Rural China and Education

Time for some geographical reflections and thoughts I've had in the past day or two ...

• China and English education - Children start learning English at Primary 3 level, which means that by the time they start most of them are aged 9-10. Sometimes, children skip grades or are placed into the class without prior knowledge of any English at all. This makes teaching English quite challenging in China because although the children aren't that young, their English standards are equivalent to those of kindergarten level from Hong Kong.
• It was interesting because the English teachers had a short meeting the other day, and a lot of them voiced out their stress and inability to teach the children English. One even said she would rather teach Math or Chinese than English, because "the kids are so naughty" and "she can't cope" with their lack of interest in the subject. I think that this kind of attitude in teachers is dangerous - how are you supposed to teach when you don't want to teach? Can't you think of ways to engage your students, rather than to give up and let them go? 
• It seems that much more emphasis is placed on subjects like Math or Chinese here in Lishi school... 

• China and attitudes - reputation, reputation, reputation! Everyone wants to save 'face', and connections are everything when it comes to China. Just an example off the top of my head - I had requested the school to install an electric water heater in my room and offered to pay, but it turned out that one of the teacher's husband owns a heater shop downtown. We had it installed for free, and I didn't have to pay a cent. The matter sort of... disappeared after the man came and hooked up the electric supply. 
• It's also seen as a huge privilege to be coming from Hong Kong. Our city is exotic, foreign and deemed as a rich man's city by all in Shaoguan. Many teachers come up to me and start talking about buying milk powder in Hong Kong. Of all things, they bring up such a controversial topic! However, many of them has visited HK before (since it's only 4 hours away), so I guess it's not an unreachable golden land. My students also correct my traditional Chinese handwriting. That's rather cute. 

• School life - Nap time in the afternoon - my school has an amazing 3 hour lunch break from 11:30am to 2:30pm, whereby common activities partaken during these long, hot afternoons include: sleeping, taking long naps, drinking tea, lounging around, students travelling home for lunch and generally being unproductive and dormant. This, however, isn't unusual for me as I also take naps in Hong Kong (yes, I get constant strange stares) but for many Hong Kong workers this is an entirely new concept. 
• It is also normal for students to invite their teachers over to dinner or lunch! I have had several girls invite me over to their homes and one even suggested we play by the river. So far, I have kindly declined their offer, but I plan to join in someday when the other volunteer comes back. Two is always better than one in terms of safety and backup. 

• Class and being a teacher - hard work, sore throats, my mic's indeed my best friend when it comes to teaching. It's not easy leading a class of 50 naughty children, neither infants nor young adults. I have to spark their interest in English whilst keeping control of the class, which is the hardest thing. I have to bang sticks and rulers on the table to keep them quiet, though usually they get even noisier. I have three classes, and two are alright. One is usually harder to manage. Kids have so much energy! 
• They also hit children in China! A very harsh thing to do, especially when sticks and rulers are involved. I do not support capital punishment, but I will start being more fierce next week. I will ask the troublemakers to stand in the back of the class. 

After a week of teaching, I feel tired. It's an entirely new experience for me to be a teacher - I didn't expect to be teaching a main subject like English. I also didn't expect to be the only teacher in front of a huge class, even though the previous volunteers did warn me. Art and music involves much less teaching and more "interaction", but you get what you're given.