Comments on: school and art projects

By: The Man

The Man — Wed, 04 Jun 2003 08:04:31 +0000

Dude,

You are a good teacher.

It is nice to see people who actually try to teach and not just play bingo with the kids all day.

Their English might not be good…but you are making them becomer better, and someday they will be good because of people like you who care.

peace out,

The Man

p.s. that stuff about Dre and stuff was SERIOUSLY funny as shit!

By: katie-ah

katie-ah — Mon, 26 May 2003 10:02:34 +0000

Forgot about Dre!

FORGOT ABOUT DRE.

You’re my new hero. Seriously.

By: gran

gran — Sun, 25 May 2003 09:26:00 +0000

I enjoy talking online and your comment replies. some residents had a lively discussion over where you caught {sic} your salmon. I have been thinking of what you will do for your birthday. I WILL BE THINKING OF YOU WITH LOVE.

By: wayne

wayne — Wed, 21 May 2003 19:34:25 +0000

I know what you’re saying. My first time out in China, I taught this adult conversation class that met once a week. All I had to do was show up and they’d give me a sheet of discussion topics, an envelope with my salary (I think it was 180 yuan for two hours), and a bottle of water. I learned so much more about China in the couple of months that I taught that class than in that whole year I spent in a classroom learning Chinese.

I ended up quitting the job since it was an hour commute each way and I found a closer, higher-paying gig. It involved essentially baby-sitting 50-60 5-year olds at a time. It just wasn’t the same.

I absolutely understand what you mean with your comment about being more of a clown than a teacher. Goodness know that’s what I was doing with those kids and pre-teens, jumping up and down and saying goofy things just to get them to pay attention.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Tue, 20 May 2003 15:04:08 +0000

Wayne - I would love to get a job teaching adults, or at least kids with a non-shit level of English. I mean, I like hanging out with the kids, I like playing with them, I like talking to them, but I have to say that, with few exceptions, teaching them just sucks ass. So I try to amuse myself as much as possible during classtime.

Donny - I’ve found that whenever a foreigner is teaching kids, he’s expected to be more of a clown than a teacher. I know for a fact (from overhearing the kids after the times I jumped up and down on my watch in front of a class, or stage-dived off the teachers’ podium, etc. to prove points that I no longer remember) that I am generally considered by the student body to be wacky and fun and crazier than a shithouse rat.
Oh, and in response to your comment on the last post - yes, a Chinese girl, but unlike approx. 1.3 billion other Chinese people, she has a sense of humour.

Adam - in some ways, I feel that using Chinese in my classes has put me at a disadvantage, since the kids, being mostly lazy, will now use Chinese to talk to me outside (and inside) of class even when their English is more or less good enough to converse. This is fine for me, of course - the more practise the merrier - but it doesn’t improve their English much.

By: lu

lu — Sun, 18 May 2003 14:41:15 +0000

haha… the kids are so cute…

i laughed once every three lines.
it’s usually wise not to eat or drink while reading ur entries. :)

By: donny yoo

donny yoo — Sat, 17 May 2003 13:25:29 +0000

have you ever thought about the impression most chinese students must be getting of “Americans”? the ones who go overseas to teach English for a year are the adventurous ones, the ones with a little bit of a cracked skull.

maybe there’s a reason why many chinese kids think americans are all crazy waiguoren

By: wayne

wayne — Sat, 17 May 2003 11:26:05 +0000

golly, i like teaching adults so much better than kids because you don’t have to spend half the time telling adults to shut up and pay attention. i can deal in general with the concept of students not hanging on the teacher’s every word for every second of class because hey i drift off in class as well sometimes. what really gets me is that they feel they have every right to completely ignore me because i’m just another laowai. if some chinese administrator were to poke their head in, they’d all sit up straight. i usually give up after a couple of weeks and think that if the couple rowdy boys don’t learn anything, tough shit for them.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 16 May 2003 18:56:02 +0000

Funny, I seem to remember The Time Brendan Jumped Across the Room on Top of the Desks in Mrs. Glover’s class. You always seemed to enjoy that class…

By: Adam Morris

Adam Morris — Fri, 16 May 2003 17:19:35 +0000

I miss using Chinese in my classes. I learned a lot that way. Now that I’m a tutor for international school students there’s really no reason to be using Chinese.