Of course, most mainland Chinese students who come to the American classroom, take an English name.
Unfortunately, they don't really understand that some of these names should not be attahced to an actual human. As stated in my previous posts, I have had some interesting names. Here are some of the perenially favorites:
Robin Hood
Magic
Banana
Wall
Caesar Salad
Cheese
Peter Pan
Lemon
Picture youself in my shoes:
It's a late afternoon, you turn to call on a student who just raised his hand. "Lemon, what do you think about that?" "Cheese, can you collect the papers please?"
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Fall 2011-What happened to the time?
Greetings fellow teachers, cultural mavens and others who just like to read for a laugh!
I've been away from my blog for a whole year, not because I wanted to, mind you. I just became overcome with teaching, moving around to various different campuses, and of course, correcting. It just got to much! However, I am back, recovered from my weariness. I am ready to get back on the blogging horse.
I do have stories, but instead of picking up where I left off, I figured it would be better to forge ahead with the stories, the students, the mishaps, and the general mayhem that is my average day in the classroom. Forward march!
Let's start with this past summer, shall we? This summer, I had an exceptional group of students, but not in the way you normally think of when one says "exceptional". This group was hell bent on doing as close to little as possible. They were a group of pre grads, hoping to land in grad school with miminal effort. I was not about to oblige them.
Enter "Ralph" (name change here, just in case) Ralph knew the rules. I had laid them down. No phones on the desks during class time. I did not want to see, hear or sense a phone while I was busy conducting class.
He knew this, but for some reason, could not control his obsession with the chirping device. As I was giving my mini - lecture, I raised my eyes to find Ralph hiding the device underneath the desk, tapping away like a crazed child with a toy gun. I waited for him to put it down, instead, he just kept going.
I silently walked over and gently asked him to put the phone down, pick up his bag and leave the class. He was stunned. His production and his listening skills were soarly lacking, therefore, I had to repeat myself again. Still stunned, he produced a bizarre, half baked grin on his face and proceeded to just sit at his desk.
Calmly, I asked him to step outside. This is when it got interesting.
Once safely out in the hallway, I asked him why he was using a phone in my class. He stammered, he started sweating, he shifted his weight from one side to the other, he looked down, then he burst out laughing! Laughing, like a hyena, with big belly laughs, as if I was up on stage at the Comedy Shack delivering one liners! And he kept laughing. I tried to talk to him about the laughing, it just kept coming. That's when I snapped. I screamed at the top of my lungs, STOP IT RIGHT NOW! He did. He just went silent, the stupid grin dripped down his face into his shoes. I explained that he needs to adhere to the rules bla bla bla.....the conversation ended. I told him to leave and come back tomorrow when he was ready to be an adult again. I thought that was the end of it all.
Unfortunately, unknown to me, the staff downstairs heard it all, as it echoed around the building. I had to to downstairs and apologize to everyone who heard me screaming like a nutcake. They understood, they know the frustration. My director pulled me aside and asked for the story. I told him, he sympathized, but asked that I try and handle it another way. I looked at him and said "Exactly what would you do with a student laughing in your face?" He looked down at the carpet, "I know, it's tough".
The next day, my student came in to speak to me about his cell phone episode. I told him laughing in someones face in America will either get you punched out or thrown out of the room. He told me that laughing for him was like crying and that "it's just what we Chinese do".
In conclusion, the next time you see a bunch of Chinese students laughing, stop and think what that really might mean.
I've been away from my blog for a whole year, not because I wanted to, mind you. I just became overcome with teaching, moving around to various different campuses, and of course, correcting. It just got to much! However, I am back, recovered from my weariness. I am ready to get back on the blogging horse.
I do have stories, but instead of picking up where I left off, I figured it would be better to forge ahead with the stories, the students, the mishaps, and the general mayhem that is my average day in the classroom. Forward march!
Let's start with this past summer, shall we? This summer, I had an exceptional group of students, but not in the way you normally think of when one says "exceptional". This group was hell bent on doing as close to little as possible. They were a group of pre grads, hoping to land in grad school with miminal effort. I was not about to oblige them.
Enter "Ralph" (name change here, just in case) Ralph knew the rules. I had laid them down. No phones on the desks during class time. I did not want to see, hear or sense a phone while I was busy conducting class.
He knew this, but for some reason, could not control his obsession with the chirping device. As I was giving my mini - lecture, I raised my eyes to find Ralph hiding the device underneath the desk, tapping away like a crazed child with a toy gun. I waited for him to put it down, instead, he just kept going.
I silently walked over and gently asked him to put the phone down, pick up his bag and leave the class. He was stunned. His production and his listening skills were soarly lacking, therefore, I had to repeat myself again. Still stunned, he produced a bizarre, half baked grin on his face and proceeded to just sit at his desk.
Calmly, I asked him to step outside. This is when it got interesting.
Once safely out in the hallway, I asked him why he was using a phone in my class. He stammered, he started sweating, he shifted his weight from one side to the other, he looked down, then he burst out laughing! Laughing, like a hyena, with big belly laughs, as if I was up on stage at the Comedy Shack delivering one liners! And he kept laughing. I tried to talk to him about the laughing, it just kept coming. That's when I snapped. I screamed at the top of my lungs, STOP IT RIGHT NOW! He did. He just went silent, the stupid grin dripped down his face into his shoes. I explained that he needs to adhere to the rules bla bla bla.....the conversation ended. I told him to leave and come back tomorrow when he was ready to be an adult again. I thought that was the end of it all.
Unfortunately, unknown to me, the staff downstairs heard it all, as it echoed around the building. I had to to downstairs and apologize to everyone who heard me screaming like a nutcake. They understood, they know the frustration. My director pulled me aside and asked for the story. I told him, he sympathized, but asked that I try and handle it another way. I looked at him and said "Exactly what would you do with a student laughing in your face?" He looked down at the carpet, "I know, it's tough".
The next day, my student came in to speak to me about his cell phone episode. I told him laughing in someones face in America will either get you punched out or thrown out of the room. He told me that laughing for him was like crying and that "it's just what we Chinese do".
In conclusion, the next time you see a bunch of Chinese students laughing, stop and think what that really might mean.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Summer Finale and Final thoughts
The summer progressed and much to my surprise, so did my fatigue.
I had not realized that teaching was so draining. I had always approached it with such a happy, carefree feeling, it didn't occur to me that it could beat me down. The final days of the semester were upon us. The students were exhausted and had checked out, so had I.
The last class came and my assigned presentations were due to begin. These are tense times for students, many coming from backgrounds that never allow students to ask questions in class, let alone present material, as if they knew what they were talking about! I had several students get up and talk about the same cultural icons of Chinese culture; tea, the knots, more tea, silk, still more tea, and various cheap goods the Chinese have gotten really good at producing en masse.
One student, in particular, surprised us all, by presenting an aria from an Chinese opera. He opened his mouth and the interesting sounds that came out, I must admit, I have never heard before. He was a tremendous singer, with depth and passion coming from his toes! The students clapped along and knew his song well. After his performance, he bowed and received an amazing round of applause. His smiles were bright and crisp, as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life. As they filed out the door, and said their goodbyes, I knew I would never see these students again, for they tend to melt into the larger mass of students that is the university body.
I had learned something from this group of students. Many wait their whole lives for a chance to shine and I must be the one to give it to them. I can bring them out of their shell, give them a voice, give them the notion that they matter. Culturally, this is not acceptable where they come from, but it is crucial that they learn this here in America. And I'm just the American to give them their big chance!
Next up, vacation and Fall semester 2008, here we come!
I had not realized that teaching was so draining. I had always approached it with such a happy, carefree feeling, it didn't occur to me that it could beat me down. The final days of the semester were upon us. The students were exhausted and had checked out, so had I.
The last class came and my assigned presentations were due to begin. These are tense times for students, many coming from backgrounds that never allow students to ask questions in class, let alone present material, as if they knew what they were talking about! I had several students get up and talk about the same cultural icons of Chinese culture; tea, the knots, more tea, silk, still more tea, and various cheap goods the Chinese have gotten really good at producing en masse.
One student, in particular, surprised us all, by presenting an aria from an Chinese opera. He opened his mouth and the interesting sounds that came out, I must admit, I have never heard before. He was a tremendous singer, with depth and passion coming from his toes! The students clapped along and knew his song well. After his performance, he bowed and received an amazing round of applause. His smiles were bright and crisp, as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life. As they filed out the door, and said their goodbyes, I knew I would never see these students again, for they tend to melt into the larger mass of students that is the university body.
I had learned something from this group of students. Many wait their whole lives for a chance to shine and I must be the one to give it to them. I can bring them out of their shell, give them a voice, give them the notion that they matter. Culturally, this is not acceptable where they come from, but it is crucial that they learn this here in America. And I'm just the American to give them their big chance!
Next up, vacation and Fall semester 2008, here we come!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Miles Dyson and Tony
As my summer classes proceeded, Miles Dyson (who was formerly known as Valitudinarian, see former posting) continued to display his strange, aloof behavior. He arrived early, sat and stared straight ahead at the board each day. He was a very good student, just a very strange student. It didn't take long for another student to also pick up that Miles was pretty smart.
Tony (that was his English name) was a goof off. He came to class twice, then was absent for the next three weeks. When he was in class, he would make threatening gestures toward Miles.
When I say threatening gestures, I mean fashioning his hand like a gun, pointing it, and delivering a few bullets at Miles. This was unnerving. This went on for a week or two and then Tony disappeared again.
Test day came and low and behold, Tony showed up to class and sat next to Miles. Hmmm...I thought, that's weird! I gave out the exam and sat down. It was then I realized why these two were seated next to each other. Tony was cheating off Miles and Miles was letting him. I let the two of them go on and then I made my move. I moved quietly toward them, took both their exams and asked them to go outside of the classroom.
Red, shaking and clearly angry that they were caught, they moved quietly. I got outside and quietly asked, "What is going on here?" No explanation, just blank stares. Again, "what is going on, do you, Miles want to tell me what is going on here?" No, he said. Tony was shaking and red.
I looked at Tony and said " Why are you sitting next to Miles today?" "You never sit next to Miles, in fact, I've seen you make threats towards him in class." Silence!
I told the both of them they flunked this test. I then instructed Tony to go back to class.
I asked Miles again, "Did Tony ask you to cheat?" "No" Miles said.
I was astonished, I thought Miles would crack.
Back at the office, I spoke to my colleague about what happened in class. She was more in tune with Asian culture than I was and informed me that this was normal. "Huh," I said sheepishly.
Bullying is a big problem within this culture, one is the bully, the other is the victim. The victim stays quiet for fear of being found out. The bully continues to press and get his way. I busted up the arrangement. Great, I thought, poor Miles. If he shows up with a black eye to class tomorrow, I'll know what happened. I went home that night thinking this was going to end badly. Culturally, I could not let this stand, I had to teach them both that in America, we don't cheat, we don't lie (except if you happen to be a politician, banker, the Goldman Sachs CEO or a priest) and we are not operating under Chinese cultural expectations.
Much to my surprise, Tony did not return to school. Miles did not show up with a black eye.
In the end, Tony ended up flunking my class. Miles went on to school to study economics and I learned a big lesson. Be fearless! Engage the students regardless of the outcome.
Question is, can I remember this for the next time?
Tony (that was his English name) was a goof off. He came to class twice, then was absent for the next three weeks. When he was in class, he would make threatening gestures toward Miles.
When I say threatening gestures, I mean fashioning his hand like a gun, pointing it, and delivering a few bullets at Miles. This was unnerving. This went on for a week or two and then Tony disappeared again.
Test day came and low and behold, Tony showed up to class and sat next to Miles. Hmmm...I thought, that's weird! I gave out the exam and sat down. It was then I realized why these two were seated next to each other. Tony was cheating off Miles and Miles was letting him. I let the two of them go on and then I made my move. I moved quietly toward them, took both their exams and asked them to go outside of the classroom.
Red, shaking and clearly angry that they were caught, they moved quietly. I got outside and quietly asked, "What is going on here?" No explanation, just blank stares. Again, "what is going on, do you, Miles want to tell me what is going on here?" No, he said. Tony was shaking and red.
I looked at Tony and said " Why are you sitting next to Miles today?" "You never sit next to Miles, in fact, I've seen you make threats towards him in class." Silence!
I told the both of them they flunked this test. I then instructed Tony to go back to class.
I asked Miles again, "Did Tony ask you to cheat?" "No" Miles said.
I was astonished, I thought Miles would crack.
Back at the office, I spoke to my colleague about what happened in class. She was more in tune with Asian culture than I was and informed me that this was normal. "Huh," I said sheepishly.
Bullying is a big problem within this culture, one is the bully, the other is the victim. The victim stays quiet for fear of being found out. The bully continues to press and get his way. I busted up the arrangement. Great, I thought, poor Miles. If he shows up with a black eye to class tomorrow, I'll know what happened. I went home that night thinking this was going to end badly. Culturally, I could not let this stand, I had to teach them both that in America, we don't cheat, we don't lie (except if you happen to be a politician, banker, the Goldman Sachs CEO or a priest) and we are not operating under Chinese cultural expectations.
Much to my surprise, Tony did not return to school. Miles did not show up with a black eye.
In the end, Tony ended up flunking my class. Miles went on to school to study economics and I learned a big lesson. Be fearless! Engage the students regardless of the outcome.
Question is, can I remember this for the next time?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Yes, women are emotional and stupid!
One of my favorite things about teaching is discovering what various cultures think about gender. It is no surprise (and this may sound ethnocentric) that Americans are a bit more ahead
than the rest of the world when it comes to this particular subject. I think this because, by now, I've had way too many conversations where I end up exasperated and shocked.
Case in point, my summer session students had a chapter dealing with gender roles. I planned exercises to get them to share what they know about gender and we created discussion groups, creating questions and answers. What I wasn't prepared for was the blatant remarks made by, no, not the men, but the women! One young lady insisted, "Women are too weak, they cry all the time?" I said, "Really? You're a woman, do you cry all the time?" Oh no, not me, I mean women.
"Ok, I said, why do you think women are weak?" "Because that's true," she said. My students have issues defending their answers with meaningful analysis.
I proceed to spend some time trying to talk about stereotypes, how it is defined and present some stereotypes about both men and women. I state, "men are strong and don't cry" Yes, this is true, they all agree. No, I quip, this is a stereotype. "Women cry and are weak", oh yes, this is true. No, I say again, this is not true, this is a stereotype. "No, women are emotional and stupid", yells one young woman. Shocked, I remain standing, looking into the faces of these people.
It is at times like this when I realize that my mission isn't to try and convince them of something that they themselves have never thought of. My mission is to try and get them to think, period!
Yeah, good luck with that!
than the rest of the world when it comes to this particular subject. I think this because, by now, I've had way too many conversations where I end up exasperated and shocked.
Case in point, my summer session students had a chapter dealing with gender roles. I planned exercises to get them to share what they know about gender and we created discussion groups, creating questions and answers. What I wasn't prepared for was the blatant remarks made by, no, not the men, but the women! One young lady insisted, "Women are too weak, they cry all the time?" I said, "Really? You're a woman, do you cry all the time?" Oh no, not me, I mean women.
"Ok, I said, why do you think women are weak?" "Because that's true," she said. My students have issues defending their answers with meaningful analysis.
I proceed to spend some time trying to talk about stereotypes, how it is defined and present some stereotypes about both men and women. I state, "men are strong and don't cry" Yes, this is true, they all agree. No, I quip, this is a stereotype. "Women cry and are weak", oh yes, this is true. No, I say again, this is not true, this is a stereotype. "No, women are emotional and stupid", yells one young woman. Shocked, I remain standing, looking into the faces of these people.
It is at times like this when I realize that my mission isn't to try and convince them of something that they themselves have never thought of. My mission is to try and get them to think, period!
Yeah, good luck with that!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Boston has the sky
I would arrive to class on a beautiful summer's morning ready to go. I would hop off my scooter, tie it up, and race into the building.
On this particular morning I found Nathan in the middle of the grassy area outside of the buildling. He was staring into the abyss, with a smile on his face a mile wide. I naturally looked up to see what he was staring at, but there was nothing there. I decided to call out to him and ask him what he was doing.
"Look, he said, Boston has the sky". "Um.....yes, that's the sky", I said. He kept staring. I walked into the building thinking his statement was bizarre. Later, he came into class and started talking about blue the sky. He seemed particularly amazed as he continued to talk. It was then that he told me he came from Beijing, and he had never seen the color of the sky before. I laughed, but he didn't, he insisted the sky over Beijing was a sour red and gray color, like a veil of smoke and as a child and as a young adult, he never had seen such a color before. The crystal clear blue of the endless sky and Boston's clear heavens abounding gave him such delight.
Several mornings after our sky talk, I found Nathan again, outside staring into the abyss. I stopped to stare into it with him. It was then, that I realized my student had given me something I didn't know I was grateful for; an appreciation for activism and regulation. Then, as I walked to the door to disappear into my classroom, I whispered a small thank you to the people who came before me who thought it was important to install regulations and laws on industry. I will never forgot my sky loving student, he gave me an appreciation for something I see almost every single day.
On this particular morning I found Nathan in the middle of the grassy area outside of the buildling. He was staring into the abyss, with a smile on his face a mile wide. I naturally looked up to see what he was staring at, but there was nothing there. I decided to call out to him and ask him what he was doing.
"Look, he said, Boston has the sky". "Um.....yes, that's the sky", I said. He kept staring. I walked into the building thinking his statement was bizarre. Later, he came into class and started talking about blue the sky. He seemed particularly amazed as he continued to talk. It was then that he told me he came from Beijing, and he had never seen the color of the sky before. I laughed, but he didn't, he insisted the sky over Beijing was a sour red and gray color, like a veil of smoke and as a child and as a young adult, he never had seen such a color before. The crystal clear blue of the endless sky and Boston's clear heavens abounding gave him such delight.
Several mornings after our sky talk, I found Nathan again, outside staring into the abyss. I stopped to stare into it with him. It was then, that I realized my student had given me something I didn't know I was grateful for; an appreciation for activism and regulation. Then, as I walked to the door to disappear into my classroom, I whispered a small thank you to the people who came before me who thought it was important to install regulations and laws on industry. I will never forgot my sky loving student, he gave me an appreciation for something I see almost every single day.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Um, I don't think I get it?
In the land of ESL, you have to be prepared for anything. You especially have to be ready to recast speech, speech that is said by a student, but needs correcting because the idea isn't understood. I do this all the time. On this particular day, I thought it was more of the same...boy, was I wrong!
Two weeks into our second semester, a male student came up to me after class. He said "I want to buy girl." Oh, I said, you want to buy something for a girl, sure, what do you think would be nice to buy a girl? He scowled at me, "No, I want to buy girl." I nodded my head smiling, "Sure, you want to buy something for a girl, I understand." "No", he said sternly. " I want girl for sex."
"Where can I buy girl."
Now, it hadn't hit me that a young man would actually have the courage to come up to a female professor and actually ask her where he could "buy" girl. It also hadn't hit me that a student would feel so comfortable with me in class that he felt he could ask me such a question. After I realized what he just asked for, I could feel my face change. It started twisting and my eyebrows quickly had knit themselves together. I took on a different voice. "I am going to answer your question with two statments, " I said calmly "First, men do not buy women, it is against the law here, and if you try to "buy" a woman for sex, you will be arrested and sent home." I gasped for air, "Second, I am a professor, I am also a feminist, I am against this behavior because it harms women and it treats women like animals, we are not animals, we are humans, with rights." I stopped talking, glaring at him. He calmly looked at me and said " OK!" he turned around, grabbed his bag and out the door he went.
It took me several weeks to figure this out, but my analysis of this whole sorrid story came to this; There is a line in each classroom and culture defines that line, where it is, and why you should not cross it. Foreign students in American classrooms do not know where that line is. A smiling, warm, teacher is enough to throw this whole idea into disarray. Students have no idea what they should or should not say and how they should or should not act. It's like walking through a penny candy store with a trash bag and no clerk to take your money! Whatever these students feel like doing, they do it!
I realized that I was in the land of no boundries and I would have to set them, something I wasn't entirely ready to do yet at this level. However, if it meant saving some young Chinese man from trying to buy girl, it's on!
Two weeks into our second semester, a male student came up to me after class. He said "I want to buy girl." Oh, I said, you want to buy something for a girl, sure, what do you think would be nice to buy a girl? He scowled at me, "No, I want to buy girl." I nodded my head smiling, "Sure, you want to buy something for a girl, I understand." "No", he said sternly. " I want girl for sex."
"Where can I buy girl."
Now, it hadn't hit me that a young man would actually have the courage to come up to a female professor and actually ask her where he could "buy" girl. It also hadn't hit me that a student would feel so comfortable with me in class that he felt he could ask me such a question. After I realized what he just asked for, I could feel my face change. It started twisting and my eyebrows quickly had knit themselves together. I took on a different voice. "I am going to answer your question with two statments, " I said calmly "First, men do not buy women, it is against the law here, and if you try to "buy" a woman for sex, you will be arrested and sent home." I gasped for air, "Second, I am a professor, I am also a feminist, I am against this behavior because it harms women and it treats women like animals, we are not animals, we are humans, with rights." I stopped talking, glaring at him. He calmly looked at me and said " OK!" he turned around, grabbed his bag and out the door he went.
It took me several weeks to figure this out, but my analysis of this whole sorrid story came to this; There is a line in each classroom and culture defines that line, where it is, and why you should not cross it. Foreign students in American classrooms do not know where that line is. A smiling, warm, teacher is enough to throw this whole idea into disarray. Students have no idea what they should or should not say and how they should or should not act. It's like walking through a penny candy store with a trash bag and no clerk to take your money! Whatever these students feel like doing, they do it!
I realized that I was in the land of no boundries and I would have to set them, something I wasn't entirely ready to do yet at this level. However, if it meant saving some young Chinese man from trying to buy girl, it's on!
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