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Maggie Zhang

GONG YAODONG, 39, who spent 16 years as a secondary school teacher in China, and won provincial and national awards during that time, tells MAGGIE ZHANG why he switched careers in March to work at a private English-language training and consulting agency
How has your teaching career developed?
I am originally from Zhejiang province, where I started out in 2000 as an English teacher at Hangzhou Foreign Languages School (HFSL), after graduating from the Shanghai International Studies University with a degree in journalism. After nine years at the elite high school, I took on the challenge of helping to lead Hangzhou Entel Foreign Languages School, a private school affiliated to HFLS, as deputy principal.
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Later I became vice president of Zhejiang Education Evaluation Institute, a provincial government-backed agency set up in 2012 to evaluate educational projects, including kindergartens ratings and university rankings.
In March, I took up a post as vice president of Thinktown Education, a Hangzhou-based private company with 500 staff, which offers foreign language training and overseas education consulting services.
Why did you chose to start work in Hangzhou rather than in Shanghai after graduating?
The answer is quite personal: I wanted to be with my then girlfriend, who become my wife, after graduation. I was also interested in returning to Zhejiang province, where my hometown is. I also had fond memories of my time teaching English classes part-time to primary school students while studying at university. So it was no real surprise that I chose to become a middle school English teacher.
I couldn’t help feeling under pressure to make a change and try to do something new
Gong Yaodong
What made you change careers and join a private language training agency?
I did well in my job and had won the National Excellent Foreign Language Teacher Award for Primary and Secondary Schools, and the Rising-Star Teacher Award in Zhejiang province, but I felt I wanted a new challenge after 16 years of working in the public education system. I couldn’t help feeling under pressure to make a change and try to do something new. I was the youngest person to be working as a deputy division chief at the institute and I was curious to test myself by running an education business. So when the Thinktown boss, who is an old friend, asked me to join them as vice president, I decided to take on a new career challenge.
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Did your family support your decision?
To be frank, my wife was against the idea, because she does not think I am someone who can run a business. She thought it was too risky for me to step outside my comfort zone. But later on, my wife began to understand why I made the change and backed my decision. Besides, I also want to set an example to my daughter. I want her to dare to try out something new – something that can bring new excitement to one’s life.
What’s the biggest attraction of your new post?
The prospect of working in a developing industry and having much more leeway in managing my career. Having a higher income was not the biggest impetus for me wanting to change. I was attracted by the thriving growth of the private education training industry on the mainland and I am confident that my income will increase as the industry develops.
The most rewarding thing is the possibility of doing something in addition to simply teaching students to pass exams
Gong Yaodong
What are the main challenges you face?
Being able to manage people. When working at the institute, it was a top-down management style, so I was more obliged to be responsible to my superiors. But in my new post, I have to motivate my 50-strong subordinates, who in turn give incentives to their own young , ever-changing team. It’s an industry with a high turnover rate: the old way of promising a bright future without concrete incentives and ideas is gone.
What’s the best thing about your new job?
The most rewarding thing is the possibility of doing something in addition to simply teaching students to pass exams. Working at a private education business means being able to teach the types of skills that students will find useful not only when pursuing overseas studies, but also in their future life.
What kind of skills do you mean?
Things such as critical thinking, sports, Western cultural and history. Some students feel it is difficult to make friends with classmates while continuing with their higher education overseas. Sometimes it’s not because of there being a language barrier, but rather the lack of having a common interest or understanding about topics that both sides find interesting.
For some mainland students, it may be really difficult for them to survive in the domestic education system, which is geared towards passing the nation’s gaokao university entrance exam
Gong Yaodong
What do you think of the huge rise in Chinese students opting to study abroad at a younger age?
The core issue is the very real competition for places at qualified education institutes. For some mainland students, it may be really difficult for them to survive in the domestic education system, which is geared towards passing the nation’s gaokao university entrance exam. So they may feel they will get a better chance overseas. From a cost-saving perspective, it will also be more pragmatic and efficient to send children to the US if the parent is planning for them to seek undergraduate education there. Time and money will be wasted if they spend three years fighting with the exam-oriented system back home.
There have been arguments that sending students to start secondary school studies overseas could lead to social problems, such as a lack of sufficient parental care. It really depends. For some students, their wealthy parents may be too busy to look after them, even if they are still studying at home. So with such children, it may not pose much of a problem if they pursue studies overseas with experienced educators.
Will you let your own daughter pursue middle school studies in the US?
Yes. My daughter is now in grade five at a primary school in Hangzhou. I plan to send her to the US after she finishes her junior middle school studies in China. An alternative is to let her study at an international school in China, taking A-level or International Baccalaureate courses, preparing for university studies overseas.


Why award-winning Chinese school teacher spread his wings and joined private English-language training consultancy

Chinese teacher Gong Yaodong spent 16 years as a secondary school teacher in his home province of Zhejiang province before choosing a new challenge. Photo: Sunday Morning Post

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