Backblog: Kids Names

I don't have kids any more 'cause I'm not a teacher any more. But here are some of the best real "English names" given to students:

Apple (super popular)
Drean
Canthy
Bony
Jewey
(paired with) Devil
and my personal favorite: Godspeed (If you did an auditory double take, and asked the kid again, he'd say " Godspeeeeeed!!" And put one hand out to fly like superman

Backblog: School Lunch

(This one almost made Anne lose it)

Early on, someone told me I should order a serving of the vegetarian lunch, rather than the meat lunch option at school. They presented the rationale that the school makes 30-some-odd trays of meat lunch and 1 tray of vegetarian lunch, so meat lunch is just likely to be bad since it's made in such mass.

Makes sense.

Then I hear about another school's emergency drill: All of the kids pretend they get food poisoning and the teachers try to help them (I think this included re-hydrating and mopping more than anything else). This would be hugely entertaining with my hammy little munchkins. And some of them would probably forget to pretend and actually toss their cookies. One clever teacher pointed out to a nurse that the teachers all eat the same meals as the students, so they'd be food poisoned too. And the nurse responded that the vegetarian eaters, young and old, would be least likely to be sick simply because the vegetables won't make you sick from under cooking.

Makes more sense.

Unfortunately, at my main school, the kids and teachers who ate vegetarian ate from the same large trays. Eventually, when I stopped being so tickled pink by the opportunity to casually ask them what foods they were picking (in English), I noticed the kids behaviors... Like when they put things back in the main dish to reject it from their own dish. Or when they show me "LOOK JennyWei. I have a cold sore in my mouth" and then serve. Then I stopped eating lunch at school at all.

I'm a slow learner.

Weekly Mandarin:47

47th edition: Coo

Emotional woman + last day of classes with very small, very cute people = coo

Good-bye dinners with people who have taken care of me all year = coo

It is, unbelievably, that time of year. My little first graders are going to grow up into 2nd graders. My fourth graders, who have come SO far in English class this year, are going to be 5th graders, which are practically graduating 6th graders.... But I won't be here to see it. And despite my frustration with our school and program administration, I love many of my fellow teachers and the kids we teach.

"Coo" means "cry," something that is essentially unavoidable during transitions in my life.

Every first grader was given a little heart-shaped sticky note. Which they then took turns trying to stick to me. It was difficult to communicate to them "No, sticking it to my skin will not work. I am simply perspiring too much." They did, however, cover the front and back of my shirt, part of my capris, and even one on my glasses.

One of the first grade homeroom teachers made me a handmade book with photos from teaching her class all year. And she collected all the students' notes into a little portfolio. When I started looking at these, one of the first graders turned to my co-teacher, who was taking pictures. He said "She's going to cry. 3...2...1.... she's crying." Smart boy, learning to read women that early in life.

I don't pick favorites. Really. But if I did... Ken (on my right shoulder) would be one of them. He spent the entire day of Dragonboating with our team. And he was the little guy who ran along the bank of the river with our flag while we were racing.

I'm tearing up just thinking about these kids.

Post Number 100

I officially feel like a rockstar, simply for having successfully uploaded 100 posts to my blog.

This entry is a weird one. The place I take Chinese classes also has afterschool-type classes for young learners, where they do arts and crafts or get homework help. Unlike cram schools, they don't actually seem to want to push kids PAST the point that their public school classes are going (which I sincerely appreciate). But here's some of the kid artwork that is lining the entranceway of the building.*

I think this one should be titled "Why Dodgeball Was Outlawed in East Brunswick School Systems" (where I grew up... after Columbine, our school couldn't do archery or play dodgeball, it would apparently make us violent)

This uses the fairly sophisticated visual device of using a mirror. To show the worst haircut a kid could ever get, and all the kids laughing at him while his (mom?) haircutter is pleased with her work. Evil, sadistic life-ruiner.

... that day my water bottle blew up in the middle of class. And all the girls laughed at me. And a ghost.

I feel this kid's pain. Dragonboat at 6 AM is killing me. And this girl has not only her homework to worry about, but also an apparent problem with liquid output during sleep.

This is my favorite. I think this is a cram school, because there are textbooks for every school subject on the shelf. And I do believe that the center figure, notable for her burning aura and blonde hair, is a foreign teacher. Yay us! (Please note young man flipping off the teacher)

This one is totally open to interpretation. Best interpretation in a comment gets a cookie when I get home.

*- I have no context for knowing if these are things that happened, worst nightmares, or what. But they seem pretty realistic interpretations of some of the stress I see these poor kids going through.

Kids.

For learning phonics, the first graders learn to say the letter's name ("A"), the letter's most common sound ("aaah"), and the vocabulary word for the letter ("apple!").

But we had one kid who reveled in a word he'd learned somewhere else, and instead of U-uh-umbrella, we got:

U-UH-UNDERWEAR!!! hehehehehe

Weekly Mandarin:33

33rd edition: Mang (Actually, I have a lot of trouble saying this word)

One of the members of our Advisory Panel assured us that the last semester would last exactly 20 seconds. I can definitely attest to it lasting longer than 20 seconds, but it's going by more quickly than the first, at least. Why? Because it's so mang, or busy!

Now I'm teaching at two schools. And I love taking my Chinese classes in 1 hour chunks, but dividing the three hours over three days means that there are three sets of homework each week. I'm also working away at the English Neighborhood teacher resource website (yeah, I know, big surprise I'm working on another teacher resource website). AND I'm spending more time on the weekends going and doing things while the weather's good and before I leave Taiwan in general (this morning, in the glorious weather, I went for a bike ride!).

So, if the blog posts are a little brief or not so creative, please blame the busy-ness.

Also, I actually learned this word in the second chapter of my Chinese textbook. So, before I could say "Where's the bathroom?", I could say "I am very busy." Oh, the close ties between language and culture.

Weekly Mandarin: 25

25th week: Ju Shou

Next semester, I'll be teaching different grades at the same school I've been working with this year. So this was my last week of classes with the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th graders. And silly me, I thought that giving them candy, telling them they're smart, and reminding them that this was their last impression on me would be enough to get us peacefully through the last week.

However, their misbehaviors did solidify the term "ju shou" in my brain: raise your hand. I don't know it from Chinese class cause I'm a spoiled kid in a one-on-one tutoring class:)

There may be a hiatus in Weekly Mandarin while I'm in the US... which will not be a place to improve my Mandarin, but will be a place full of new wonders, like salad bars, pizza, family, and indoor heating.

Weekly Mandarin: 24

24th edition: Kao shur

Kao shur, kinda rhymes with lao shur (teacher)... and they happen at the middle and end of the school term... that's right. Kao shur is an exam.

Luckily, I didn't have to take an exam myself during the past few weeks because I'm an adult and I chose to take Chinese class.

Unluckily, I spent a remarkable amount of time writing, rewriting, administering, and grading kao shur (s) for my students. And I personally graded almost all of them (about 285 out of 315).

The whole experience reminded me of a major reason why I wouldn't want to be a classroom teacher for the rest of my life. I hate giving tests. They have the potential to break kids down and make them feel like they haven't accomplished anything. They're really hard to make valid measures of a student's learning. And here, they are really really important to kids and parents.

Entire families are committed to their childrens' success, even on elementary school midterms. I was shocked to hear my students tell me about what their parents thought of their grades and the corporal punishment used in homes to respond to anything but perfect scores. I've had kids tell me they failed because they got a grade below a 90. And, honestly, that just makes me want to give all the kids A+s because they're good people and shouldn't be emotionally or physically hurt over English class. But then it would just lead to more chaos later down the line when the same student has a less constructivist teacher and ends up "failing" later on.

The importance of testing here is a real culture shock for me. The last classroom I was a part of ran on the paradigm of giving A's to everyone because students and teachers are doing the best they can. Honestly, this testing season has made me even more convinced that testing is a bunch of bunk and nothing I want to ever do again.

On a related note, here's a picture I took pretty soon after I arrived here in Taiwan. This was the front of one of the local high schools, and the red sheets you see here are the students' scores on their college entrance exams. Posted, on the sidewalk, for everyone to see. They're even lit up at night.

It's intense, and I have no idea how students survive this educational culture with any interest at all in learning.

Weekly Mandarin: 22

22nd edition: Jia ren

I'm late, I know! I've just been busy: Christmas, teaching, globe trotting. Sorry.

In any case, Christmas week's Weekly Mandarin was jia ren, which means "family people." Christmas abroad wasn't the easiest thing ever, because you don't really realize what you've got until you don't have it available. So I was definitely thinking wistfully of real Christmas trees, ovens to bake cookies in, and the friends and family I've spent so many Christmases with. But, I ended up with a pretty good Christmas with a few gifts and calls from the families at home (Dad's family, Mom, my sister, the Brian, AND the Williammees of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia) and the families I'm creating here, with my host family, haircut family, co-teachers, fellow Fellows, and of course, my students. Here are the highlights of Christmas in Taiwan...

With the sixth graders, we had a little Christmas party where we sneakily made them practice their new grammar structure and vocabulary. And they needed to put the hat on me.
I don't think most of them understood that in the US, sometimes we have real trees as Christmas trees.
Or for that matter, yes, my dad is a Chinese-American.

Christmas pictionary with the second graders-- what's he drawing?

T is for Christmas TREE.

Me? I don't pick favorites. At all. Technically, she's not even one of my students! This is the famous Gladys:)

Things I Forgot to Mention About School

So, I kind of forgot to write about school in general, and how it compares to the U.S. for better and for worse and some other reflections. Thanks for the reminder, Loraine!

I was very very confused by the introduction to Taiwanese schools that we got during orientation. They explained that we (meaning Fulbright English Teaching Assistants and our coteachers) teach with "learning through play" but that the rest of the school teaches in a drill-and-grill approach. Most classes (core subjects like math and Chinese) are taught by "homeroom teachers" and then we are some of the special subject teachers. Sometimes I feel bad playing some crazy game and getting the kids all wild, and then turning them back over to their homeroom teachers to do sit-down-and-listen class.

As far as class hours, the structure is actually really fascinating! Kids begin public school at first grade, and in first grade, they take classes 4 half days and one full day per week, with full days running from 7:40 to 4:10. The second graders have 3 half days and two full days, etc, etc. I think it's pretty developmentally sensitive-- although teaching those second graders on one of the few afternoons they're at school is tough! I should also mention that these are only the hours that the students are in public schools, about 70% of my students also attend afterschool "cram schools," sometimes for 5 hours again after public school. It's pretty intense stuff and causes some painful gaps in the classroom, unfortunately along socio-economic lines.

The actual structure of individual days include 10 minute breaks between each class when the kids are supposed to go outside and run around, and one twenty minute morning break for the school's exercise dance. There are also twenty minute periods for cleaning time, when the students are responsible for many aspects of the school's upkeep, like sweeping, window washing, picking up litter, etc. It could be interpreted as child labor, but I think it gives them a sense of belonging to and responsibility for the school grounds and community. My favorite bit of the schedule is that lunch time also includes a 40 minute nap time period for students and teachers alike!

Extreme Cuteness Alphabet

G

H


I
J (which, of course, stands for "JENNY")

Storytime!

Besides my classroom teaching (17 periods per week, plus prep) I'm also reading stories to 2 or 3 classes per week. This can be a challenge with language learners-- since my sixth graders have the English of a native second grader, but think that they're too old for picture books. I would love to know some very short, simple language stories that aren't really picture books per say, so I welcome your suggestions. Right now, I think I've found an option with a book of minimally illustrated Aesop's fables. With the older kids, they already know the story so it's really a language exercise for them. So far so good.

I'm a narcissist. We did a book about a teacher for Teacher's Day.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar with fifth grade kids

A silhouette game after a Dr. Seuss book on shapes
(with Gladys, the adorable and brilliant daughter of my co-teacher, Hopkins)

Teaching and Learning Tidbit

So far, I haven't made any kids cry in class yet. One of my kids did start putting a plastic bag over his head today in class, but I don't think it was a comment on my teaching.

I did, however, make myself cry in Chinese class today. (To clarify: I was crying while I was a student in a Chinese class at the University. To anyone who knows the phonetic alphabet, I was absolutely failing at distinguishing the zi, tzi, si. And my teacher wouldn't let me sit down and give up despite my protests of "but, I'm really stressed out.") I have so much more empathy for these kids now that I'm in their shoes (as a language-learner myself).

Kids are great but...

My friend Kate told me about an admissions question to her education grad program that posed that question.

After only a month of teaching in a classroom, and reflecting on my other teaching experiences, I would fill it in with the following options:
... they can be real jerks! Like the kid at the Constitution Center who kindly informed me that I was breaking out, kids can be quite insulting. Sometimes they don't realize they're saying things that are unkind, but several of the angels I've taught know perfectly well where the line is and how far past it they are. I'm glad I don't speak Mandarin, so so it's easier to let it roll right off.
... they're really stinky sometimes. At least I know I'm not the only person on this island who sweats constantly.
... sometimes, enough is enough. We had classes on Saturday, specifically, we did a my most demanding class schedule on Saturday. And then we did it again on Monday. I can say without a doubt that I'd sincerely prefer the company of my boyfriend, my family, my boyfriend's family, my friends, or my own peace of mind.

Jenny Lao Shur!

Those of you keeping up on your Weekly Mandarin already know that this entry is about teaching--specifically, my first day at my school! I'm going to be working with Sing-Sheng Elementary School in the lovely city of Yilan, co-teaching classes for 2nd, 3rd, and 6th graders with my partner teachers Hopkins and Angela. Everyone at the school is GREAT. All of the teachers and administrators, despite a sometimes wide language-gap, are unbelievably helpful. We're talking help switching apartments, walking me through my scooter purchasing and riding, help finding ballroom dancing classes in the neighborhood, and the suggestion that, really, the vegetarian lunch is much better than the meat.

And the kids run the gamut from precious to precocious in the not-so-good ways. Here are some of the best questions I heard during my self-introduction:

• Are you married?
• Are you rich?
• Is it fun to play in the snow?
• How big are the bugs in America?
• Are you pregnant? (Misinterpretation of the belly-rubbing gesture for "yummy")
  
• How old is your boyfriend? Is he rich? (By the way, sweetheart, they decided you were cool.)
  
• Do dogs in America listen to commands in English? (This is a sign of higher-level thinking, seriously)
  

One class started off by guessing I was 35 years old. No, I only feel that way after having 5 classes today.