Reflection from a Class in the States

朱万里

Introduction

Teaching as an exchange teacher in Brookline High School， MA between 2007 and 2008 not only has enriched my teaching experience but also has helped me reflect the work as a teacher. In this passage I mainly talk about some differences between teaching Chinese students and American students by reflecting a teaching diary I wrote when I was in the States. In fact， most of teaching ways in China are suitable in the States and my work there was thought highly of by the school. Before I left for home I got a recommendation from the school， saying "Wan Li brought his teaching expertise， passion， kindness， and desire to learn not only to his student but also to the teachers of our World Language Department. He found creative ways to engage all types of learners， and designed lessons that were interactive. … His help was invaluable to students who improved significantly throughout the year. "

The Last Class Before Winter Vacation

The weather was bitter cold， wind howling outside. Dry leaves hanging on the branches swayed forward and backward， in vain trying to say good bye to their mother tree. Snapped， one branch broke with the dead leaves on it， falling down to the ground covered with snow. At the same time， a frightened crow flew off the tree， cawing.

It was before winter vacation and after mid-year examination， or rather it was the last class before vacation. Mr. Li， one experienced Chinese teacher， advised me to show the students a movie Gongfu1. He was sure that for the last class it was not appropriate for me to teach a new lesson from the textbook. But I still hoped to teach them some part of the book. So I hid the video in the thick text book just in case.

I stepped into the classroom， thinking how to finish the lesson in this period using my proud 4-step teaching way2. I knew it was challenging for me. But I didnt realize how hard it would be.

Inside the classroom， it was warm. When everything outside was struggling to live through the winter， the students in the room were enjoying themselves.

A boy tossed and turned a pen with his left hand， with his right hand reaching for his bag. A girl looked out of the window， eyes fixed on the snow in the tree. Another girl was playing with her hair. I didn't know what she was thinking， but I did know she was not preparing to listen to me. One is singing something with gum in his mouth. Some were talking， with hands in the air.

Zhu Laoshi， wo men ke yi bu ke yi kan dian ying？ （Mr. Zhu， can we watch a movie？） Zhu Laoshi， wo ke yi bu ke yi shang ce suo？ （Mr. Zhu， can I go to the bathroom？） These words came to me as soon as I stepped into the classroom. I didn't want to hear these words， but I knew it was time to give up teaching the text book. I might as well take Mr. Lis advice， that is， to watch the movie with them.

I knew one student didn't finish his homework due to today， so I said to all without mentioning his name， "you can watch a movie， but if you have not given me your due homework， I hope you can finish it in this class."

I turned on a video， Gongfu and left one light on purpose on for the student to make up homework. Class became quiet except for the noise of fighting from the video. In fact， not all were watching the video. Some were still talking about something， but in a very low voice. One or two began to do their vacation homework. Some were looking somewhere else with their eyes widely opened， maybe fixed on Hawaii. They just didnt want to learn the new lesson today！

To my surprise and disappointment， the boy who should have given me his homework didn't get down to his work but stood up and turned off the light. He watched with others！

He preferred watching the movie to making up his homework. It seemed that he did enjoy the movie. Maybe he didn't care about learning. Maybe he pretended to be watching. Maybe I should only have left one light on but have said nothing.

After class， I asked him about the homework， he said， "I don't care about the credit3." "But I care about you，'' I said， looking him in the eyes. "Ok， I will finish it this evening." he said quietly.

And he did. He emailed me just now and told me he had finished it.

Notes：

1. Introduction of the movie Gongfu：

The movie was set in Guangdong， China， in the 1940s. It describes the fight between two groups of people. One group is the representative of the just force， the other group is the representative of the evil force. The combination of traditional Chinese gongfu and special computer skills makes the movie very exciting.

2. Four step teaching way：

Read—Say—Make sentences—Ask and answer， which is based on my method of learning a language： IMO， that is， I learn it； make it into mine； make it into ours by sharing it. I developed this way of teaching and learning while teaching in the States.

3. Credit：

Students get grades from daily homework and examinations， which decides whether they can get enough grades for the credit required by some course.

Respect the Growing

——Reflection of the Last Class before Winter Vacation：

In this diary， the student who had not finished his work in time didnt appreciate what I did for him， first giving him time to do and second leaving a light on for him， but responded with the reaction of standing up and turning off the light and even telling me “I don't care about the credit”. Until I said “I cared about you” after class， he did it. This scene has been in my mind for a long time and has urged me to think why he reacted like that.

I later realized that the student

regarded his problem of homework as privacy. He didnt want others to know he didnt finish his homework on time and he felt he would lose face in class. So he wanted to be like others watching the movie together. No wonder he didnt understand my kindness for him. When I said “I cared about you” after class， he understood me and finished his homework.

This misunderstanding has left me a deep impression and made me think a lot about the differences of respecting students and caring about students growing between China and the States.

In China， teachers care much about students but show less respect. The relationship between teachers and students is thought as parents and children. We have a saying to describe this relationship， “a teacher a day， a father a life.” In reality， we often read the following words in the newspaper before Teachers Day to praise a model teacher. He/She treats the students as their own children. This relationship does help teachers and students build a harmonious atmosphere to study. The students get more knowledge from their teachers because they believe what the teacher says. But this on the one hand makes the obedient students willing to accept without questioning， which causes them to become lazy in thinking. On the other hand， some teachers dont pay attention to the building of students disciplines and punish students physically or mentally based on this thinking without realizing it is against the law. This doesnt help students form the right belief that a society should be governed by the rule of law rather than by the rule of men. I still regret what I did in my first year teaching 21 years ago. I put it in a sonnet when I reflected my teaching while in the States.

My work as a teacher，

Sixteen years stays with me.

Happiness and torture，

little drops in the sea.

The most impressive thing，

Calls from the depth of heart.

Often I'm reflecting，

To help myself be smart.

One boy learning slowly，

In my class took a nap.

I scolded angrily，

And followed with a slap.

Long time Im regretful，

All should be respectful.

In some schools in China， teachers care more about students grades than their growing. Both teachers and students spend too much time on lessons. We have morning classes， evening classes， some even weekend classes， and nearly every class is about lessons.

Chinese teachers talk a lot， or rather too much， which is thought as “be never tired of teaching others” . The teachers who plan everything for students are regarded as responsible ones. The students just need to memorize what the teachers have written on the papers， which are known as the learning plan. But can we call it a learning plan without students participating in designing？ Besides， some low qualified papers are wasting a lot of paper to limit students thinking.

Students are buried in school work and struggle for better grades one test after another， and with endless examinations followed. They just do， do， and do homework but have less time to think in their own way. Their eye sights are lowering and they are becoming fatter. Some cant communicate well with others. Some cant take care of themselves while parents are away. They are familiar with the life of “reaching for food and clothes” without developing the habit of earning their own bread with their own heads.

As a result， the students in China lack creative thinking. Are we really responsible teachers， and responsible for students future？

In the States， the school has strict rules for both teachers and students behavior. It is governed more by rules than by teachers.

The school respects the students privacy， even their grades， which are known by students themselves and their parents. Teachers dont often announce students grades in class. Students are encouraged to be responsible for themselves. If students dont behave well in class， the teacher can report it to the school. And the school will give him/her detention （stay in school to reflect or do homework after class while others can go home， enjoy extra curriculum activities like sing， dancing， balls and so on.） or call parents. If students cant pass the course， they will have to give up the course or relearn it for another term. This way， students learn to be responsible for themselves and then the society.

The school respects special students and gives them special care. Every building has at least one lift， which is convenient for disabled students. Special seats for disabled students are equipped in every toilet. For mentally special students， the school will hire and arrange a teacher to accompany him or her to the classroom to help with their class understanding and writing down homework.

Teachers value more thinking than knowledge. Students are encouraged to discuss and share different opinions in class， but after class they do a lot of self study and do a lot of writing. This gives students time to think for themselves and chances to share their opinion. Reading a lot and writing a lot help improve students critical thinking and creativity， which are beneficial to their further development a lot， such as college and career performance.

Teachers in the States give students more opportunities to do projects. By doing projects， students can apply what they have learned from their teachers and self study to practice. For example， after learning the map of China， students are required to make a project of the map of China using some materials and mark different parts of the map with different colors. Then they will present their hand-made maps before class and introduce them. In preparation， students have to surf the Internet for more information， design and make the map and try to introduce it in Chinese. By using both heads and hands， they learn Chinese fast. Field trip is another way of learning. Every term， students can go out with their teachers to experience the society through field trips.

In addition to activities related to studying knowledge， students in the States also have a wide range of extra curriculum activities. My host familys elder son， for example， is auditioning for the high school musical. He is also singing with a voice teacher and playing on a soccer team. He also hopes to try lacrosse and is planning some voluntary work.

From the above we can see the American students learn a lot by themselves and have more chances to think for themselves， use their knowledge in practice and society. Teachers respect and take care of students by helping students to learn through offering students time and opportunities. This learning process seems slow but it can last longer， for it helps the students grasp the way of fishing， which was advocated by our ancestors and is still being advocated now. But in fact， how many of us are giving our Chinese students ways of fishing instead of fish？ And are you？

To respect children really and take care of next generations future is not only the responsibility of teachers， but also of the whole society. The dream of a strong China can only be realized by a stronger population with the strong sense of law， creative mind and diligent hands. ◎