What stereotype have you broken?
I’ll start with one of mine.
Around 10 years ago, I struggled to get established as an educator in Hong Kong. In some places I applied for work, I was shocked to hear the words, “You are Filipino. While we believe you are qualified, the families of the students prefer teachers from other nationalities.” (I’m not saying this was the sentiment of the families— just, at least, the belief of some institutions.)
This was a decade ago, and much has changed. Collectively, early childhood institutions have changed the course, and therefore the perceptions of race and ethnicity within the industry.
For my part, one of the reasons I believe in training local talent is because, just as much as we value teachers from around the world, we must equally show our support and esteem towards our local Chinese and ethnic minority educators. It is true that we have many amazing international teachers— and we celebrate them, too. At the same time, we must invest in young people who will make a difference in their local communities.
There’s still a long way to go, but we’ve all come far— from how it was a decade ago.
This is in the Education industry, one of my areas of work. In the other— the Performing Arts— yet more stereotypes need to be broken. Let me chat about that in the coming posts.
#BreakBarriers #SmashStereotypes
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