Adventures of a new teacher.... in China and beyond!

ALT!

2010-09-15T20:07:00.002-05:00

I'm so committed to this school, even though I've been here less than two weeks. The students are absolutely amazing: so many of them are incredibly talented, intelligent, and mature. There are some who are not quite as mature, maybe, but they have likely lived more life than I can even wrap my brain around at age 26. The staff is wonderful to work with: I really feel like I am heard when I have an idea and I feel that my work is both validated and valued. Planning classes is a ton of work, but it's so rewarding: I've had students compliment my choices of topics and I've seen most of them smile and laugh and be engaged while learning new concepts. That is such a treat!

I'm a little concerned that this is simply a "honeymoon" period with the program, but I'm hoping it's not. At this point, if someone offered me a job there over the mainstream high school, I would likely take it. That's not to say that I don't love my job at the mainstream school!-- I do. I'm just really enjoying the freedom that at alternative school presents for both teachers and students. I love teaching freshmen, and I miss that, so it will be good to go back later this year. I honestly don't know where I'd be happiest long-term. (Which is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, but that's for an entirely different blog!)

My to-do list is ever-growing, so I'm going to end here. I simply wanted to make sure my happiness and satisfaction were documented for future reference. :)

Oops...

2010-08-18T11:16:00.001-05:00

So, I need to plan one more class for the alternative high school for first trimester. First trimester starts in just a couple of weeks... Oh dear.

Looks like I'll be doing the Speech class that I thought up, though I'm not as in love with it as the writing and drama classes. I'll have to work extra hard to make sure it doesn't end up on the back burner at all times...

Working like a madwoman... commence!

Classroom Expectations?

2010-08-17T10:37:00.002-05:00

In planning my first week of the school year, the question always arises: How soon must one set expectations for the classroom? And how does one go about doing that?

I think I'm going to try a couple of different tactics this year. With my first class, I'm going to leave expectation-setting until the beginning of the second week (fourth actual day of class) and pack the first week full of getting-to-know-one-another activities. I'm hoping that if we all become fairly comfortable and trusting of one another, expectations will fall into place. On the first Monday, I'll ask for ideas of expectations from the class, but will be clear on my main two:

Respect all people and things in the classroom at all times.
If you do anything that bothers me, I'll tell you to stop and you will. :)

With my other class, I'm going to brainstorm expectations with the class as a whole on the very first day. We'll narrow it down to about five total.

This should be an interesting experiment in classroom management and behavior... Any ideas out there on what works and what doesn't?

Planning...

2010-08-12T08:19:00.003-05:00

...should have started earlier! But that's always how it goes. I'm actually ahead of the game compared to the last two years, but move one space back because I'm creating two new courses for the alternative high school. They are as follows:

WRITING WITH PURPOSE

Teachers are always having us write, write, write! But WHY?! If you're the sort of person who asks, "Why are we doing this?" or "When will I ever use this?" then this is the class for you! We'll explore writing for every reason from dream journaling to slam poetry to letters of complaint to academic essays. If you're ready to make your writing purposeful and find purpose in writing, join us!

SO MUCH DRAMA...

If your life is full of drama... you're not alone! Meet a cast of characters from the past to the present who share trials and tribulations. Explore shared experiences through reading, writing, thinking, and performing. Create sets and costumes, play with line delivery and movement, and get caught up in the drama of theatre.

I'm really excited about both of them because they're entirely mine. I was given the freedom to teach whatever I want, so long as it is meeting standards. So. Cool. And I'm proud of myself for getting as much of a head start as I have. I've chosen standards that I will meet for each course, brainstormed assessments of each of those standards, and have chosen texts for the drama course. At this point, I'm ready to design the final assessments for that course, then work backwards (who thought I'd ever have time to plan curriculum correctly again?!) to design the activities for the unit!

On the to-do list for today: brainstorm ways of writing for the first class (using--and valuing-- all registers)... Any ideas?

A Fourth (?!) Year Teacher

2010-08-11T21:27:00.003-05:00

It's time to start self-reflecting on a regular basis. Seriously.

So here I am... quite some time later. Oops. I'm going into my fourth year teaching and I still couldn't be happier. This year has so much excitement in store: teaching at the alternative high school in the district for the first trimester, teaching the 9th grade classes that I love-- while seeing my former 7th graders as freshmen!-- and watching the class of freshmen I started with walk across the stage at graduation. Not to mention working with a new staff, working under two women I admire, and learning more about sheltered content English. Oh, and coaching Speech, directing a One Act for competition, and serving on multiple committees in pursuit of Equity in our district.

I've just started planning for the next school year... stay tuned for updates on that!

A Second Year Teacher

2008-11-11T09:03:00.003-06:00

Although I haven't updated this blog in quite some time, I have not been eaten alive by high school students. In fact, I survived my first year of teaching and it went very well. I was lucky enough to be hired back in the same district and am now almost a third of the way through my second year teaching English at Roseville Area Schools!

Some things have changed, however. I am now traveling between two schools-- the high school in the morning and the junior high in the afternoon. That's a new beast, for sure. I never really expected to be traveling, let alone teaching SEVENTH GRADE. But I'm surviving it. And, like I keep telling everyone who asks what I think of it: It will make me a better teacher in the long run. I'm learning to be more patient, caring, and kind. But it doesn't really fit my usual sarcastic style and "suck-it-up" technique. I'm used to being able to reason with my students like adults, not hold their hand like children. But really, seventh graders are still children. It's amazing the changes they go through in just two years. I'm hoping that I'm still teaching at the high school in two years and that I have a chance to have some of them again when they've matured just a little. I'm wondering, though, how I can transfer some of what I'm learning to my old style. Right now, I just feel like two different teachers; I need to learn how to reconcile them.

But overall, I still really love my job. If I could go back and go through college all over again, I would do it just the same. I love working for this school district, I love working with my co-workers, and I especially love working with my students. There is no greater reward than hearing "Hi Ms. O!" in the hallway. So sappy, but so true!

Day Nine

2007-03-29T15:10:00.000-05:00

Discussing controversial topics with freshman is a challenge. Who would have guessed, right? They aren't quite to the stage where they can talk about HOW to have a discussion without actually talking about the topic that was used as an example. My goal by the end of this trimester is to get my students to have a large-group discussion that flows smoothly and that doesn't need to be moderated by me (calling on people who have their hands raised).

BEST MOMENT: Today, my fifth hour class actually sat in their seats for more than 30 seconds and listened to me (and each other) for periods lasting longer than 5 seconds. This is progress. It's good. Hopefully this stems from respect for one another and me rather than some other external factor.

ANOTHER BEST MOMENT: I made an attempt to match the students' energy at the beginning of each hour today and they asked me if I was on drugs or crazy... then I pointed out the fact that I was simply as energetic as them. They were shocked that I could do that and shocked that they look like that to me. Very funny.

WORST MOMENT: My worst moment today was when I realized that one of my (usually very upbeat) students was not having a good day and I didn't have time to stop and ask him if he was alright. I feel bad that I didn't have time for that today. I need to learn how to make time to talk to individual students, even when I'm really busy.

Tomorrow: a visit from my supervisor!

Day Eight

2007-03-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

As you can probably tell, it's been a busy week for me. No, the students haven't eaten me alive yet, but they've definitely got that look in their eyes by now. For that reason, it was probably a good thing that we had a guest speaker in both of my classes today. The librarian came to our classes to do a presentation on censorship. It was a really great addition to the unit that I had planned. My cooperating teacher told me that the librarian had done this in the past. He was well-rehearsed, and it was nice to see how my students respond to a different kind of teaching. It was also nice to see that they really do have trouble with a whole-class discussion (with anyone leading it) and that it's not just me! Anyway, for a pretty low-key day, it was still eventful... as always!

WORST THING:
Today I asked two boys in my fifth hour class to be more respectful when someone is speaking-- not just today, either. I told them that it has been an ongoing thing. And one of them argued with me! He told me that even though they were talking while someone else was speaking, they were "still paying attention!" I told him it was still distracting for me and for his peers, but he just pointed a finger at someone else. I hadn't encountered this situation yet, so I just gave him the "teacher look" and walked away. This was towards the end of the hour, so I didn't have a chance to see if asking them personally did anything to curb the behavior. We'll have to wait and see.

BEST THING:
I had a chance to bond a little bit with one of my problematic students. He's really making great strides (even though they'd be seen as baby steps compared to most students) in my class already. He was being a little bit disruptive in class today while the librarian was speaking, so I took him aside and asked him to please be respectful. I posed it as a deal: if he did that, then he could have a one-time pass to the vending machines (he's always hungry and I think that's one reason that he can't focus). When he came back from the vending machines (and his locker, I might add...), he sat down next to me. Even though he wasn't paying attention to the guest speaker, we had an opportunity to have an intelligent conversation. I think he respects me, which is a really big win for the "teacher team." It felt good, even though it's a big responsibility to keep up with this relationship and make sure that he still respects me enough to do his work.

Looking forward to tomorrow: essay writing about controversy..... yikes!

Day Three

2007-03-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

...Or should I say Day TREE? We're going to be killing a lot of trees in my classes, I think. Today was a practice essay day. I'm going to use their first essays to see what we really need to work on to get these kids ready for their big writing test on April 19th... yikes! Here goes:

BEST MOMENT: The girl who I wrote about in my "worst moment" yesterday volunteered to answer almost every question today. I was really happy that her name was at the top of the alphabet. I'm commenting on approximately five students' writing in each class every day, and luckily, she was on the list. I got to respond to her comment and she seemed to really appreciate it. She showed me that we were "cool" by participating in class. Thank goodness!

Okay, ANOTHER best moment: My behavioral transfer didn't do much work in class today (he didn't disturb anyone either, so no huge deal), so at the end of the hour, I asked him if he was going to turn in an essay tomorrow. With some negotiating, he told me that he would. This was an accomplishment in itself... but there's more! He proceeded to tell me that he doesn't understand "all that period and question mark... and comma sh*t," so I smiled and told him we'd work on that. I said, "Deal?" and held out my hand for him to shake it. He replied, "Deal," and shook my hand in the informal way he would have with his friends. I think I'm starting to form something of a bond with my fifth hour after all.

WORST MOMENT: I'm concerned about a student who has turned everything in so far and who is generally pretty upbeat and friendly. Today, when everyone else was busy writing their practice essay, he was sitting there, staring at his paper. When I asked him if he needed some help getting started, he politely declined. It's not the end of the world, but I really hope he turns in an essay tomorrow. If he doesn't, I think I'll have to figure out a way to give him some individual attention.

Day Two

2007-03-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

Today was a little bit of a rollercoaster. My fourth hour went very well, but my fifth hour was a bit of a challenge. We did the "fishbowl" activity in both classes. In 4th hour, the kids really took to it and stayed on task. They completely bought into it and were extremely engaged. Fifth hour wasn't willing to keep on topic or stay within the parameters of the activity. So, with that having been said, here are the best and worst moments of my day:

WORST MOMENT: Because my 5th hour is extremely loud and doesn't like to listen to direction, I made a comment about how I think some of them might need to get their hearing checked. I then gave directions for a freewrite (meaning: when they're done writing on the given prompt, they must continue writing about anything and everything... just keep writing). When I looked through them at the end of the day, I noticed that a girl took offense to the comment I made about checking their hearing. Apparently one of her good friends is hard of hearing and she thought I was making fun of people with a disability. That is not at all what I meant, and it was a bit of a shock to me that she took it so seriously. Lesson learned, though. I need to be more specific and direct about asking them to be quiet. Not making light of their lack of focus might help me in the long-run anyway.

BEST MOMENT: My best moment today was when my fourth hour students were participating in the activity. The students who weren't speaking were listening intently, the students who were speaking were taking turns and addressing one another's points respectfully, they were all smiling and seemed to understand what was going on. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a quick discussion just to make sure they're making the connection between the activity and the general ideas of context, controvery, and audience, but I think they're getting it! If I were to use their participation in this activity as an informal assessment, I'd say they're definitely understanding the concepts! Yea!

I'm alive!

2007-03-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

I survived my first day of student teaching. And it went pretty well. I feel like it was just a big whirwind of activity, names, and faces... and SOUNDS! Boy, my classes are Chatty McChattersons! I asked my coop. if it was because of something I did (a me vs. him issue), and he said that it was just the time of day. I teach the last two hours of school, so they're just chomping at the bit a little to get out of there.

I've decided that instead of writing about EVERYTHING that happens to me (because that would take more time than I have), I'm going to write about my best and worst moments of the day (or week... however often I can muster the energy to write). So, here we go!

BEST MOMENT: When my students were leaving class, I overheard a comment made by one student to another. The student who made the comment seems like the kind of kid who causes trouble in class, doesn't really like school, and generally doesn't give school much thought. But despite all of that, he was really excited as he left the classroom and he said, "Man, I'm going to come to this class every day!"

WORST MOMENT: Trying to get a group of girls to listen to directions, I realized it's going to take some effort to gain respect in the classroom. It doesn't just come automatically with the authority I have as a teacher. That's fine; I just have to realize that it takes time and effort. As I said before, my classes are pretty chatty and I can tell that I'm going to have difficulty with that as the trimester goes on if I don't put my foot down and prove that I'm serious about respecting the person who is talking... including me.

All in all, it was a good first day. We have "homemade" classroom expectations that I intend to hold them to-- especially because they came up with them! Tomorrow is another day and another lesson plan. We'll see how the "fishbowl" strategy works with them!

Jitters... of course!

2007-03-18T20:31:00.000-05:00

So many people have expressed their confidence in me as a teacher lately. It's been really heartwarming to know that my friends, family, cohort, co-workers, et cetera have faith in me. And I do, too. I know I'll have fun. This is my passion and it's what I've known I want to do with my life since I was very young. And I'm extremely excited for my first day of student teaching... tomorrow!

Despite all of this, I'm also quite nervous. There are so many variables to teaching-- it's different from day to day, even with the same students. But how unpredictable when you don't even know the students yet! Ha! Well, I hope whomever reads this enjoys my anecdotes and adventures that are sure to come very soon.

Here's hoping for some sleep tonight! :)

CI5461: Week 6

2007-03-08T08:56:00.000-06:00

Ever since blogs started to become popular, I've imagined using them in my classroom. I knew that using technology in this way would likely motivate students and would give opportunity to be more creative than simply participating in classroom discussion. I imagine blogging as a classroom discussion where everyone brings Powerpoint presentations-- they have visuals and sounds to help them make their points. Yes, this is fantastic.
However, I think that some of the points that Beach makes about using blogs to teach literature and writing also hold true in the classroom. His first example of Kathleen West's classroom brings up the issue of the subject matter that is discussed on blogs. When her students write on their blogs, she allows them to explore any facet of the text that interests them. She says they like this better than classroom discussion because they are not responding to her prompts, but to their own. This makes me wonder why she does not let them do that during discussion. I hope to teach my students early on how to come up with questions on their own (like they would if they were blogging) with which to begin discussion.
Of course, Beach makes some good points about the fact that blogs are motivating because students can access them at any time-- they are not simply limited to class hours (like discussions are). Also, they are helpful because they are a "paper trail" that will help both teachers and students remember and review the discussions. Beach also mentions that blogs are motivating because they give students a broader audience base. This is something I struggle with. I really enjoy the fact that students feel like they are writing not only for the teacher, but for one another and for parents as well, but opening them up to a "larger public audience" worries me just a little bit. Having an online identity puts the student at some risk to be exposed to people online who wish to do harm. I understand that my students are in high school and that they are aware of these dangers already, but as a teacher, I'm not sure I feel comfortable being responsive for that.
I hope to be able to implement blogs in my classroom sometime soon, but I do worry a bit about how to make it a safe learning environment when it is opened up to the public. Any thoughts?

Also, Beach mentions this site in his article. It's great for students-- very fun... but it's also great for teachers. See what students do with Shakespeare... stuff like that. I like finding things on this site that open up a lesson.

CI5461: Week 6

2007-02-28T10:33:00.000-06:00

Being the kind of English teacher who enjoys grammar (well, enough to read Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, anyway), I found the readings for this week somewhat confusing. Some of the suggestions that Dean and Petit give for teaching grammar bore even me! I do not know any students who would be interested in analyzing the usage of the semicolon-- even if it is in an interesting context such as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter. Nor do I know many students who find an exercise such as modeling sentences intriguing, even if it is "just for fun." Somehow, teaching grammar needs to have immediacy for students; they need to see how it makes a difference. Neither of these articles made me feel the importance of grammar as it relates to high school students.

That having been said, I don't have a clue as to how to make this happen! I'm sure it has something to do with working it into the revision process. As students review one another's work, they can ask questions regarding sentence clarity-- which ultimately come down to punctuation, grammar, and syntax. But even with this kind of structure in place, students still need to have some kind of common vocabulary to talk about this, which requires some direct instruction on the teacher's part. This is where I'm stuck. How do I make that interesting? Any ideas, cohort?

There are some ideas at this website, but I think many of them are gimmicky and too cheesy to really engage and motivate high school students... but it's worth a shot.

You MIGHT be an English teacher if...

2007-02-23T11:27:00.000-06:00

Today, my friend Kim asked me to "help" her with a poem she was writing for a dance class (they're doing a dance to their own spoken word-- don't ask...) and it totally and completely made my day. I asked if she wanted to "workshop" it, or if she just wanted my comments. When she said she just wanted my comments "for now, and then we'll see if we need to workshop it later," I instantly thought about how my comments could possibly be detrimental if she wasn't planning on doing more than one more draft. So I asked her to do a writing excercise for me.

Seriously? I just asked my friend of five years to do a writing excercise??? Who am I, anyway?

Apparently, I'm an English teacher. And there are no two ways about it.

Now I have spent the last hour and a half obsessively checking my e-mail, hoping she has done the next step as I've outlined so that I can give her more constructive feedback and give her an opportunity to revise some more. It's this crazy rush that I get from helping someone who sincerely wants to improve their writing that affirms my desire to go down this career path. Thank goodness for small favors that remind me I'm on the right track in life.

Thanks, Kim, for making my day! :)

CI5461: Week 5

2007-02-22T10:14:00.000-06:00

When I was a high school student, I really loved being able to keep all of my assignments. Big essay? Of course I want it back with my instructors' comments! Storyboard project? Oh my gosh... please please please tell me how I did! Give me a grade! Spelling test? Put a sticker on that sucker and let me take it home to show Mom and Dad!

Despite the fact that this little snippet might make me look like a terrible perfectionist, it also shows what I think a lot of students feel they need: validation from others. Reading about portfolios this week made me think about their strengths as far as students' own assessment of themselves. With portfolios, they can see the progress they have made over time and can really focus on the things that they need work on as individuals. Wolf talks about how portfolios are reflective and how they show student growth over time and move students' work forward. Looking back on what they have done well gives students motivation to move their work to another level and it gives them a sense of what they could do better as well. I think they give students the flexibility they need to say, "Okay, I've done well on this. I can move on and focus on something else now."

I also like the idea from the Wolf article that "A portfolio is collaborative." Although individual students are able to think about their own work critically when they can see how it has changed over time, peers and teachers can do the same for these growing writers. It's easy for others to help you pick out patterns in your writing that could be feeding into a step forward or that could be holding the writer back from doing their best work. Also, feedback from others that is sprinkled throughout the portfolio is likely to reinforce students' views of their own work. Both different ideas and feedback that falls in line with students' own thinking about their work is valuable to a beginning writer.

Because I really like the idea of students having ownership of and accountability for their own work, my website resource for this week gives tips on how to write a self-assessment. It would probably need to be formatted a little differently and edited for high school students, but I still think it's helpful overall.

CI5461: Week 4

2007-02-10T22:13:00.000-06:00

As teachers, we all walk many different balance beams. There is a sort of practiced, artful, gymnastic quality in almost everything we do. The readings this week highlighted a couple of important issues that require the kind of balance and thought put into any good routine.

First, that of how much to praise and how much to correct. I understand the reasoning behind praising students' writing to lower the affective filter and to simply get them writing. That makes sense to me. However, I also think that it's important to show students that all writing can be improved upon-- that even a "final draft" is still a draft. So where do we draw the line? I think it's important to make sure that all of our praise is genuine. Certainly, there should be a large amount of praise given to students who put in the effort to write, but they need to know that it takes more effort than just a first shot.

Which leads me to the second balancing act of revising. Where do you start in order to give students enough structure to put them on the right track, but without quashing their ability to go out on a ledge and take a risk? I really like the idea of peer conferencing for this reason. As a teacher, I don't want my students to feel the need to take my word as gospel. They should know that I'm still learning too. On the other hand, I don't want my modeling of constructive criticism to seem fabricated or gimmicky. For this reason, I really want my students to have an active understanding of safe space and of respecting one another. This way, my students will have a good foundation for working in groups and for helping each other to do their best work so that modeling on my part will be minimal and to the point.

There are a couple of lesson plans on this website that deal with revision... along with many more for reading and writing. Most of them need a little revision of their own, but it's worth browsing for some general ideas.

CI5461: Week 3 continued

2007-02-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

My resource for this week is a website with many different writing prompts. Some are valuable and some are not. Some would work well for practicing five-paragraph essay form. Others would not. I think giving students a different writing prompt every day would help them make good choices regarding what kind of writing they do for different purposes and why.

CI5461: Week 3

2007-02-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

"My students understand the concept of dressing to fit the occasion. They wouldn't consider wearing pajamas or a yellow rain slicker to prom. Neither would they wear a formal dress or a tuxedo to play soccer."
-- Deborah M. Dean (from "Muddying Boundaries: Mixing Genres with Five Paragraphs)

I think Deborah Dean really strikes at the heart of how I feel about teaching the five-paragraph essay. It's important. It's necessary for my students to know how to organize a solid expository essay. But it's not the only way they can convey information. It's all about context.

In my opinion, the most important thing about teaching students different forms of writing is teaching them how to identify which form is appropriate (or not appropriate) in many different contexts. For example, it's important for them to know how to write a five-paragraph essay because it is expected of them for standardized testing. On the other hand, I would hope my students would be able to figure out that a five-paragraph essay may not be the best choice when trying to convey their personal feelings to their friends via e-mail. I want to be able to teach many different ways of writing and to teach that students have a choice of how to convey information. Their choice will affect how well their information is conveyed.

For this reason, I stand on both sides of the five-paragraph essay debate that we will be having in class on Wednesday. I can see the importance of writing traditionally. And I can see the importance of making writing fun and interesting for students using a variety of genres. What students need to learn from me, then, is not simply what to write, but when to write what.

CI5461: Week 2

2007-01-30T14:04:00.000-06:00

I know that I should be skeptical of a chapter that begins with the heading, "Making Good Writing Assignments," but at this point in my education/career I really want something prescribed to me as to how to be a good teacher. Unfortunately, Williams proved to me (once again) that there is no such thing as a prescription for a good teacher. Chapter nine of his book, "Preparing to Teach Writing" was just as cynical as the others that we have read so far. It's important to embrace a certain amount of cynicism in order to keep a realistic outlook on the field of teaching, yet a statement such as: "Especially problematic is the fact that talented and experienced writers also have interesting stories to tell; typically, students do not because they have not lived long enough," (Williams, 284) is so cynical that it is shocking and disturbing. Instantly, I was turned off to Williams' methods and ideas because of his disregard for students' lives and abilities.

Williams discusses sequencing assignments in order to help scaffold students (which makes sense), but does not take into account who the students are as individuals. He also illustrates detailed prompts about specific topics. He states that "teachers must decide what they want students to do in an assignment, how they want them to do it, who the students are writing for, and what constitutes a successful response to the assignment." (Williams, 288) To me, the most important aspect of creating an assignment is to take into account the students you have in the classroom. Generally, students feel more ownership of a paper if they are given a choice as to the topic, audience, and even grading criteria for the assignment. And when students feel more ownership, more investment, and more interest, you are likely to get a better paper. Certainly, the teacher needs to address these issues with the students to make sure they are appropriate for the class goals and structure, but Williams suggests that students are incapable of finding topics, et cetera that are in line with the class itself.

With Williams' structure in place in the classroom, I think students would quickly be bored and discouraged with writing. Luckily, our other reading was about a much more interesting, more fun style of writing: multigenre. Which leads me to this week's resource...

This week's resource is a website about multigenre writing. While Williams really riled me up this week, I thought Romano's book was very interesting. I'd like to have my students write a multigenre paper (or project) at some point in my teaching career. I think it would be more fun to do (and more fun to grade!) than a five-paragraph essay. This website is organized in a way that makes sense for me as a teacher to begin planning this project. Hopefully it will be helpful to others, too! :)

CI5461: Week 1

2007-01-23T19:12:00.000-06:00

Thinking about teaching writing in the high school has always been a little bit overwhelming for me. I've thought about teaching literature and about what it means to have students think critically about it and talk about it in class... but I've never really thought about helping them to write about it. Or write about anything else for that matter.

So far, the reading for this class that has helped me to think about it in the most concrete terms was the article by Barbara Carney. This article, entitled "Process Writing and the Secondary School Reality: A Compromise," spoke to teaching the writing process. For me, the most important idea from this article was that of student ownership. Giving students choices is a huge part of making an assignment or activity engaging for them. It makes them feel like they have a chance at being good at what they're doing in class if they have been struggling, or makes them feel like they control the activity and the outcome. This is important in getting them interested in the activity from the start and it keeps them from simply giving up when it gets difficult. If they have invested in the piece of writing, they are more likely to succeed-- both academically and personally.

Also, the idea of student choice and ownership directly relates to the idea of differentiation that came up in CI5481: Developments inTeaching English and Speech today. Students can choose a writing activity or prompt which suits their individual needs. For example, one student may choose to write about the given topic in the form of a poem, whereas another student may feel more comfortable writing about the same topic in paragraph form. Also, various aspects of the same topic might be chosen in order to accomodate a range of ability or understanding. (Character, setting, or plot in of the same novel, for example.)

Another important idea in the Carney article was that of teaching students how to peer edit. Particularly "Higher Order Concerns" and "Lower Order Concerns." It's good for students to know how to recognize and fix things like grammar and spelling, but it's also important for them to recognize that the thesis, tone, and organization are much more important for conveying their ideas-- which is ultimately the purpose of writing. Once the students have a grasp of these concepts and understand what to look for and how to talk about one anothers' papers, I think they begin to take the writing and revising process more seriously because they know their audience and have a desire to please them. Once again, this kind of ownership is what it takes to make writing interesting and exciting to secondary students.

This week's resource:
I chose a website that has a number of writing prompts as this week's resource because it gives both me and my students a place to start. I like how it is organized by categories such as: expository, persuasive, descriptive, narrative, et cetera. Also, each writing prompt has an interactive model essay, which would help students prepare for a standardized writing test (which, as we all know, is so important to districts these days...)!

CI5461

2007-01-22T11:39:00.000-06:00

I plan on using this blog to log my responses to readings for my "Teaching Composition in the Secondary School" class. More to come very soon!

Also, check out my instructor's site!

Counting down... kind of

2005-08-09T01:12:00.000-05:00

I know it's been forever since I've written. Sorry for those of you who try to keep up with what I've been doing. I figure I need to save some stories for home!!! (Yeah right! All of you will be so sick of hearing my stories... just slap me when it gets to that point.)
Anyway! This last weekend was pretty low-key, but it was really neat. On Friday night I went salsa dancing (I had done that on Tuesday, too, but had only stayed for the "lesson"... imagine that in Chinese!) with Peg. We met a guy who is some kind of hot-shot at the club and who had actually lived in Minnesota for many years! He even has a daughter who still attends Highland in St. Paul. How crazy is that? And he was a really good salsa dancer, so that was fun. Then, right before I left, the instructor asked me to dance. I felt like such a dweeb trying to show off in front of all these Chinese people with the good-looking instructor guy... not to mention that my shoes were falling off the whole time, so I was not concentrating on the lead. Oh well! I had a blast anyway! Who knew there was a small population of Chinese people who can salsa dance?!
Saturday morning we left early to a place translated to "Thousand Island Lake." It's this huge, really deep lake with so many islands on it. Unfortunately, a typhoon was headed our direction as we sat tight in our hotel rooms on one of the islands! We survived because it didn't hit us directly, there was only a little bit of rain. I even went swimming at the pool that day-- hey, I wasn't about to pass that up! (It was an infinity pool!!! So awesome!) We went into town that night (barely surviving the drive up and down the winding mountain roads!) for an absolutely awesome dinner (no surprise there!). We spent the rest of the night on the patio drinking and just chatting. It was so good to relax and enjoy the last weekend with this group of women and Jacky. I am going to miss him so much. He has been an amazing guide and friend. More than once I have said that he is the perfect man. He's responsible, caring, organized, outgoing, and all those other things that you want in a friend. I don't even know how to begin to thank him. (Okay, I can't start thinking/talking about it or I'll start to get teary!)
Sunday was a nicer day, so we went on a 5-hour cruise around the lake, stopping at some islands. The first island had a temple/pagoda up at the top, but we only had about 40 minutes before we had to get back to the boat. Luckily, we had the chance to travel in style: a sedan chair! That's what it's called when there is a chair between two poles that are carried by two people-- a man in front and one in back. For 35 yuan (about 4 US dollars), two men would carry you up the mountain to see the pagoda, and back down to the boat! I felt totally guilty doing it because it's such hard work, but the men were friendly and laughed at me when I looked terrified that they were going to drop me off the side of the mountain!!! (Oh, don't worry... there's video to prove it!)
The second island was not quite as exciting, but we got to take a beautiful chairlift ride to the top of that mountain to see the sights. Even mom wasn't too scared of the heights because it was so breath-taking (Jacky's newest word, thank you very much!). The third island was odd. It was called "snake island" and just had a bunch of cages of snakes... I never figured out if there were any in the wild there, but I didn't see any.
The fourth and fifth islands were not the greatest, but we did get to go on a high bridge that was basically rope and boards. The signs specifically say "Do not purposefully swing" or something like that in bad English, but everyone pays 5 yuan to go on the bridge, and then I think they feel the need to turn it into some kind of an amusement park ride, swinging it every which way and getting some kind of sick pleasure from watching people who are scared. Molly and I braved the crazy Chinese tourists and made it across in one piece... barely.
So now I only have about 3 days left of teaching, shopping, and just generally saying goodbye to Hangzhou. I don't want to bring it up because it will be difficult to leave. At the same time, I'm very excited. I'm the definition of mixed emotions right now. I know I am leaving a lot of work behind me and a lot of uncomfortable situations, but I am also leaving good food and very nice people. I know I am coming home to good food and nice people, but I will also have a lot of work and uncomfortable situations there as well! And just as I am getting to feel comfortable here, I am beginning to really miss everything and everyone at home! Oh geez... time to go compose myself before I teach a class. This could be a tough one, too, because it's the last of its kind that I'll have.
Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll have one more chance to post before I go to Beijing! But if not, wish me and my parents (my daddy's coming, too!) good luck on the rest of our journey!
Love you and miss you all and I'll see you or talk to you soon!

An emotional girl lately

2005-08-01T02:43:00.000-05:00

So this last week/weekend went by so quickly! I can't believe that I'm leaving for home in just a little more than two weeks! That completely throws me for a loop... it seems like I only got here a little while ago (until I start thinking about it, and then I get a little homesick... weird, really).
Anyway, last week I went bowling with Peg, Wayne, Cole, and Cathrine. It was so much fun! Of course, Wayne was really really competitive and beat me after I had been talking big about being pretty good at bowling... oh well! It was really cute when we started when Wayne said to me, "Okay, princess, you go first!" I was so touched because his family calls Peg "Queen" and it meant a lot to me that he would say something like that. I really feel a connection with him somehow. I think we just kind of "get" each other even though he's a fourteen-year-old Chinese boy. I'm sure we will be friends via e-mail and messenger when I get home. I hope I can help tutor him in English and help him with some slang terms, etc. I know Peg does that, too, but it's always good to talk with someone close to your age who will know how to use language in casual conversation among friends. Sometime before I leave Hangzhou, I am going to go shopping with him for CD's and a "chop" with my Chinese name on it.
Then Friday night I taught until 9pm and we (the teachers from MN, minus Julie) decided to go to a bar in a hotel near our school. I needed some food in my stomach before drinking, so I took my second shameful trip to McDonald's. It was kind of worth it this time... I'm sorry to say. The McChicken sandwich was actually really good! The bar, however, was the weirdest thing I think I have ever seen! There were all these dancing girls and live music and singing, but the costumes were just bizaare! They were fruit and bellydancers and other odd combinations of things, and the decorations were just completely gaudy! There were private rooms that had small windows, but I am still not sure what goes on in there... honestly, I'm a little skeptical because there were all these girls sitting alone and looking mopey at the bar. Maybe they were working? I dunno... We only stayed for one drink because it was loud and late and I was so tired from just having taught 7.5 hours! I'm hoping that I get more time to go out before I leave... but maybe not to a place like that!
Saturday was a big day without our usual guide, Jacky!! We had a lovely Chinese girl with us, so she helped, but we probably ran her ragged! We shopped up and down this old street after having hiked up to a pagoda/temple in the morning. Lunch was wonderful, as usual, and then we shopped some more. I am wishing now that I had bought more gifts for people, but I'm having a hard time keeping track of who I've spent money on and who I've not. I'm working on that list right now, actually. You'd be surprised how little I've been making lists since I've been here! Maybe this trip has made me more organized! Who knows...
Saturday night I went to dinner with my mom's family. They are such awesome people. The grandmother and grandfather are so cool and seem so young and open-minded. The mother and father (Bruce and Ing) are easy to get along with and so eager to please. The daughter, Apple, is adorable and is staring to open up a little bit. I really hope she will paint my Chinese name (she's taking lessons) before I leave!
Sunday was the most emotional day I've had here in China. I spent the entire day (from 9am-9pm) with my students from my first class. We met at school and then walked to West Lake. We rented some row-boats, which was really funny because they arent' very strong, so they were getting blown all over the lake and I was pretty much the only one who knew how to steer the boats! We sat in the middle of the lake and talked about music and games and stuff like that... just small-talk, really.
Then we walked to a tea house, which was pretty much the coolest "restaurant" I've been to, ever. You buy a glass of tea (which is about 58 yuan) and then there's a buffet of finger-food type stuff that is free! The students got food for the whole table, like fruit and ice-cream, and egg-rolls, and lots of other stuff and we just sat there for a couple of hours eating and drinking tea! The building was so cool with little pools of water and bridges and goldfish all over the place and big paper lanterns; and even in the middle of the day it was so dark and romantic-looking inside. I wanted to stay there for the rest of my trip!
After tea and lunch, we decided to rent bicycles and ride around the West Lake. That was really hot and we were all super-sweaty by the end, but it was a lot of fun. I told my kids that I thought they were trying to kill me by taking me on boat and bikes! The traffic rules being what they are here, I'm feeling pretty lucky that I am still in one piece!
After that, we walked to the old shopping street again, but didn't really see much. Then we took a bus to the restaurant for dinner. It was a really cool experience to have what they call "hot pot." It's a bit like fondue in the states. There is a fire in the middle of the table with a divided pot over it. In the pot are two different kinds of "soups" as they called them (though I think they were mostly oil). Then the waitress brought all kinds of raw meat and vegetables to the table, and you just put them in the soup and wait for them to cook, then eat them. Half of the soup was really really spicy and the other half was not. I liked them both, which surprised me, as it was almost painful to eat the spicy kind! We had some really interesting food to cook that you'll never believe I tried (and I only tried a little bit)........ pig brains! Not all of the students like them, but some did, so I decided I had better have a small bite. They taste a bit like tofu, but softer. Not really my thing, but at least I can say I did it!
After dinner, we took taxis to a store for a little bit of late-night shopping. By this time, my students were starting to dwindle and I was getting really emotional. The last few to say goodbye got to see their teacher cry. It was a pretty stupid sight, I'm sure, to see this little foreigner looking lonely walking home just sobbing. I love those kids so much and I really hope I get a chance to see them again someday, or at least keep in touch with them. They were my first students ever, which really means a lot to me. (One of them is already sending me something in the mail, as a matter of fact! It's my next tattoo!)
I have a quick embarrassing moment from Sunday to tell you about... so you can all make fun of me when I get home (which I know you love to do!): When I was shopping with my last three students (Myth, Edward, and George), I tried on this really pale pink dress (which I ended up buying), but because it is so pale pink and I was wearing dark clothes that day, it showed all of my undergarments! Myth was the only one to see it, but then she told the boys what my underwear looked like! And when I went back to them, George was blushing and Edward says, "Oh, so sexy!" I could have died! What an impression to make on these young Chinese kids! Oh well, just chalk that one up to another "Tess" moment!
Only about two weeks until I come home! Can't wait to see everyone!

Monks can talk on cell phones, too!

2005-07-26T03:09:00.000-05:00

*Monks are allowed to talk on cell phones, but they're too shy to have their picture taken, and don't want any Oreos.*
This weekend was absolutely amazing. Jacky took us to some islands off the coast near Hangzhou-- about 2.5 hours driving and 1.5 hours on a ferry. When we got there on Friday night, we were all very tired, but hungry. We ate outdoors, basically in the road, across from our hotel. There were blocks upon blocks of restaurants set up under tents with lights, running water, grills, etc. at the water's edge that were completely taken down by morning. It was as if they had never been there! At night, they are all set up with seafood sitting on ice or in tanks under bright lights so taht people going by can see what they have (it's the menu!). We ate lite because we were all so tired.
I have to comment, though, that mussels plus alcohol, plus a tired and semi-homesick Tess does not equal a good time. I discovered that back in 1995 when I was in Italy and had mussels and a little bit of wine after a day at the beach, and I discovered it again on San Jianmen.... that was the only not-so-fun part of my weekend... but I recovered quickly!
Saturday morning, we woke up early to take a boat to Putuo to see a lot of sights-- mostly Buddhist temples. It was really crowded because that night/Sunday morning was Buddah's birthday (one of four Buddah has every year!), so many people were there to worship. It was interesting to see how another religion functions, especially on a holiday. Even the temples were loud and bustling and people were pushing (like normal). We first hiked up to a gigantic statue of the "patron saint" of complaints (or the "patron saint of whiners," as I like to call it).
Then we took a bus and a cable car up to the top of the mountain to see another temple. It was really neat to see monks all over the place, but they were not at all what I expected. They were all smiles and were really interested in looking at us foreigners. We were staring at each other so much, that finally we all just started laughing. And just then, Jacky pulled out a package of Oreos! Can you just imagine what we looked like to a bunch of monks, standing there outside their temple eating cookies? It was pretty funny. But they didn't want any...
Then we went to this gorgeous cliff, but got yelled at because it happened to be a military look-out point and they didn't seem to like a group of Americans with cameras hanging around there. Needless to say, I hurried back down the mountain. Of course Jacky just said "No problem!"
After lunch, we went up to another temple (this one had female monks!). We also got to look out over the ocean and loko down on a Chinese military base. The sign said, "Do not use military equipment as background for photos." I obeyed, so I won't be showing you any pictures from that viewpoint... sorry! We also got yelled at for climbing up on this rock that is a tourist attraction. There are signs in English, even, saying not to, but Jacky said, "Try, try, see!" We got a quick picture before the guy with the megaphone made us get down.
Then we saw the largest temple on the island, which was beautiful, but crowded. I'm not sure I could worship in a place like that. I could on a day where it wasn't crowded, but I certainly wouldn't want to be down on my knees praying that I don't get trampled by the hoardes of people trying to leave donations... just interesting to watch, really. The monks there were talking on cell phones and staring at us, too...
After that, we went to a beach. (I didn't swim, because it was the ocean!!!) That made Molly really happy. And I got asked to pose for a picture with some Chinese teenagers (so weird!). Oh, but let me tell you that the way to experience a different culture in all its glory is to see a locker room. I thought Chinese women were known for their modesty! Yikes! (That's all I have to say about that!)
We headed back to our island, which was an adventure in itself! We couldn't get a direct boat back to the island (San Jianmen, I think), so we had to take a boat to a different island, then bus across the bridge to ours. Well, we didn't trample anyone, so we didn't get a seat on the boat (we stood), then we got trampled, and almost didn't get Molly on the bus. That was honestly quite frightening. I've heard about mob mentality in psychology books, but I've never seen it before that night. Or maybe it was that I'd never seen a group of people so completely focused only on their individual wants and needs. (Seems to be the general way of things here.)
Then, once we were all safely on board and across the bridge, the bus stopped and had to wait for some policemen who had been called because a man said his cell phone had been stolen. They boarded the bus and searched a bit. No one besides the 6 of us seemed nervous about it in the least! Of course we were fine, but it was nerve-racking at the time, especially because we didn't have our passports!
The big dinner at the open-air take-down restaurant (after a quick and life-threatening pedi-cab ride!) was definitely welcomed. It was so much fun drinking wine, laughing, watching people and boats, and eating things I never dreamt I would touch, let alone put in my mouth! Eel and octopus, to name just a couple!
Sunday we left the islands and went to visit Ning Bo, Lois' birthplace. We at an amazing lunch in a really cool-looking restaurant. We had shrimp with seaweed (you can eat the whole shrimp because they're babies!), and nian gao (spelling?), whcih is a large rice-noodle. So good!
And it only gets better: Jacky then suggested that we go next door for a foot massage!!!!!! I was so excited! (You are all going to be SO JEALOUS!) For 50 yuan each (the equivalent of only SIX AMERICAN DOLLARS), we got a private room for the 7 of us, watermelon slices and tea for each of us, and an HOUR AND A HALF foot massage!!! It also included a little bit of a leg, arm, and back massage, too! It was awesome and so welcomed. A little awkward at times because of the language barrier, but it felt great.
I'm very satisfied by the whole weekend. The weather was great, the company was good, the sights were awe-inspiring, the food was spectacular, the hotel was sketchy (just the way I like it-- kidding-- I slept on a plank!!!), the treatment was celebrity-style... I couldn't ask for more... and I'm in China!!!
It's all downhill from here...

A Couple of Random thoughts

2005-07-20T06:39:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a totally out-of-body experience. I was walking home from dinner on my own and was thinking about how completely alone I was. Not that it was a bad thing, just kind of overwhelming how big the world is and how I am totally disconnected from everyone I know. Even mom and everyone here would not be able to get ahold of me if they wanted to when I'm walking alone-- no cell phone or anything! I was completely in my head thinking about that when all of a sudden I heard someone say "Hi Tess!" and I thought it must just be my imagination, but I turned around, and there was one of my students! It dawned on me at that moment that even though the world is very very big, you cannot be completely lost and alone. For heaven's sake, someone in China knows my name! How crazy is that?! Anyway... it was just a bit of a jarring and interesting feeling to have those two thoughts running through my mind at the very same time.
Another crazy thing: I find it hard to believe that China still has a population problem, not even because of the regulated-birth bit, but because of the crazy traffic and people being able to smoke anywhere and everywhere they choose (and they do! ick!). Not to sound politically incorrect or anything, but shouldn't more people be dying over here? Maybe there is something to that Chinese medicine thing...
I finally broke down and did the McDonald's comparison thing. I'm sorry to say that even a double-cheeseburger couldn't cure the cravings I've been having for cheese. And in fact, it made my craving for ground beef even worse! The place itself was really interesting, though. The colors are not the typical red and yellow-- they're much more up-to-date and modern. And it was two floors! I will, at this point, also admit that I've broken down and had some Hagen-Daaz as well. That, I am happy to say, was exactly the same, if not better than it is in America! Yea for "Western food" as it's called over here!
Anyway, 10 minutes to prep for my next class. Keep sending those e-mails, people! I miss you all so much! (My half-way point is this Saturday, for those of you counting!)

So weird....

2005-07-18T04:01:00.000-05:00

Interesting how even in China I don't like to be woken unexpectedly by loud noises. This morning, at exactly 6:00am, there were very loud noises like firecrackers and gunshots coming from the direction of West Lake. Not cool. I was almost afraid to look out my window for fear that WWIII would be going on!!! Nothing of the sort, I guess, because it stopped in about 10 minutes, but man was that weird.
And speaking of weird, this morning was beautiful and sunny (and of course hot), and then at about 1:00, we got drenched. Little did I know that a typhoon is coming our way. That could very well spoil our weekend plans of going to an island (don't ask me which quite yet). The ferries don't even run if there is something like a typhoon going on. I'm sure we'd still find something fun to do, but it'd be cool to go for a road trip. Don't get too excited, though. I'm still going to be completely white when I get back. This island is not a beach resort in any sense of the word. I don't even really know yet what we will be doing, but that's pretty much the way things go around here! :)
I just wanted to make a quick note, before I forget about these things (that happens around here quite a bit, too): Not last weekend, but the weekend before (I'm not sure if I've already talked about this or not), I did karaoke with a whole bunch of people, but it was the way that we kids in the states can only dream of! It was in this secluded room, so we were just singing for our friends, but there was a little stage and about four microphones. The words were on a whole bunch of screens, so many people could sing along if we so chose, and there was a buffet down the hall and we had our own small keg of beer! It was AWESOME!!! (And yes, I happen to like Chinese beer... who knew I'd have to come to the other side of the world to acquire a taste for the stuff!)
This last weekend, we went to Shao Xing. It was so beautiful and amazing. There were buddah statues and waterfalls, mountains and islands. It was like a big state park with about 2000 years of history built in. So cool. I have pictures, but I don't think I'll be able to post them to the blog without paying for it. I'll try to discover another way, but that always takes up so much time. Anyway, I should be going because I need to talk to my students' tutors and make sure we're all on the same page.
Wish me luck for getting my visa renewed... otherwise I might be stuck here like you all warned! (kidding.... I don't think China could handle me any longer than I'll already be here!) ;)

Exciting news!

2005-07-15T03:30:00.000-05:00

We just found out at lunch yesterday that Jacky, our contact here in Hangzhou, is going to be a father! His wife, Xianjin, has been feeling kind of ill for a few days and went to the doctor yesterday. Apparently, she's with child! It was really funny when Jacky told us at lunch. Can you just imagine this very private Chinese guy telling six very emotional American ladies (in the middle of a crowded restaurant) that he is going to be a father?! Oh man, was that quite the scene. And that was before he had even told his family!
We are planning on having an American-style baby shower for Xianjin before we leave. I think she will really like the attention and the tradition of it (even though they don't throw baby showers here in China). I especially think it will be nice since the doctor said she should stay at home for the next 3 months (it's the first trimester, so I think that's a little strange, but hey, it could be a cultural thing).
This weekend should be pretty exciting. We are going to tour an umbrella factory (they say it's the largest in China, which could quite possibly make it the largest in the world) and then take a day trip to a town famous for its rice wine on Saturday. On Sunday, we will go hiking in some of the mountains around this area and then go to the silk market here in Hangzhou. I am hoping to find myself a cute silk robe as a souvenir. I really haven't bought anything for myself yet, so that could be the first big purchase!
Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

Officially feeling great

2005-07-14T02:40:00.000-05:00

My classes went so amazingly well today. I just had to make a note of how cool my kids are. I have three classes that stay the same every day, so I get to actually build relationships with those kids. They are the ones who are junior high- senior high age. Yesterday we learned vocabulary for airports and plane trips and made airplane tickets for ourselves. Then, I gave them homework to make themselves a passport, complete with picture and visa. Today, we did a little role-play of an airport/plane ride. It was AMAZING! The kids totally went for it and thought it was fun. And they were hilarious!!! The kids who don't usually talk were even into it. This one kid, Edward, is usually pretty disengaged and sometimes misbehaves in class, but he drew the card to be the customs agent and he was so good at it! He was asking about a million questions to each "passenger" about where they are from, why are they travelling, let me look in your bag, etc. Everyone was just cracking up! It went well in my lower-level class, too.
Then we moved on to talking about money and banks. They were so interested in American money and in explaining Chinese money to me (because I still don't always get it-- I know, it's dumb...). They even went along with the team activity I had planned that I thought would bomb!
Then in my afternoon class (higher-level) we talked about types of schools and had a really good debate about whether it's better to go to public or private schools. They also really liked looking at the writing guides, pictures, and yearbook that I brought with. We listened to the Beach Boys' song "Be True to Your School" and a couple of other songs that I liked a lot when I was in high school. They had a blast looking at pictures of me from when i was in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in high school. And they liked the pictures of my friends from college. (You guys are practically famous here, now!)
So, I just wanted to share with you all that today went really well and for the first time, I feel like a really successful teacher. They learned a lot and had a really good time doing it. I feel so rewarded and thankful.
Well, off to go rest! Take care!

First day without Pepto Bismol! Whoo hoo!

2005-07-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to read Chinese so that I can edit my last blog post. I realize that I sound like such a whiner. Apparently, I really did need the attitude check that my mom gave me on the train on the way home from Shanghai. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining when I talk about all the differences and difficult experiences I'm going through. I just think that it is interesting to compare and contrast cultures. And, there are times when I'm just plain crabby because I'm tired, it's hot, and there are so many people in a small area.
Now. With all of that said, I want everyone to know that I'm having such an amazing time! I love my classes. They are so wonderful. I love that they all know Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves and that we can bond over little things like that. Also, people here are so free with compliments. I don't think it's normal to be modest about what you are good at. For example, in my 7:00pm class tonight, I only had one student (this is fairly normal in the regular program here) and I read her an exerpt from the lesson plan. She told me that she loved my reading and that the intonation I use reminds her of the beauty of the language and of the reasons she began studying English. I wanted to cry, it was so sweet!!! I will miss the wonderful compliments when I get home. I will also miss the hospitality. Even though there are cultural barriers, it's easy to see that the Chinese people are very welcoming and are happy to have us here. They are all like grandmothers who make you eat until you're so stuffed... they show their emotions through food. And believe me, we are well-fed!
Shanghai was a very interesting experience. I loved the view of the city we got from the tower (one of the highest buildings in the world-- we were on the 88th floor). It's amazing to know that the whole sprawling thing was basically built in my lifetime (the first skyscraper there was built in 1985). When you're down in the streets on a hot day, though, it's easy to recognize China's population problem. In the open-air markets, so many sweaty bodies are in such a small space, and everyone is fighting to sell or buy something. It's a really crazy experience. Very eye-opening. Again, though, the standout of the trip was the food. mmmmm......
For the last two nights, I have been swimming at the Dragon Hotel with Jacky (our connection here, and basically our tour guide). The first night, we weren't allowed in the pool right away because there was thunder and a little lightning, but then we got to go in and swim in a very light rain, which cooled the pool down just the right amount. I was so happy to be in water!!! Then we went to a restaurant comparable to a Denny's called "900 Bowls" for dinner. Jacky, Peg, and I all got noodles and then we ordered a vegetable to share. After getting our noodles, we heard a loud BOOM from the direction of the kitchen. Then, I woman went frantically screaming (in Chinese) past us and the manager went running by with the fire extinguisher. There had been a kitchen fire/explosion of some sort. Luckily, no one was hurt, so we went on eating, but some people were a little bit frazzled by it. The next thing you know, Kenny G. music is coming over the loudspeaker as if to calm us down. And then, the waitress comes over to our table and shows Jacky the receipt, crosses off one item, and says bluntly "No vegetables." It was the funniest thing ever. Maybe you had to be there, but the whole thing was just absurd.
I had another adventure in the pool last night: Molly, Peg, and I were swimming as Jacky was playing tennis, and we were in the middle of being bathing beauties when we saw this gigantic bug in the pool. It was about the size of a small bat, and we were all really freaked out. Finally, we motioned to the lifeguard to get it out, thinking he would use the net. But no, he just picked it up by its wings and threw it into the air. It flew for just a second, and then took a kamikaze nose-dive right at my head! Needless to say, I screamed like a 10-year old girl and freaked out. We all (including the lifeguards) had a pretty good laugh about it. Especially when I decided it was a tiny terrorist cell and was trying to suicide-bomb me. Then Molly said we should be on high alert and tell "Condoleeza Lice" about it (Jacky and his brother Adam had both mis-pronounced her last name that way earlier in the evening). I just about drowned I was laughing so hard.
So, now you all know that I'm doing okay and that I'm not a whiner. Hopefully, I'll be able to figure out a way to get some pictures online or in an e-mail so that you can all see the beautiful place I'm living in (at least once it stops raining-- it has been for three days! but at least it's cooler now).
Take care! Send me an e-mail if you have a chance!!!

It hasn't been below 90 degrees since I've been here!

2005-07-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

One might think that, after a week of living in a foreign country, things would begin to settle down and I would begin to feel comfortable, but that certainly isn't the case. I feel like a child who is learning to ride a bike. At the beginning of our trip, I had training wheels. There was always someone with me who knew how things worked or how to speak Chinese. I was feeling pretty good about making my way through this busy city. Then, I moved into the hotel and had my training wheels removed. I couldn't help but notice how much I was falling on my face!
The first night I had to order dinner without a Chinese-speaking person, I took a total nose-dive. Julie and I went downstairs to the restaurant in our hotel. Knowing full well that we are waigouren (foreigners), they gave us a menu that was all pictures, which would have worked, but then they came over and took that away and replaced that with one that had English translation. This would have been just as good, except there weren't as many things we liked! When it was time to order, we just pointed, thinking that was the expected mehtod of communciation, but they shook their heads "no"! We pointed at another dish, but again, we were shot down. They tried to suggest a couple of things, but we weren't interested in those, so we tried again. Finally they agreed, but we weren't entirely sure that we got what we had pointed to. Nonetheless, we had a great meal (some kind of pork soup and some leafy veggie), but it was so disorienting. Then, after all of that trouble, I had forgotten that it is not okay to put my purse on the floor... it's such a habit for me to just set it down next to my chair, but to the Chinese, the floor is very dirty, so things should not touch it if at all possible. I felt like a scolded three-year-iold when the hostess came over, pulled a chair from another table, put it next to me, and put my tiny little purse on it like it were another dinner guest. I was so embarrassed!
Not only is it taking me awhile to adjust to the culture, but also to my new job as a teacher. It is really hard work to try to fight through a language barrier for seven hours a day and then not be able to rest from it (though from the other side) when I leave. It is also interesting to me that so many people want to speak English with me when we are alone-- and they talk about wanting to practice-- but completely ignore me when other Chinese-speaking people are around. Even Lois, from our group (whom I love) will fall into that mold with what limited Chinese she has. It is just an interesting observation. I told the kids in one of my classes that if they make the others laugh by saying something in Chinese, they have to explain it to me in English so that I can laugh, too!
Besides the language barrier, there is the appearance barrier, which is something that may discomfort me a bit while I'm in Hangzhou. Even when i am just walking to work in the morning, I feel like I am on display. It's funny, because at home, I really like attention, but this is so completely absurd! People stop what they're doing to stare at me... it's so weird. And random people (who obviously don't speak any other English) will just say "hello" to get me to speak. And because this city has six million people, I have a lot of eyes on me. It's especially bad in a restaurant when I have to use chopsticks and everyone gets a good laugh...
The upside of sticking out like a sore thumb is that other foreigners do, too (though there aren't many)! It's an interesting little connection we all have-- kind of like we're all old buddies. I ran into a guy who used to teach at the school I'm at when I was walking down the street. I had no idea the connection would be that coincidental, but because he was black and said "hi," I knew he was in "the network" as I have taken to calling it. It's just so cool that between "the network" and my co-workers, I am meeting so many interesting people from all over the world!
Unfortunately, that also means that I notice the "ugly American" syndrome on occasion. I do not count myself out of this equation, but of course it's more noticeable when observing others. Hopefully, by the time I leave, I will be as well-adjusted and as un-arrogant as possible. If nothing else, this experience will surely be one of the most humbling of my life.
One last thing: I'm keeping a list of the things I miss most from home, and will add to it as necessary:

My daddy.
My dog.
Cheese.
My roomies and friends.
Being able to put my toothbrush under running water.

Also, things I will miss from China when I get back home:

Chinese prices (a tee-shirt is about $1!!!)
Yang mei (the most amazing fruit ever!)
The table manners (they're so relaxed!)

Okay. Enough of my novel for now. Wish me luck doing karaoke tonight and travelling to Shanghai this weekend!!!!!

Completely overwhelming

2005-07-01T13:40:00.000-05:00

Wow. There is so much to write about, but so little time...
First, the plane ride was fine. Nothing special. We had our own little screens to watch movies on and play games and everything. I highly reccommend flying in an air bus if you have the chance.
My first night here was great. I was so excited to sleep that nothing could have phased me... not to mention I was practically a zombie after travelling for almost 24 hours. We stayed in a very nice hotel and got up for a 10:00am meeting with the headmasters of the school that we will be teaching in (which is practically right across the street from the hotel).
It's a very nice school. The classes are small and kids sign up to take classes kind of at their whim. It's called Web International English school and I can't believe that they're letting me teach someplace like this! You should check out their website (I haven't yet, but plan to after this post!) http://webi.com.cn
After the meeting, we got to meet our host families. The people I stayed with last night were very very nice, but the whole family is so busy. The father is the president of the bank building in which our school is located. The mother works in a department store, fashion department. The 13 year old son plays soccer and goes to school. Again, they are very sweet people, but because they are so busy, and I would be left alone in their apartment quite often (which is not walking distance from the school), I am going to be staying someplace else. I feel terrible that I have to make the switch so soon, but I was a little frazzled about the whole situation this morning, and Jacky (the Chinese man making all of our arrangements) was very quick to change my arrangements. I think I could have adjusted in time, but I'm still tired and confused about everything. I am going to be staying with one of the other women in our group (who does not have a family at all) in the hotel we stayed in the first night.
Not only am I frazzled about the big changes, but I was also ill from the food. I love it because it tastes so amazing, but my stomach can't handle it yet. And being sick in the little squatter toilets that many places here have is not so much fun. Ick. Last night I ate at this very posh restaurant near West Lake (a famous site in Hangzhou) with the father and son of the family I was with, Molly (a girl from my group), a woman from the father's doctorate class (because she speaks good English), and her driver. I couldn't eat a thing because I was sick from eating too much too fast at lunch! I felt so bad because I had to explain that I like it, but I just don't feel good.... so much explaining and so little understanding. That's the big issue so far. Working on it, though.
After dinner Mr. Zhang (my host father), and Cole (his son) went to a supermarket because they thought I was going to need things like towels, feminine products, etc. I said I had already brought that stuff, so they brought me to the food section of this HUGE, BUSY market. I hardly recognized anything. I said all I really needed was bottled water (you can't drink the water here, or brush your teeth with it, or put in your contacts with it, etc.), but they wanted to buy me things that I could eat for snacks and so on. I saw some of the most interesting things. They bought me potato chips, but the flavors are crazy! They have seaweed flavor and crab meat flavor, mexican meat and tomato flavor... unbelieveable. It's also really scary to have the fish and the meat and everything sitting out like it was. And there were so many people. It was so overwhelming, just like everything else has been so far.
I really am having a good time, it's just so much! I don't want to sound like I'm whining or anything because this is the most fascinating experience. It's still nerve-racking, though, because I have so much more to learn. Stay tuned, everyone. There ought to be more to come when I have breaks from teaching and whatnot. I start in my own classes on Monday!!! Yikes!

Just testing.... and packing!

2005-06-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

Hey all!
This is just a trial run to see how this works...
I'm in the middle of packing for China right now and I'm getting pretty nervous about getting all of my stuff together. Everyone wants to say goodbye and talk to me right now, but I'm pretty aloof trying to finish things up around the house, pack, prepare lessons, and take care of my nervous stomach! (Anyone who knows me well knows that my stress reaction is something like the flu... ick!) Okay. I'm going to keep this one short in the interest of saving time. Below is my flight itinerary for anyone who cares/needs to know! I'll be posting again in a few days! Stay tuned...
Tue, Jun 28: NW 0593
Mpls/StP to Portland, OR Departs: 11:20am Arrives: 1:07pm (3hrs 40min)
Tue, Jun 28- Wed, Jun 29: NW 0005
Portland, OR to Tokyo, Japan Departs: 2:35pm Arrives: 5:00pm Wed, Jun 29 (10hrs 25min!)
Wed, Jun 29: NW 0025
Tokyo, Japan to Shanghai, China Departs: 6:35pm Arrives: 8:30pm (3hrs)