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Comment by Hydraulix989 | Hacker News Reader

I'm not even sure why these things (Taiwan, T. Square, etc.) come up during English classes for kids in the first place?

Anyways, as a hired and paid employee of VIPkid, you are required to follow their rules, like it or not. Otherwise, you can leave and teach somewhere else.

As a western European-American who has spent time residing in various Asian countries along the China<->anti-China political spectrum as well as both blue and red parts of the US, I really don't see a problem with VIPkid prohibiting discussion of culturally and politically sensitive issues in their classrooms. That's just about respect.

If you feel so strongly/morally opposed to China's actions and history, VIPkid is the wrong forum, even if you are seeking to effect change. After all, we already are in the midst of another Cold War.

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Every so often you’ll see people who think non-English-speaking countries are left in the dark and unaware of the realities of the world, and it’s their duty as an enlightened English speaker to show the kids the light.

Every year there’s someone who goes on a mission to talk about Tiananmen, Nanjing, Taiwan, and other things. They don’t know that it isn’t that the kids need to be educated about their past by westerners, but that the kids are already exposed to that info but don’t care because they’re kids and just don’t care about things like that. They’re only in English class to memorize a few phrases to help confused tourists or prepare for a future in international work.

> They’re only in English class to memorize a few phrases to help confused tourists or prepare for a future in international work.

Primary reason is probably entrance examination, no?

I think it is because even if legally ok, this company only exists due to massive support from US citizens. Therefore, I think the natural expectation is that this company needs to allow for some flexibility due to this not being an exclusively Chinese venture.

Additionally, learning a language isn't just memorizing phrases but also understanding the culture and values behind it. If you don't at the very least understand the US/UK perspective on tyranny, it will be nearly impossible to comprehend a lot of 20th century English literature. "Big brother" is a relatively common phrase that I don't think is possible to explain in an entirely Chinese government sanctioned way.

I'm not sure how relevant going over these issues specifically is for teaching English, but in my experience Chinese culture is extremely different from English culture and there are almost inevitably going to many conflicts.

This is exactly the right answer. Big brother, surveillance state, police state, etc. the list goes on and on.

This startup is for us citizens. Students should be taught English in the way it’s spoken in the states; not some China-ok’d version. Taking a step back, the whole idea of a Chinese company teaching English primarily for US citizens is smelly to begin with. Sounds like all future students should stay away.

you wrote: "culturally and politically sensitive issues - That's just about respect."

Respect for democracy in Taiwan? Respect for the innocent victims of the May 35th massacre?

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