Monday 12 September 2011

Hot Topic: Too Young to Teach

Discrimination is rampant in TEFL. While most schools and language institutes accept anyone who's qualified, some have age limits (ageism) and some promote sexism.

Some schools won't hire you if you're too old and others won't hire you if you're too young. Having finished high school and university early, I started teaching a couple months after my 20th birthday. I had a TEFL cert and a BA and didn't have  problems getting a job. But that was years ago.

Times have changed. Some employers want their teachers to be at least 25 to teach for them. They cite maturity as a reason. Other times, countries have restrictions. In Malaysia for example you have to be 27 in order to get a work visa. In China, in theory, you have to be at least 24 to teach English.

What do you think?
Do you think teachers should be 25 to teach?  Have you had problems getting a job due to your age?

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2 comments :

  1. I think the alleged expectation of having to have at least 25 yrs of age is absurd. I am twenty two and I teach people much older than me and never felt as if
    my young age hindered me from succeeding at the job &
    connecting with my students. True, some young people
    are simply not 'mature' but it is too subjective and
    relative so I don't believe rules could be made by it

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, though the problem is that employers may have had problems in the past with younger teachers and therefore demand them to be older. I was young when I started teaching as well.

    ReplyDelete

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