The First Day of School
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2005
1
17
21
Trip End
May 15, 2006
Chengdu,
China
Thursday, September 8, 2005
"King of the Jungle" The First Day of School- September 9, 2005
As I made my entrance into No. 11 Middle School five students lined along both sides of the entrance greeted me. One student yelled out a signal to the rest of the group as they all bowed to me in unison saying, "Welcome, teacher!" in Chinese. In China, teachers are well respected; however, this does not always mean that students are well behaved.
But this was no fairy tale made in heaven. My first class was at Class 3 Junior 1. The classroom was cold and barren with walls and a floor made of concrete
In The Classroom
. Upon entrance I immediately noticed the large amount of students in my class. Approximately fifty students packed the classroom in rows of two with pathways just wide enough to fit an averaged sized Joe. As I stood up on the teacher's pedestal I was met with giggles and wonder as well as a very high level of chatter. Having not taught in a classroom setting in awhile let alone with such a large class I was a little intimidated. And as I began to introduce myself I noticed that the crowd was still talking to one another. I got even more intimidated as just a handful of students meagerly paying attention while the other thirty kids were still chatting away. Not to mention, the fans on the ceiling were constantly making a buzzing sound. I continued to talk above the class introducing myself when one student made a comment in Chinese that ignited the crowd of "laughing hyenas" into a burst of laughter. Unfortunately, I did not understand what he had said and again I was flustered and a little bit rusty as all the classroom management skills I had learned back in America was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a moment of clarity and infinite wisdom grew upon me. Without hesitation, I pointed at the boy to stand up and motioned him to leave the classroom. The crowd was deftly silent as seeing one of their own get taken away caught fear into their own eyes. I had made my lion's roar showing them who the real "king of the jungle" was. But, as any teacher knows, that is a typical day in the life of a teacher. You have to flex your muscles once in while, put students in their place, and show them who's the boss. Otherwise, you will get eaten up flesh and bone. Unfortunately, even though I was able to manage the classroom many of the students still lacked the motivation to learn and I constantly had to send students out of the classroom. Not much learning was accomplished in that class.
In China, the public school system is quite the opposite of what you would typically see in America. Students are placed into certain classes based on their abilities; this is what education professionals call "tracking." Thus, after my first class, I was quick to learn that those kids were the lower level students, the ones who couldn't or didn't really even care to keep up with the rest of the class. In addition, No. 11 Middle School, in terms of academics is considered to be an average school. Remember, schools in China are also tracked, with the best students going to the best schools and the average students going to average schools, No. 11 being one of the average schools.
My second class, Class 5 Junior 1, was the higher-level students. Again, I was met with wonder, curiosity, and of course one class clown. And again, I made my roar and dismantled any opportunity of a possible takeover from the wily pack of hyenas. However, a possible takeover was unlikely as this class was at a higher level of English than my previous and much more behaved.
My third and final class that day was the most enjoyable and unforgettable. This class housed a little over forty students whom happened to be all girls. Again, I know this may seem sexist, but just remember were in China right now. They were my best, brightest, and most willing class of the day with good hold of the English language.
Immediately, as I went on stage I was met with an excessive amount of giggles. As I attempted to introduce myself, the large group of shy, preteen girls whispered to their friends and giggled uncontrollably. Their jolly demeanor left me uninhibited and in a laughing mood as well as we both bounced off one another laughing, and laughing, and laughing. Despite the commotion, I soon gained my composure and was able to remain cool, calm, and collective. Using body language and facial expressions to get my point across, I prodded them to break out of their shells and actively participate as many of them did. Like "laughing hyenas," this crowd of little ones vied desperately to be a part of the discussion. And for that entire forty-five minutes we were "in the zone." Their learning and my teaching were like a finely tuned guitar working in harmony to achieve a common goal. Rarely does something like this happen but when it does it is something special.
