View out my window at noon on SaturdayFor those of your who were worried about my teaching, I can reassure you that it is now Saturday morning and I have officially survived my first few classes. Not only survived, in fact; after my first solo lesson I could not stop smiling for the next hour. I was teaching a group of 25 Year 5 students, which are supposed to be the most hormonal and difficult group, but apparently getting them during the first few days ("honeymoon period" - who knew there were teacher terms for things like this?!) meant that I had a lot of positive energy to work with.
The best part of the experience was probably after I got done teaching, though - walking through campus and passing my students, who called me a range of names from "Teacher Ender" to "Anbul" to "TEACHER TEACHER TEACHER." I think being the only blonde in a school of several thousand - and seemingly, a city of 13 million - helps them to remember me... So I guess I've got that going for me. (Which is nice.)
Yesterday afternoon after classes were finished turned out to be equally interesting. First I observed a "teach the teacher" session, where native English speakers give the Chinese staff at the ISS an English lesson every other week. The class I observed was high level English, and Dave - a Canadian who directs the ISS - gave them a lesson on "law." I was surprised by 2 things:
- Laws in China are often very similar to - or even more stringent than - American laws governing the same issues. For example, the legal marriage age here is 20 for women and 22 for men. Child labor is illegal under 16. There is a minimum wage and a maximum workweek: about 1000 kuai a month in our province (~$150) and 20 days of work per month. When Dave pressed them on the issue, however, the teachers were quick to admit that most of those laws don't actually mean a whole lot in practice.
- Dave also opened a forum to discuss which laws are and are not oppressive; which laws would the teachers change if they could? Interestingly, there were actually a few teachers who were pro gay marriage. ("But there are no gay people in China!") On the topic of censorship, though - a word which none of the teachers had ever heard (very 1984-esque) - everyone squirmed uncomfortably and did not express any disagreement. The same was true for the death penalty; no teachers were willing to consider that it might not be the best idea to put a murderer on death row.
Finally, the closing scene of my week at work: as a newbie I was forced to sit through the parents' meeting at the school, which was essentially an hour and a half of speakers droning on in Chinese. I was not expected to understand anything but rather just sit in the audience looking competent and Western. At the end of the meeting, the Language Center presented a slide show, and I laughed out loud. Steve and I had interrupted Andy's classroom earlier in the week so we could take very posed pictures with the kids. I wasn't sure of their intended use at the time, and the whole thing seemed pretty ridiculous since they weren't even my students and I certainly wasn't actually teaching in the photos. But there I was in the slide show: me and a few Chinese students, laughing and smiling, pointing to China on the map together. I guess I have officially become part of the ubiquitous propaganda of my host country.
Scenes at TESS:
Yes, Chinglish is everywhere, but seems especially out of place outside of the Language Center. Apparently they did not consult their English-speaking staff with their trash can design. 
Lunch at the school cafeteria: duck feet! I will never complain about mashed potatoes and gravy again.
1 comment:
Hey Teacher Ender!
seems like you are off to a great start and you have a great name going for you, which is nice (Whoo Hoo Amber for making a movie reference!!). will read the next entry tomorrow.
Hugs,
Lullit
Post a Comment