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| Sophie, preparing to teach our first Junior I lesson |
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| First day portrait |
The Junior Is are by far the most excited to have foreign teachers, they are 12 through 14. They wave frantically when they see us and are always really active (and hyper-active) in class. The fact that they are so enthusiastic is a huge advantage when teaching, especially because Sophie and I plan all these crazy games for them. The biggest negative in teaching the Junior Is is their diverse skill level. Junior I is the first grade after primary school, and students had their primary education in all different places. Some attended school in Nanjing, some in surrounding rural areas. This means that while many students speak English fairly well because they have learned it in school before, others have never spoken a word of English and don't even know the alphabet. This is a bit frustrating for me, because not only am I literally unable to translate into Chinese for them, but also because the point of this class is to only speak English! I hope the combination of complete immersion in my class plus the grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure in Chinese during their other English class should get them on track fairly soon. However, in the meantime, Sophie and I plan activities that are simple and usually require a class response instead of an individual response, because some students truly don't understand a word we say.
The Junior IIs are interesting because they are in the middle, ages 13-15. Some are excited to talk to us and some are teenagers who are totally over school and over playing juvenile games. One of our classes is really noisy and talkative (in Chinese, though) and the other class is full of silent little angels who hang on our every word. It's a funny comparison. Their English is pretty decent, and I foresee being able to have debates and discussions with them in English by the end of the year. Sophie and I are starting out slow with them though, still gauging their skill level.
I really like the Senior Is, who are 14-16 (which is great because my brother Liam is also 15!) Like Liam, many of the students are much taller than me, which is kind of intimidating. They have never had a foreign teacher before, because last year the Grinnell Corps fellows taught the Senior Is who are now Senior IIs. There is a group of them who are going to New York City in two weeks so Sophie and I hold a short "question and answer session" with them during our office hours, but their questions are basically limited to "Where do I buy Coach purse in New York?" and "How do I make American friends?" Sophie and I want to do fun things with the Senior Is like discuss short poems, have debates, and talk about American culture. I think this class will be the most fun to plan.
The other teachers at Nanda Fu Zhong are great. Since my office is very far away from the Junior I classes they always insist that I "have a rest" at their Junior I English faculty office. They offer me water, hot and lukewarm, and ensure that I'm comfortable. One of the English teachers (who I happen to like a lot) always insist I sit at this desk chair to rest as he stands and does his work on the other side of his desk, even if there are other empty desks available! I told him we should take turns standing and sitting, but he decided "it's always my turn to sit." Sometimes, the teachers offer me things that I don't want or need, but if I say no they keep insisting so I just let them do whatever they want. Whenever I seem tired, they insist of getting me more hot tea, even though it's 85 degrees outside and the hot tea just makes me MORE hot and sleepy. It's actually really nice to have a ten minute break in between classes to take notes on the class before and gather my thoughts.
In my last post about school, I mentioned the morning and afternoon exercises that seem so unusual to a foreigner. Add to the list: eye exercises. In between certain classes, the students do these little eye massage exercises. Over the loudspeaker, a voice (with calming music behind it) counts and directs the students to massage around their eyes and at the bridge of their nose. It's really great to watch. I believe it was instituted during Mao-era China and it's a vestige that has remained into today. It is supposed to improve the students' eyesight... and most people believe it truly works. When I told a teacher that we don't do eye exercises in America, she seemed kind of confused. But she later figured it out: as an American, I don't need eye exercises because my eyes are naturally very good, given that I don't wear glasses (she doesn't know that I wear them for reading but...) Since the students have their eyes closed and they think no one is watching, I once saw a kid stick his fingers all the way up his nose and massage that for awhile. I mean, I guess students also need to improve their olfactory senses during class as well.
Yesterday, Sophie and I read a speech in front of the whole school, to thank them for allowing us to teach here. I was supposed to do a speech in Chinese, but I asked Fang Laoshi if I could stick to English... a decision I did not regret one bit. Before the meeting, a bunch of Senior I boys in camo hoisted the Chinese flag while the students stood at attention. Apparently, the summer before Senior I year all students have to attend a week or two of military training to entice them to join the army after they graduate. During the Monday morning announcements, all of the kids have to stand, whereas I feel like in the states it is compulsory that students be able to sit. Such a different mindset.
This week, Sophie and I are teaching Junior Is about items in the classroom. Junior IIs and Senior Is are learning about shopping, because Senior Is have a textbook we are supposed to use. The textbook is infuriating because there are so many mistakes, but we will make it work.
I guess China Doll is officially a teacher now. Crazy!!!
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