I've written before about how minor-attraction is a mentoring orientation, and how there is a need for pedophiles in an imperfect world. In this article, I will talk more about the need for MAP teachers, and how you can get a job as a teacher if you're a MAP. This article is brought to you by all the online antis who don't like the fact that I'm a teacher!

The need for MAP teachers, and the silliness of boundaries

As a career teacher, I've worked with other teachers who run the gamut of brilliant to horrific. A lot of teachers do love children, not because they are MAPs, but simply because there's a lot of other stuff to appreciate about kids. Unfortunately, there are a shocking number of teachers who do not like young people at all, and treat them as a burden to be managed. These teachers often have problems; the kids know they're not loved, and they respond accordingly. I've recently replaced such a teacher, who is now sadly teaching elsewhere.

I've not been doing my new job very long at all, and many students absolutely love me already. Some other kids in the school, who are not my students, form crowds around me, and it's not like I'm the only expat teacher. One group of kids is adamant that I should be their teacher, instead of the low-energy dude who is clearly just there to get paid. And note that I do actually teach the students properly. In fact, I possibly give the kids more work to do, and have higher expectations, than many non-MAP teachers. Those in our community who say that MAP teachers just play with the students during class time can fuck right off.

What is frustrating is that, at this job, making student-YFs would be kind of tricky. There are simply too many expat teachers around, some of whom might actually be a bit jealous of how easily I get along with the students. But there are many things about the job I do like, because I'm not just a MAP, but a long-time teacher with a range of other needs and preferences.

Teacher-student boundaries, the western version of them at least, are incredibly stupid. Most teachers, MAPs included, can be trusted not to harm the students. And if they can't be, well, they shouldn't be in the classroom in the first place. I had many student-YFs as a younger teacher, and those students were incredibly motivated to learn English to communicate more smoothly with me. The argument that befriending the students negatively affects one's ability to control the classroom is also not well-founded, in my experience. Students will behave better if they feel you love them.

Where to look for teaching work as a MAP

A lot of people who have never taught overseas assume that you need to speak the local language in order to teach there. This is a huge misunderstanding. While learning a language before you move somewhere will help you immensely with daily life, not to mention making cute local YFs, it is not necessary for the purpose of employment.

If you're looking for work as a MAP, you first need to decide whether you will prioritize location in general, ability to make YFs, or laws that are more favorable to MAPs. For the part about making YFs, it's not only a matter of country, but of the type of work you do. If you're surrounded by other expat teachers, you're going to have a harder time.

For ease of making YFs, my top recommendation would be a government school ESL job. In most cases, you would be the only expat teacher, and as such you would only have to worry about local rules on making friends with students. Even then, it's necessary to remember that teachers from any country will find it odd that you want to befriend students. They may even be quite uneasy about it, but you're very unlikely to face an interrogation about your intentions, nor to end up getting fired. Government school jobs are widely available in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

You may also want to consider jobs at small language schools where you would be the only expat teacher. These will inevitably be run as small businesses, not as educational institutions, and as such they probably won't even have policies on teacher-student interaction or the thoroughly nauseating British export referred to as 'safeguarding'. One word of warning: if you meet students outside of work, they may worry not about you being a MAP, but about you tutoring their students on the side for extra cash! In some countries, this would also be a violation of your visa terms, so such accusations are at least semi-serious.

If you're more interested in a 'real' teaching job but are not a licensed teacher, consider bilingual or international school jobs in countries that have higher demand than can be fulfilled by licensed teachers. China is one such example, although that is a country which is much better for BLs than GLs. Such jobs will inevitably involve working with other expat teachers, quasi-western 'safeguarding' rules even if perhaps not on paper, and a more challenging workload. It goes without saying that these would not be ideal for making a YF, but they're a bit more respectable, likely to pay better relative to local cost of living, and could be more rewarding for those genuinely interested in delivering quality education.

If you are a licensed teacher... a word of caution. Higher-tier international schools, even in more relaxed countries, are islands of anglo madness among a sea of relative calm. Taking such a position would essentially require maintaining significant social distance from co-workers and making YFs outside of work. Never do such a job simply because you're a MAP, as it would be a road to inevitable disappointment.

A note on applications and interviews

One thing that a lot of MAPs worry about when applying for a job with kids is "will people think I'm a pedophile?"

The answer, in my experience, is that people will not think you're a pedophile. You're applying for a job, which pays you money, and therefore the question of why is already partly covered. You can say that you like children; in fact, a lot of people will say they do even if they don't. The only thing to avoid is being weird about how you explain your motivation. If you look or sound uncomfortable, that is much worse than simply saying you love kids and then moving on to other reasons why you want the job.

One of my co-workers, an older man who is not married or dating as far as know, looked very uneasy when I casually asked him about his background and his motivation for coming to work in my current location. I didn't suspect him of being a MAP before, but I certainly do now.

"Don't shit where you eat" isn't sacred

The only time I've ever been called a pedophile is, amusingly, when I befriended many local children who were not my students. Some parents were concerned because they didn't know who I was, and they contacted teachers at the school their kids went to. Those teachers told the children I was probably a pedophile and to not visit my house. I challenged the teachers in question when I had the opportunity, and made them essentially call me a pedophile to my face or back off. It was a pretty scary experience at the time, and I wouldn't have the energy nor patience for it now. But well, they checked out who I was, confirmed that I was indeed a teacher at another school, and told the kids to just make sure they got permission from their parents.

The lesson here is that befriending students is not necessarily the most dangerous route to take when making YFs. You're taking a risk making YFs in any environment, even in a relatively relaxed country, and even when the relationship remains entirely platonic. At least when you befriend your own students, people around you can see that a positive relationship exists, that you love the children and that they love you. So is befriending students a terrible idea? It might not be the worst.

Caveats

Personality

To be popular with children, you need to show them a lot of attention, and to be high-energy and upbeat around them. This shouldn't be a problem for most MAPs. Many of us, myself included, absolutely light up around kids, even if we're introverts at heart. And we have an innate tendency to treat children with love, not as burdens. If you're not capable of this, well, don't bother teaching.

Not being an asshole

Given the very anti-social tone I take in my articles, I do want to be clear. If you're a MAP looking to become a teacher, you must offer your students proper love and care, not reducing them to sexual objects. A small percentage of men of any sexual orientation have unsavory intentions, and as such there will be a tiny percentage of readers here who might be thinking about becoming a teacher just to have sex with children in foreign countries. This is absolutely not fair to the students, and very unlikely to end well for the adult either. Prisons in many of the popular teaching destinations aren't fun.

Need help?

If you're interested in becoming a MAP teacher, feel free to contact me! I will do my best to point you in the right direction.