This week, I had the kids write a short story. I want them all to have a story, then to use that story to make a skit so to ensure that they did just that I added incentive by telling them that if I didn't have their stories, I would take 5 points from their exam. I still don't think I have more than half of the class turning in stories. I wonder if it's hard to understand, but then I see people copying stories onto a sheet of paper or reading and talking when I'm teaching and realize they deserve to face some consequence for flat out not listening or caring. But the stories have been fun. Sometimes they are very simple, sometimes the students really have fun with them. One class asked about the word count and I had to tell them there is no word count. As long as they have the 4 things I ask for, they can keep it as short as they want. They seemed really happy that I just wanted something short. I was impressed by one girl who wrote about a woman with a magic mirror, the more she looked, the more beautiful she became, but then she became unrecognizable to her family and friends. One story literally ended with a bang. One of my example problems was "zombies in Zhuzhou" so that was a popular story as was a pig/person/cat having no friends. While I'm sad that so many students have basically shot themselves in the foot by not caring, getting a B on the exam won't kill them either.
A student asked if I know "Mr. Black" who is supposedly going to teach English here. But I know nothing about it. People are still applying to teach here and the department of education has to make final decisions on the schools receiving teachers too. So either they're bringing in someone on a private contract or they're talking about Mr. Li, a current English teacher (his last name is a word that can mean "many" or "black"). Who knows?
I was also told that I need to think of what I want next year in case I cannot come back to my current school. I want to because I enjoy the students, and yet if they're bored of me now and giving me trouble...eh, I need to be much stricter anyway. It's a little sad to think of the possibility that my school may not have a teacher next year, but I don't know anything right now.
I don't count the time I have. I know what lessons I need to do and I focus on doing them since I laid out my plans back in February. My time to say goodbye will come when it comes. It's another one of those times when I don't think about how fast or slow time moves, when I don't ask for it to go faster or slow down partly because I know it will do what it will. Asking for it to change its pace is irrational and a waste of time. Time will not change for me so I need to change for time.
In other news, I wondered why ChinesePod has not had any updates so I went looking. I wasn't sure if it was a long hiatus like before or not, but now it looks like some of the podcasts I enjoyed for free became part of the paid for content on their website. On the bright side, I downloaded and saved them before they were removed from iTunes so I can still use stuff like "KTV Time" that I couldn't otherwise use. Those are my favorite, though I've only been to KTV once. I'm no good at singing and don't really like singing in front of others, though that's such a big thing here. I don't have a go to karaoke song and I've learned that there are ways I'm comfortable socializing outside of karaoke and clubs. I've accepted that there are times that require I just put my discomfort aside for others to meet them partway, I've also learned the value of saying no and creating other opportunities that are more my pace. That and I've tried learning songs in Chinese. My Chinese isn't great, trying to use the right tone while singing is difficult, but when I try to speak without singing when it's a song I know well, I fall into the tune naturally and have to fight to just say it in a normal voice for a while. Tong Hua (Fairytale) is particularly hard to just read and say without thinking of the song's rhythm and pitch.
A student asked if I know "Mr. Black" who is supposedly going to teach English here. But I know nothing about it. People are still applying to teach here and the department of education has to make final decisions on the schools receiving teachers too. So either they're bringing in someone on a private contract or they're talking about Mr. Li, a current English teacher (his last name is a word that can mean "many" or "black"). Who knows?
I was also told that I need to think of what I want next year in case I cannot come back to my current school. I want to because I enjoy the students, and yet if they're bored of me now and giving me trouble...eh, I need to be much stricter anyway. It's a little sad to think of the possibility that my school may not have a teacher next year, but I don't know anything right now.
I don't count the time I have. I know what lessons I need to do and I focus on doing them since I laid out my plans back in February. My time to say goodbye will come when it comes. It's another one of those times when I don't think about how fast or slow time moves, when I don't ask for it to go faster or slow down partly because I know it will do what it will. Asking for it to change its pace is irrational and a waste of time. Time will not change for me so I need to change for time.
In other news, I wondered why ChinesePod has not had any updates so I went looking. I wasn't sure if it was a long hiatus like before or not, but now it looks like some of the podcasts I enjoyed for free became part of the paid for content on their website. On the bright side, I downloaded and saved them before they were removed from iTunes so I can still use stuff like "KTV Time" that I couldn't otherwise use. Those are my favorite, though I've only been to KTV once. I'm no good at singing and don't really like singing in front of others, though that's such a big thing here. I don't have a go to karaoke song and I've learned that there are ways I'm comfortable socializing outside of karaoke and clubs. I've accepted that there are times that require I just put my discomfort aside for others to meet them partway, I've also learned the value of saying no and creating other opportunities that are more my pace. That and I've tried learning songs in Chinese. My Chinese isn't great, trying to use the right tone while singing is difficult, but when I try to speak without singing when it's a song I know well, I fall into the tune naturally and have to fight to just say it in a normal voice for a while. Tong Hua (Fairytale) is particularly hard to just read and say without thinking of the song's rhythm and pitch.
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