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One Stoddard County teacher spends her mornings in China (sort of)
“It’s an exciting way to begin the day,” an enthusiastic Becky Arnold observes. “My Chinese students get me revved up, and I carry that energy into my own sixth-grade classroom.”
Arnold, a rural Dexter resident and elementary teacher in the Richland district, is speaking of her role as an educator for the VIPKid virtual learning program.
“My friend Crystal Moyers, who also teaches for VIPKid, told me about this teaching opportunity,” Arnold explains. “She had been doing it for about a year, and thought it was something I would enjoy.”
Arnold went through the application and interview process, before being accepted into the program last year. She explains that the role of the VIPKid instructor is that of an English tutor rather than a full-time teacher.
The children attend school in China, so the online classes are designed to give them extra help in mastering the English language.
“The parents stipulate where they want the emphasis of the instruction,” Arnold says. “Some want me to work on pronunciation, while another may prefer to concentrate on reading fluency.”
According to the VIPKid homepage, classes are scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Beijing time, which is 8:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. central time.
“When I first started,” Arnold recalls, “I was scheduling students morning and evening, six-days-a-week in order to build clientele and become a familiar face. Since parents choose the instructor based on other parent rankings, I wanted as much exposure as I could get.”
Arnold says that parents choose instructors from their photos, as well as the feedback from other parents. She explains that parents rank teachers by assigning them apples. Five apples is the most a parent can give. Parents may also leave written comments about particular instructors.
“I have had 284 parents leave feedback,” Arnold observes, “and all but two have given me five apples. The other two gave me four.”
In explaining the process of teaching online, Arnold says the company compiles the 25-minute lessons and posts them to her account. She is able to pre-review the day’s lesson for each student, so that she is prepared when class begins.
“Time management is imperative,” Arnold stresses, “because the lessons are limited to 25-minutes in length, with only five minutes in-between each one.”
Arnold says there is no “running late” because the parents expect the full 25-minute session; on the other hand, she adds, the clock begins ticking when class time arrives, and if a student is tardy, he/she only receives whatever time is left within their scheduled time slot.
“Parents respect those 25 minutes of instruction,” she reveals, “because if they do not give 24-hour notice, they have to pay for the time slot — regardless of whether or not a lesson took place.”
Arnold says Chinese families are not unlike Americans, in that unexpected conflicts arise with the time they have scheduled.
“I have taught students who are riding in a car, or eating at a restaurant,” she laughs. “Those parents want to get their money’s worth!”
While the company prepares the lessons, Arnold must provide a “virtual” classroom space, as well as any props she may need. The teacher also must possess his/her own Chromebook, iPad or computer.
“If you already own a computer,” Arnold observes, “your investment is minimal. I have simple props I found online and printed off. I cut out the word VIPKid to hang across the map I have on the wall, and I use a small board to display the day’s rewards.”
Arnold explains the lessons are taught on a reward system, and the goal in each lesson is for the student to earn five stars.
“We use a lot of repetition in teaching,” Arnold reveals, “and the lessons are very animated. I try to make it as much fun as possible.”
She goes on to say, “We work on feelings/emotions, and I always ask how the student is feeling that day.”
Arnold says now that she has built a solid reputation among parents, she has reduced the hours and number of days that she works.
“During the school year,” she explains, “I only teach three or four classes, between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. In the summer, I schedule three to six classes — depending on our family schedule — between 5:30 am. and 8 a.m. In addition to dropping the evening classes, I also have cut back to a five-day week.”
Arnold points out that since scheduling is done in two-week blocks, it allows her flexibility in the hours she sets aside for instruction.
“We can not choose our students in this program,” she discloses, “but we do control the hours we teach; therefore, I can make myself available as often or as infrequently as my personal schedule allows.”
Arnold says she prefers to teach level one and level two instruction, which are the youngest ages in the curriculum. Now that she is an established teacher, those parents usually fill up her time slots.
“It’s not that I don’t like the older students,” she explains, “but if I get too broad in my teaching, I will not be able to build relationships with my students.”
She goes on to say, “It is through repeated interaction with individual students that I get to know them, and they get to know me.”
Reflecting on her virtual classroom experience, Arnold obviously cares for the children she teaches.
“I would never have thought I could grow to love a child I only see through a computer screen for 25 minutes at-a-time,” she observes with a smile, “but I do.”
Arnold is quick to point out that if not for her husband Paul’s support, this opportunity would not be possible.
“We have three daughters — ranging in age from second grade through high school freshman — and if Paul weren’t willing to oversee the daily morning routine, I could not do this,” she asserts admiringly.
“We definitely are a team,” Arnold laughs, “and have been ever since I first spied him back on the middle school playground 25 years ago.”
Rebecca and Paul Arnold are both graduates of Dexter High School. They have been married 19 years and are employed by the Richland R-1 School District. They live in rural Dexter with their daughters Elizabeth, Allison and Jaycee.