Forgive me because this update may be rather long, I have to get up to date and this is the one.
The campus of Ziangxi Science and Technology Normal University is bucolic compared to Nan Chang City. Once you step off the campus, it becomes semi-chaotic.
The campus is located 7 kilometers northwest of Nan Chang. It sits on about 200 acres of a rolling tree covered hill. Inside of the University gate, there is the administration building. They are rehabbing it and it will be done soon. It should look nice. Across the roadway from that building is a 4-acre pond. The pond is the color of the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day. Moreover, at times it smells like a sewage treatment plant. It is not unusual to have that odor wafting through the air at any time or any place you may be.
The first apartment I lived in is located close to the back campus boundary, amongst a grove of trees and away from the majority of the students. The unit it self is located on the top floor of a building of indeterminate age. Unlike the units occupied by locals the residences provided to western teachers have parquet floors, hot and cold running water and separate laundry facilities. They sound nice but the upkeep is close to nonexistent. For example, the seat on my toilet is upside down and maintenance never seems to get around to correcting the situation. When I pointed the problem out to a maintenance man, he looked at it, nodded, indicated how the problem would be fixed and left. He never came back.
Everyday I lived in that apartment I woke up with a stuffy nose. One evening another foreign teachers were over and pointed out that mold appeared to be growing along the baseboards. Up until that point I had always minimized the affect of mold spores in a residence, I will not do that anymore. Once I saw new apartments for westerners in another building I decided to move. I have never been one that felt guilty about what I had compared to others but the move into the new apartment brought on that emotion.
The new apartment has a large, even by western standards living room. There is a separate eating area and a small self-contained kitchen. The bedroom is large and the room that could be another bedroom, which is my office, is equally as large. In addition, I can no longer use the toilet and shower at the same time. Why do I feel guilty? Students helped me move in and I learned how the live.
There are about 13,000 students on this, the old campus. There are about 7 dorms averaging 9 floors each. That explains why some of them live 12 to room the size of my living room. They have no hot water or heat when it gets cold (take into consideration that the locals start to get cold and wear jackets when it gets to be 60 degrees) and the rooms has no adornments and the floors are concrete.
There is more to say but I don’t want to get too negative.
I am teaching in the business department. All of my classes are in one six story building. No elevators. I must go from a subterranean classroom to the 5th or 6th floor two times a week. One other day I am on the 5th floor all morning and the last day I start on the 6th floor and go to the basement.
I am teaching juniors and seniors. By the time they reach this level they have had 8 to 9 years of English education. They have been “taught’ English but have not come close to mastering it. One major reason is that they never use it outside of class. Another is that most of the western teachers come from different countries. During my first class a student used the word “learnt.” I corrected the student on the proper past tense of learn. She replied that their previous teacher had said it was correct. Over the weekend I met a man that is now teaching in Japan. I told him of that incident. Christophe is from Australia and is dedicated to teaching. He informed me (meaning I learnt something new) that in his country, Canada and the UK. Learnt is the proper past tense of learn and that those countries think Americans are “daft” with our past tense version. Some of you may not believe this but, the next class I told the students I was wrong about the past tense. I went on to explain that learnt was an example of how difficult English can be to learn and use. What is right in one country is wrong in others.
I don’t know if they understood. You never know if they understand because no matter how many times you tell them to speak up if they do not get it or disagree with you they will not.
Getting my students to be interactive is one of my most difficult tasks. Every class I write on the board that class participation is part of their grade and that if they consistently volunteer they will get extra points. And, I tell them that if they do not talk they will lose points. This is an example of how stoic they can be: I was setting my office hours and asked one class if they had classes Monday afternoon, no one said a word. I then said raise your hand if you have a class Monday afternoon, not one hand went up. I said ok and told them my Monday office hours. EVERY DAMN ONE OF THEM HAS CLASSES MONDAY AFTERNOON. Fortunately, I already knew that and used their failure to respond as an example of what happens when they are not interactive.
The primary reason these students behave as they do is the teaching methods of the vast majority of the native teachers. They will stand in front of a class, it does not matter how small or large the class is, and drone on without hesitation for 40 minutes. They do not encourage the students to interact. The student is there to hear what the teacher has to say.
The Chinese teachers do not care what the students do in their class. I have seen students playing video games, texting or talking on their cell phones and, of course sleeping. I have confiscated three cell phones and one mp4 player to date. One of each from the same girl not 10 minutes apart.
One student is really good looking; she knows it and flaunts it. To add fuel to the fire she is intelligent. She is fully aware of her attributes. To bad for her, they have no affect on me, LOL. She waltzed into class 35 minutes late with an ‘I am sorry teacher”. I said my name is Mr. White and you can leave, 35 minutes late is unacceptable, leave. She missed my next three classes. When she came back she looked like a normal college student that woke up right before her 8:00 class and I was nice to her.
This has gone on way longer than I wanted. I had hoped to tell you about the other foreign teachers and a little bit about Nan Chang City. But that must wait.
Hope all is going well in the world I think I understand.
Wow, I am an idiot. 1256 words about a subject I already covered. No wonder I can’t catch up.
I will come back later today and write about Nan Chang City. Shit..............I am a natural.
