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| Britain |
| Teddy bear teacher heading to China |
| 2008-01-02 |
| A British woman jailed after her students in Sudan nicknamed a teddy bear Mohamed said she plans to continue teaching abroad -- this time in China. Gillian Gibbons, who was released early from her 15-day jail sentence after two British Muslim colleagues intervened, said she now plans to take up teaching in China, The Times of London reported Tuesday. "I've been to China on holiday before and loved it," Gibbons told Hello! magazine. "Besides which, I know I'm the most notorious teacher in the world at the moment, but I'm hoping that perhaps no one has heard of me there. I'm driven to follow my dream of teaching abroad again." Gibbons said she hopes her teddy bear -- which she renamed "Barnaby" -- will be less controversial in China than it was in Sudan. "It's just a standard geography tool. He travels to different places that the children can learn about. The children take him home and write about him in a book. These bears are completely innocent; they're just make-believe classmates for the children," she said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #8 New teddy named "Chiang (Kai-Shek)" |
| Posted by: borgboy2001 2008-01-02 18:51 |
| #7 With a stuffed dragon named Chi'ien Lung? |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-01-02 12:35 |
| #6 Great, another failed human coming to China to teach English. The Chinese are going to be furious one day when they finally figure out the caliber of person that they get when they advertise for teachers at $500/month. But, the Chinese absolutely refuse to accept anything but basic instruction from a Chinese teacher - the foreigner is paramount. |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-01-02 12:26 |
| #5 As long as she stays out of the Uighar region of China, she can stay out of trouble with the Muslims. I wouldn't call teaching in China exactly a step up. The Chinese government are equally viscious when it comes to Westerners, inappropriate public behavior or comments; or undesired private behavior in any event. Falun Gong, protesting in Tiannamen square, support for the Dalai Lama and Tibet and attending underground churches comes to mind. Open support for Taiwan in regards to the Chinese military buildup can be treacherous. |
| Posted by: Delphi 2008-01-02 10:02 |
| #4 then starts handing out blue handkerchiefs for Britain Day to remember the opening of trade 1834. BTW, I've been on 'holiday' in Cancun, but people keep telling me that it is not indicative of the rest of Mexico. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-02 09:21 |
| #3 She's still got the bear? Whaddya ya think that'd fetch on EBay? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-02 09:01 |
| #2 I don't think she's the most notorious teacher in the world, but she seems to like teaching in dictatorships. If she had chosen Singapore as her next venue, her saga would have proceded to its logical conclusion. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2008-01-02 07:49 |
| #1 "I think we'll call him...Mao" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-02 07:25 |