Happy New Year!

Audience at No. 1 Middle School Arts Festival

Ah, the week from hell. Well, maybe I shouldn’t phrase it exactly like that because it truly wasn’t one of the worst group of five days I’ve experienced here. I’ve been getting tougher in the classroom lately and I think the total number of students that I’ve kicked out has reached three or four. It seems that many of the students aren’t learning from their mistakes and changing their behavior. 

Arts Festival Presenters

For example, on Friday, I kicked out a girl for listening to an mp3 player during class. She was using ear buds and was obviously listening to music. I asked her to give me the device (my intention was that I was going to return it to her at the end of class); she disobeyed a couple of times and said, “No.” I tried to be patient with the situation because I understand that Chinese students sometimes have problems with authority and that when caught, they are too scared to follow directions and think that ignoring the situation (or apologizing profusely) will remedy the issue. (I’d already fought with this particular student before about a cell phone that she hid in her sleeve and refused to give me.) After a few seconds of her saying "no" and me asking her to hand over the mp3 player, I asked her to leave the room. She also refused to obey this request until I scooted out her chair; she finally got the hint and scurried out the classroom. 

Principal giving a speech

Did I enjoy the confrontation? No, I most certainly did not. Again, I understand that it’s difficult for the students to deal with my expectations as an American teacher; however, I’m also in a bind because I have to instruct 50+ individuals who don’t speak my language very well. I try to be lenient, but I probably tend to be a bit more strict than some teachers here. I do let some things go and for the most part, the students are doing an excellent job of behaving in my class (though I’m certain it’s been a considerable adjustment for them). 


In other news, Jean-Jacques and I attended the No. 1 School's Arts Festival that was put on by the students in honor of the new year. I had “planned ahead”, charged a battery, and replaced it in my camera to be prepared to take photos during the performance. However, my STUPID BATTERY died and I was only about to snap a few pictures of the show. Oh well, at least Jean-Jacques had his camera and was able to capture some excellent footage of the performance. It truly was epic.

No. 1 Choir

One last exciting bit of news from Friday. I tried saying Happy New Year in Chinese in front of the whole school, but I don’t think I talked into the microphone well enough, so I didn’t get much of a response. However, when I said, “Happy New Year” in English, I got a resounding response of “Happy New Year” from the audience. Then Jean-Jacques took over the stage and wowed the audience with his singing.

More singing

I hate to admit this, but on December 31 Jean-Jacques and I were so exhausted that we went to sleep at around ten thirty, instead of staying up to “ring in the new year”. Yes, I know it wasn’t the most thrilling way to experience a New Year’s celebration in China, but Jean-Jacques had spent the entire day watching students perform in a freezing auditorium; I was only there half the time, but it was enough for me to feel wiped out. However, large quantities of fireworks were set off at midnight and 12:15 AM, so we were awake when the new year began.