40 faces. 40 names. That’s how many students we were assigned to. Right now, I would like to apologize to all my past teachers for my lack of participation in class. Now, having tasted what teaching a class is like, I appreciate those students who respond to the questions I ask.
In the beginning, both parties were too shy to approach each other. Names were mentioned but most were quickly forgotten. That was the first day. Yet this awkward phase quickly transitioned into a liminal phase where curiosity overcame shyness. Then a torrent of names and eager faces gushed forward. Perhaps slightly overwhelming, yet one of the best experiences I have had in the past 10 days of being here.
As hard as one might try not to have favorite students, it happens just by way of association. Some students are just naturally more talkative and thus I get to know them better. That’s how I got to know 4 of the most distinct students in the class of 40 that I help teach. Through and with them, I experienced most of the ups and downs of a student’s life.
One female student, arguably the most athletic and outspoken and strong-willed and ferocious student in the class was also one of the first students I came to know. I was immensely proud of her for being the only girl in the entire school who participated and made it to the semi-finals of the table-tennis tournament. Yet her academics, I found out later, did not match her athletics. As I graded my class’s exams, I realized that many of the lower scoring papers belonged to those I knew best. This made me pay more attention to them during classes and it was really disheartening to see that some of them had simply given up learning English. Though I realize that I can’t magically turn these students into English aficionados, I can’t help but try and hope that they’ll respond to the games that I do during my weekly kou yu (oral English) class.
More inspiring is that my class isn’t exactly the most athletic class. They are a special class of students who are musically talented and inclined. About 75% of the class are girls and nearly all of them do not want to participate in the most popular pastime here: basketball. With only a roster 8 players deep, I was not optimistic in any scrimmage we were slated to play before the basketball tournament in 10 days. Yet, class 2 did me proud. The PE classes before our first scrimmage game, I had the guys practice layups and dribbling. Many of the guys did not even know the rules for basketball. Yet during our first scrimmage, they played beautifully. This was an activity that brought the entire class together as the students who did not play were by the sides cheering for every point we made. Half way through, a few of the female students changed their minds and wanted to play. The aforementioned female student was the first female player sent in and played amazingly, even blocking shots.
This memorable experience brought together the entire class and I look forward to many more experiences like this in the coming weeks.
In the beginning, both parties were too shy to approach each other. Names were mentioned but most were quickly forgotten. That was the first day. Yet this awkward phase quickly transitioned into a liminal phase where curiosity overcame shyness. Then a torrent of names and eager faces gushed forward. Perhaps slightly overwhelming, yet one of the best experiences I have had in the past 10 days of being here.
As hard as one might try not to have favorite students, it happens just by way of association. Some students are just naturally more talkative and thus I get to know them better. That’s how I got to know 4 of the most distinct students in the class of 40 that I help teach. Through and with them, I experienced most of the ups and downs of a student’s life.
One female student, arguably the most athletic and outspoken and strong-willed and ferocious student in the class was also one of the first students I came to know. I was immensely proud of her for being the only girl in the entire school who participated and made it to the semi-finals of the table-tennis tournament. Yet her academics, I found out later, did not match her athletics. As I graded my class’s exams, I realized that many of the lower scoring papers belonged to those I knew best. This made me pay more attention to them during classes and it was really disheartening to see that some of them had simply given up learning English. Though I realize that I can’t magically turn these students into English aficionados, I can’t help but try and hope that they’ll respond to the games that I do during my weekly kou yu (oral English) class.
More inspiring is that my class isn’t exactly the most athletic class. They are a special class of students who are musically talented and inclined. About 75% of the class are girls and nearly all of them do not want to participate in the most popular pastime here: basketball. With only a roster 8 players deep, I was not optimistic in any scrimmage we were slated to play before the basketball tournament in 10 days. Yet, class 2 did me proud. The PE classes before our first scrimmage game, I had the guys practice layups and dribbling. Many of the guys did not even know the rules for basketball. Yet during our first scrimmage, they played beautifully. This was an activity that brought the entire class together as the students who did not play were by the sides cheering for every point we made. Half way through, a few of the female students changed their minds and wanted to play. The aforementioned female student was the first female player sent in and played amazingly, even blocking shots.
This memorable experience brought together the entire class and I look forward to many more experiences like this in the coming weeks.