Amity Teachers Program
Why Teach with Amity?
Amity is a Chinese organization. Amity is an independent Chinese development organization, established on the initiative of Chinese Christians. Teaching through Amity allows you to work in partnership with Chinese people to meet the needs of Chinese society.
Amity helps ensure equal educational opportunity in poorer areas of China. In China, command of English is an important prerequisite for education beyond junior middle school, and lack of qualified English teachers is one important reason why it is difficult for students in poor or rural areas to compete in examinations for limited places at senior middle schools and university. This lack of access to higher education and career opportunities, in turn, perpetuates a cycle of poverty in these areas. In order to address this problem, Amity places most teachers in small (poor) regional colleges which train teachers for Chinese middle schools.
Amity provides orientation and support for teachers. For new teachers, Amity sponsors a summer training program held in China. This program provides introductions to language teaching in China, Chinese culture, and the church in China. It also provides training in adapting to life in China and negotiating problem situations. Additionally, there is individualized instruction in Chinese language during which participants gain experience in conducting their own Chinese study programs, working with tutors. Finally, through the experience of summer training Amity teachers get to know each other and become a community for professional and personal support.
During the academic year Amity staff from Nanjing and Hong Kong visit teachers at their schools, and teachers have opportunity to see each other, share experiences, and discuss professional issues at regional meetings during the semester and at conferences at the beginning of the school year and during winter vacation. Amity staff members in Nanjing and Hong Kong are available to provide guidance and support as requested, and are also actively engaged in developing teaching materials.
Amity provides an excellent opportunity to learn about many aspects of Chinese society. Amity is engaged in a broad variety of programs, including medical training for health workers from remote mountain villages, assistance to orphanages, projects in rural development, and rehabilitation work for blind people. Amity is also involved in a joint venture with the United Bible Societies for the publishing of Bibles and hymnbooks in China. Working with Amity allows you to learn more about these other projects, and more about Chinese society.
Teaching through Amity allows you to work in cooperation with the Chinese church. The presence of Amity teachers is a response to an invitation from Chinese people. Amity sees teachers' service as a part of the witness of the Chinese church and the church universal. Amity does not encourage teachers to consider themselves evangelists, and requires that teachers respect the three-self principles (self-government, self-support, and self-propagation) of the Chinese church. Teachers are encouraged to participate in local church services.
Working with Amity makes you a member of an international ecumenical family. Amity cooperates with churches and church-sponsored agencies in many countries; teachers come from over a dozen nations and from a broad variety of faith backgrounds. Church-related sending agencies not only supply financial support for the Teachers Program, but also serve as a link to church communities at home with which teachers are encouraged to share what they learn during their experience in China.
Financial support for the Teachers Program comes from church-related sending agencies. Candidates for the Teachers Program are selected and financially supported by church-related sending agencies which work in partnership with Amity. Thus it generally is not necessary for teachers to raise funds in order to participate in the program. (In rare cases where individuals do require some fund raising, it takes place in a context of strong church or denominational support.) Sending agencies not only provide financial support for the program, but an additional level of orientation and support; many sending agencies have pre-departure orientation meetings, visit teachers on site, and provide support in other ways.
