Here I am at the end of my first week of June and my first week of testing. Well, I lost out on my Monday classes because of the singing contest. Which was fun, but also puts me behind schedule. I was also told this past week that because they are hosting the zhongkao at my school that there may not be classes the week of the 15th and 16th so it's likely that I will spend this next week going to each class during lunch or during their self study time to make up for having lost two class periods. I also learned that though the school told me to turn my grades in by the 20th, that didn't actually mean I could leave, but no one was willing to say that to my face (I guess). The closest hint I got when I said I booked a flight on the 22nd was "Why are you leaving? Where are you going? When will you be back?". I guess they assumed we'd stick around for another week after turning in grades. I feel bad. Maybe I should have confirmed when I could leave instead of assuming that done testing=done teaching. It's just that last term the other teachers were all ready to take my class and use it for themselves, to the point where I had to tell them I wasn't done yet and needed my class. I assumed that things would be the same when I tested at the end of this term which is partly why I gave myself an extra week for everything, so I could actually say goodbye and wrap things up and then get on my flight with my grades turned in. The other teacher was surprised too and told our liaison that to be more clear with future teachers about these kinds of things and to say that they may still be needed after testing in June. Since she's still going to be here to travel in China, they asked her to stay the week after she turns in her grade and play a movie or play a game with a class. Nothing serious, they just need her to watch the students and fill time while the other teachers have a meeting. Which seems pretty annoying to me so I feel bad but clearly they have no use for me aside from warming a seat if I stay. I guess they changed some things too with foreign teachers so the liaison is having a little trouble getting stuff done. I feel bad for causing so much trouble. I made plans and can't be faulted I guess, but I still feel guilty. I haven't heard anything on jobs for the summer either. I actually found a position teaching English for a summer but you need the TEFL, which I don't have. I guess I could try the online route again but I feel better doing it through WorldTeach given that the concepts in other programs are more or less the same (keep lessons student centered, keep things engaging, create an objective, build students toward independent work etc) and here I have the hands on experience as well as all the modules I need to complete.
And I've finally decided that this is the weekend when I will get my name seal. I've been rehearsing so that I can ask for what I want and I don't have much time left. This past week has been tough because there's only so much I can do, it's up to the students to push through the exams. In the meantime, I've just been filling in the excel sheet with student information that I created after the school gave us a class roster. I even plugged in all the formulas and everything so that there really is nothing I can do until the students are done testing and I have their scores to input. Then the column labeled "Grade" will change and I just need to copy the grades onto another document and send it in to the school. I'm not sending in my excel sheet this time since it caused trouble last time and they wanted to know how I did grades and told us (at the end of the term) that we should do our grades in the same way. Everytime I say I'm stressed, the other teachers tell me not to be. I don't think they realize how quickly things can pile up in my position and that I won't even be in China after June 22nd. That complicates things. I'll be in Kyoto taking cooking lessons, sleeping in temples and a ryokan, and trying to find a bathhouse because while traveling is fun, I'm looking for things at a slower pace than the speed it takes me to test 700+ adolescent students. Tea, temples, and baths sounds great after that. I'm also kind of interested in something else I read about Kyoto. Since Kyoto was pretty much Japan's capital up until the 19th century, it supposedly shows a lot of influence from those times when Japanese monks and scholars traveled to China to learn about religion, philosophy, and the writing system (and chopsticks if a show I watched is to be believed). So it's actually laid out like the Tang dynasty capital, Xi An which I meant to go to this year. I guess I get to compare architecture when I actually make my way out there.
I realize it's been a while since I posted any pictures, so I'll include a few below to wrap things up. I actually need to find an object by the end of this week too that encapsulates my time in China. I can't decide if I want to bring one of my student's pictures of me (for all the times I really enjoyed working with them but wished they were doing the work they were supposed to) or a pair of chopsticks for the novelty of hearing students ask me if I like Chinese food.
And I've finally decided that this is the weekend when I will get my name seal. I've been rehearsing so that I can ask for what I want and I don't have much time left. This past week has been tough because there's only so much I can do, it's up to the students to push through the exams. In the meantime, I've just been filling in the excel sheet with student information that I created after the school gave us a class roster. I even plugged in all the formulas and everything so that there really is nothing I can do until the students are done testing and I have their scores to input. Then the column labeled "Grade" will change and I just need to copy the grades onto another document and send it in to the school. I'm not sending in my excel sheet this time since it caused trouble last time and they wanted to know how I did grades and told us (at the end of the term) that we should do our grades in the same way. Everytime I say I'm stressed, the other teachers tell me not to be. I don't think they realize how quickly things can pile up in my position and that I won't even be in China after June 22nd. That complicates things. I'll be in Kyoto taking cooking lessons, sleeping in temples and a ryokan, and trying to find a bathhouse because while traveling is fun, I'm looking for things at a slower pace than the speed it takes me to test 700+ adolescent students. Tea, temples, and baths sounds great after that. I'm also kind of interested in something else I read about Kyoto. Since Kyoto was pretty much Japan's capital up until the 19th century, it supposedly shows a lot of influence from those times when Japanese monks and scholars traveled to China to learn about religion, philosophy, and the writing system (and chopsticks if a show I watched is to be believed). So it's actually laid out like the Tang dynasty capital, Xi An which I meant to go to this year. I guess I get to compare architecture when I actually make my way out there.
I realize it's been a while since I posted any pictures, so I'll include a few below to wrap things up. I actually need to find an object by the end of this week too that encapsulates my time in China. I can't decide if I want to bring one of my student's pictures of me (for all the times I really enjoyed working with them but wished they were doing the work they were supposed to) or a pair of chopsticks for the novelty of hearing students ask me if I like Chinese food.
Nanyue Temple. People set off firecrackers and burn up letters to let the Buddha know they are coming.
There was a building at Nanyue Temple that people walked under and a few of these circles on the sides that everyone was rubbing. I'm not really sure why though.
The story of a pig who wishes to be human.
Students running during their morning exercises. The 9th graders are buckling down for the zhongkao so I think there are about 2000 students running in this picture.
One of two huge rolls of paper that classes drew and painted on for the art festival. Each 7th and 8th grade class had a section to fill.
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