I am back in Beijing

Hey everyone:

I just returned to Beijing from Funan and I am happy to be back so that I could write to you. I have so many stories on my experience, but I would first like to write about the students.

From the number one school to the, so called, worst school, these students were so smart and eager to learn. The only difference I could see from school to school was the conditions. Below is a picture on the number one school.

And below, this picture is one of the less rated schools.

All in all, I visited eight schools, talked to over 2,500 students and spent time with over 40 teachers. Each student had an amzing personality, some were shy, some load, but all were eager to learn.

We would start the lesson with a ball game. I would take a tennis ball and thow it across the room. Some students would dodge the ball and some students would let it bounce off their heads. Once they caught the ball I would ask them a question (e.g. What is your favorite color? food? subject in school?). Then, I would let them ask me a question. Some students questions were innocent enough (e.g. Who is your favorite basketball player?)

However, some students showed tremendous concern for either their country or education. For example, some students expressed their fear of not getting the chance to go to college. Some were even confused on why we were there. Who could blame them. Only one student from the town of Funan was accepted to Tsinghua University out of over 5,000 students. None of them thought that they would be so lucky to go to Tsinghua, let alone America. It really puts a face to "land of oppurtunity" when you realize those that don't. Then they would ask me what would I do if I lived in that same situation. All I could do is give them hope. I know life is not fair and I understand how lucky I am.

After our ball game we would practice our sentences (e.g. The hot pot was on the stove.). Working on pronunciation, we would take time practicing each word. Then, we would act out a play (e.g. How do you answer a phone call in America).

First person: Hello, may I ask who is speaking.

Second person: Hi, this is ---.

First person: Hey, what's up?

Second person: Nothing, just calling to see how you are.

Then, we would finish off with some more questions. I will really miss all of the students I met. Each one special and each one so eager to learn.

Preparation

Hello From Beijing!

Well, a lot has happened since my last blog, but here are a few of the most eventful moments. We arrived in Beijing Saturday evening. From the airport we headed straight to Tsinghua.

Tsinghua is an impressive university. Some facts I think are interesting: All of its 31,000 students live on campus. The average student pays 6,000 yuan to live on campus for a year (including utilities), which is about $800 U.S. Below is a picture of the dormitory I am living in.

On Sunday we visited the Great Wall. What a beautiful day it was. If the picture looks foggy don't worry, it is only the smog.

On Monday, we started our lectures. I think these lectures are important for a couple of reasons: 1) They help us prepare a lesson plan. 2) They defined, in more detail, the goals for the trip.

When I was originally preparing for the trip my target audience was the students. Now, after attending some lectures I have shifted my focus from the students to the teachers. Many teachers in rural provinces are not certified to teach English to students. However, due to a government mandate, schools must teach students English. The best universities only accept Chinese students who are fluent in English.

The picture below was taken in one of our classrooms. Roger, our professor for this particular lecture, brought to our attention the Chinese pedagogy, "Tian Ya Shi." Which, put lightly, means "force feeding the duck." What he meant by that is that most, if not all, Chinese schools believe the best way for a student to learn is he/she must be given lots of homework and must take lots of notes. The student must not ask questions in class for that is to be considered disruptive. Now, there is nothing exactly wrong with this kind of pedagogy for we must remember that China is not like the United States. Key point, there are 300 million US citizens versus 1.4 billion Chinese citizens. However, there are 16 million people entering college in the US every year versus 4 million people entering college in China every year. What does that mean? China is very, very competitive. There are not enough Universities for all of its citizens, nor is there enough high skill jobs. And unlike the US, where students enter college based on the SAT, GPA, and extra curricular activities, Chinese students enter college based on one exam, the National College Entrance Exam.

So here are some of the challenges: To make a fun, engaging classroom environment for the students. To stay on track with the teachers goals. To not take away any respect the teacher might have over his/her students. To help the teacher feel more comfortable speaking, writing, reading, and understanding English.

These are some big challenges, but every thousand-mile journey starts with the first step.

This statue is located in the Tsinghua Science Park. Home of Microsoft, Google, and a Starbucks (with free Internet). The statue is the artist's depiction of ion relativity collision theory.

Astor Hotel

The Richard Hotel was built in 1846. Now know as the Astor Hotel, its former guests include Albert Einstein, Ulysses S. Grant, and Charlie Chaplin. The Hotel still has its old world charm. Dinners include Western cuisine along with traditional Shanghai cuisine. I had fried rice with a tomato sauce, which was like sizziling rice soup. Very tasty.

http://www.pujianghotel.com/

Shanghai

Hello from Shanghai:

What a rich city. If you don't believe me check out the following picture.

This picture was taken on the 53rd floor of Jingmao Tower. If I learned anything from my experience having coffee in Jingmao I learned about the huge economic divide between the lower and upper classes. I have never experienced anything so posh in the US and I have never witnessed so many people working so hard in the street to earn a dollar in the US too. The picture below is the normal daily commute.