric temperament), but there were some who were just downright testy to get along with (choleric melancholic temperament).

When I say downright testy, this means that they really need to pass a comment on about almost every single .. almost as if they require perfection, when it is not necessary.

I really do work better with a Sanguine Choleric.

Recently I've had to work with a teacher (who I supposed could be of Choleric Melancholic temperament ) who could not resist giving her perspective on every single thing that I did.

It was okay getting along with her, but having had to listen almost every hour of the day on her feedback was a bit too much to bear...! Oh dear. Perhaps her centre really urgently required a staff to come in, hence the urgency in all that.

I am relieved that the centre managed to find someone to come in.. in all things regard, for teachers of this personality type, it is better to be friends than workmates.. else I'll never hear the end of it!