(Veronica)
Today marked my return to the classroom. Yesterday, LV, the head of the English department and the exchange program, invited me to teach his class of sophomores. Given an abridged version of Calvin Worthington’s “My Father’s Hands”, I sat down and prepared for the next day’s lesson.
Reading and rereading the selection, I waited for 11a to come. Although I missed teaching, I was nervous about presenting to sophomores (or any group of high school students for that matter). The desks in the classroom were arranged in four long columns, seven to eight rows deep, with two students at each desk. Now, for those that know me, math isn’t my forte, but I would say that there were approximately 50 students in the class, not including the eight English teachers observing from the back of the room. Oh, did I mention that I was plugged in with a microphone and recorded so that other teachers who weren’t able to attend could watch?
Five minutes into the class, I realized how the classroom culture in America differed from that in China. If I asked for volunteers in my classes back home in DS, I know I would always have choices to choose from. When I asked for volunteers here to read aloud, I didn’t get many. Actually, I didn’t get any. Fortunately, I recognized several students from English corner and was able to get them to help out. Since I was asked to teach reading comprehension (something right up my alley!), I felt fairly confident, until I realized no one wanted to offer their opinion or share their thoughts. Part of the reason I didn’t get many volunteers was based on the unfamiliar language and because no one wanted to be wrong. Words used that I assumed students would know were very much foreign to them. More importantly, though, students didn’t want to put themselves in the limelight because they were afraid that their answers would be wrong. After class, several students came up to me to apologize for their lack of participation. They cited that they had a difficult time following me due to the vocabulary they have neither seen nor heard before and how fast I was talking. This wasn’t something I anticipated since I didn’t know how much English they knew. In the end, they said they enjoyed the reading and asked me to further explain the sections they didn't understand.
To end the day and commemorate Women’s Day, the school treated all the female teachers to dinner at “Bafei” and a movie. Unfortunately, the movie had to be postponed since Saturday was a mandatory workday (meaning teachers AND students had school). Bafei was an elaborate buffet set up with various cuisines at different stations. My favorite dish was a butterflied shrimp topped with vermicelli mixed with garlic and scallions. It was DELICIOUS. It was even better when it was washed down with a cold glass of watermelon juice and a steak smeared in black pepper sauce. Despite my best effort to pace myself, I was full within 30 minutes. The women in the English department, however, went full steam ahead for the next hour and half, devouring everything in their sight. It got to the point where I felt fuller than I did earlier because they were eating so much!
Too full to move,
Five minutes into the class, I realized how the classroom culture in America differed from that in China. If I asked for volunteers in my classes back home in DS, I know I would always have choices to choose from. When I asked for volunteers here to read aloud, I didn’t get many. Actually, I didn’t get any. Fortunately, I recognized several students from English corner and was able to get them to help out. Since I was asked to teach reading comprehension (something right up my alley!), I felt fairly confident, until I realized no one wanted to offer their opinion or share their thoughts. Part of the reason I didn’t get many volunteers was based on the unfamiliar language and because no one wanted to be wrong. Words used that I assumed students would know were very much foreign to them. More importantly, though, students didn’t want to put themselves in the limelight because they were afraid that their answers would be wrong. After class, several students came up to me to apologize for their lack of participation. They cited that they had a difficult time following me due to the vocabulary they have neither seen nor heard before and how fast I was talking. This wasn’t something I anticipated since I didn’t know how much English they knew. In the end, they said they enjoyed the reading and asked me to further explain the sections they didn't understand.
To end the day and commemorate Women’s Day, the school treated all the female teachers to dinner at “Bafei” and a movie. Unfortunately, the movie had to be postponed since Saturday was a mandatory workday (meaning teachers AND students had school). Bafei was an elaborate buffet set up with various cuisines at different stations. My favorite dish was a butterflied shrimp topped with vermicelli mixed with garlic and scallions. It was DELICIOUS. It was even better when it was washed down with a cold glass of watermelon juice and a steak smeared in black pepper sauce. Despite my best effort to pace myself, I was full within 30 minutes. The women in the English department, however, went full steam ahead for the next hour and half, devouring everything in their sight. It got to the point where I felt fuller than I did earlier because they were eating so much!
Too full to move,
Veronica
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