finally

though i have been going to work for three days now I finally got to step in front of the classroom again today. It has been a really long time since I got to be in front of a class and I must confess that I still really enjoy it. I was a substitute teacher today for a teacher that was gone yesterday as well and thus the students have fallen behind. I got them caught up some and managed to have a lot of fun in the process. It is kind of odd being in front of a class of 25 boys that are all 18-19 years old. I actually had one of them ask why my father didnt buy me a car. Why did i need a taxi. So bizarre the ideas and entitlement that people have. I think the job itself will be fine the students seem excited, eager and energetic. It wont be a problem getting the to talk as it sometimes was in China. other than that life is fairly routine with the glaring exception being that I have to work on sunday. I get two days off in a row they just fall on thursday and friday. So my weekend is full of no football, no highlights just call to prayer. I will live but it would be nice to go to a bar and have a cold one and check out the big screen.

this is the end

my friend. Today was the last real class I had to teach for the next four months. I have to be physically present for the next two weeks but after that it is splitsville for me. Dont worry though I will keep you all up to date as i meander through the wrold. In fact I purchased online a shiny new toy to take with me and help me keep connected. I will tell you what it is when i get my hands on it. I also learned today that contrary to ten plus years of studying english many of the students are unable to write any sort of reasonable sentences. I had assigned one of my classes a research paper and the vast majority of the totally bombed it, verb tense agreement, sentences with objects, the works. Just a stark reminder what I will be in for next term as I will be one of the writing teachers for the english majors. It will be an uphill battle but at least there is loads of room for improvemnet.

responsible

Perhaps I have said this here before but today I had another stark reminder if exactly how different the education systems in the US and chins actually are. My story for the day is this, I had a student that I teach for oral english say that because the students choose to speak in chinese during the class that somehow the method of teaching isnt suitable for their learning style. I was and am confounded. Exactly how does one propose to learn to speak another language? Do these students think that I can just lecture and they will learn oral english? Do they want me to hold their hand and stand over them to make certain that they only speak in english? What about taking some responsibility for your own education? My teacher never made certain I was doing the assignments, I mean never more than graded assessments. If the students choose not to do the assignments given and practice discussing about the topics that are presented then I cant really help them. I can only help those who help themselves, without motivation and an internal desire to improve what am I to do?

class

I have one group of students that, let me take that back. It is flabbergasting the difference in students and expectations that students in the US and china face. While most students here will tell you that they study very hard and have no free time, I have made an informal questionnaire of students and found that almost none of my students work and go to school at the same time. I am amazed by this. It was so common for students in the US to hold a job at the same time as going to school. And it isnt as if the requirements here in china are so much greater than those of college students in america. If anything I would say the students here are more pampered, walked through and hand held. Let me give you an example. We all remember our college right? Ok I only remember some of it but that is another story. Well in college the students are responsible for making certain that all requirements for matriculation are met. If there are questions then the student must seek the counselors to answer them. Here in china the students are given their schedules complete. Told when and where classes will be, told what electives they will take. Everything is done for them, in no way do they take responsibility for their educational experience. Another example, I didnt fail any of the classes while in my college nor did I pass/fail them. But here there is no pass/fail option for the students. If they fail the entire semester they are given a make-up exam to try again. In the school I worked at before this make-up exam was never graded never looked at by any teacher, never, never, never. I was asked at that school to administer some make-up oral english exams and I was told not to grade lower than a 60 so all students passed. Show up and be told what classes you will take, dont learn, dont work and in four years there it is your college educated. I just dont get how this is good for the country and for the world. I actually expect my students to learn to show me they can think and they freak out. They act like it is the first time in their life they have had to do that, and perhaps it is. I just wonder what it is that the students think they will find once they get out of school. I am not saying that all the classes I took in college were tough and some certainly were shit and could be walked through but even in the easy ones I had to think critically about the topic. I guess it is like they say, different folks college hoax.

sorry about that

IP address conflicts. So no net for a few days.

So I chatted with my sister the other day and she was telling me about her new found fun in Muay Thai fighting. What is wrong with her? I dont mean the fighting, I mean she is like 100 years old, she must be because I am old and she is even older. And she takes up the fighting sport for fun, arent people supposed to mellow with age? Shouldnt she be like I dont know bowling or playing tennis? I probably would think different if she were still like 17 but that train left the station 20 years ago. What else happened? I had the first class of teaching the college administration. Thats right bitches I teach the University administrators english. Talk about an odd feeling I have doctors lawyers, deans , department heads, and others in the class. Today I had to give an assessment test to them so I could divide the groups up, we shall see how that goes. I can see a conflict in the future with the classes. When I lived in mexico there was conflict whenever coworkers had to become equals in a classroom, stupid petty things like the fact that a lower level worker could not have better english than a boss. And in an exercise the boss could not be corrected except by the teacher. I can see the same thing happening here. It will at least be interesting to watch the power dynamics play out in the class. I hope of course that it doesnt happen but if it does at least I am prepared.

busy busy busy

I gave my first powerpoint lecture today for a class about the culture of english speaking countries. I thought it went well. No serious fuck ups or anything but it is odd how engaged the students were. Just put a pretty picture on the screen and they ooohhh.. and ahhh.... I will give the a small quiz next week to see how much they took in. I am not so sure they were really paying attention to the information that I was presenting but they seemed to enjoy the slides. I have another two classes in the morning but these are about the history of western civilization and I have made a pretty good powerpoint for that. Again I worry that the students will not really take it in but will be passive observers to the screen, but hey all I can do is present the info in an engaging way if they dont want to learn it, well not much I can do. I must go to buy some beers and think about the classes for next week, these days go by so fast, already I have been working for 1 week and I need a vacation. Thank the lord I only have 15 more weeks to go.