There once was a little English teacher in China who mistook himself for a linguist. Yeah, I know, horrible, right? He was often asked questions about English that he had no idea how to answer (i.e. What’s the difference between use and usage?).
So he did what every other expert around him has done at one time or another: He acted like he knew the answer and provided a highly ambiguous yet sobering academic response that confused and confounded his students — or colleagues — into never asking any more questions — ever! After all, when it comes down to securing a paycheck, it is better to stifle learning and creativity than being honest about your inability to perform professionally as an English teacher.
(The bad side of “fake it until you make it” is that you might have to fake it for the rest of your life, which is actually surprisingly easy to do as long as your bank account is refilled monthly.)
But he didn’t stop there. Oh no. At times he thought himself a philosopher and at others a theologian. Living in China has its perks beyond the obvious. When you look around everyday and you see so many people living such different lives, thinking such different thoughts, eating such different foods, and not being angry about such obvious nerve-wracking things, you can’t help but wonder about God and his (non)existence.
What was the little English teacher thinking? Doesn’t he know he’s just a little English teacher in China? Maybe he should stick to what he knows — although it may be greatly overestimated, I hear.