Teacher Viewpoint Education
It’s different over there
Holly Thacker experienced the harsh reality of her students’ school life while teaching in China
At 7.30 am, I am awoken to a recitation of the accomplishments of Albert Einstein. Peering out of the window, I see one of my students, textbook in hand, pacing the yard, practising her English. Tis became my daily alarm call. Each morning – a recitation by students before they were summoned to sing the national anthem and to salute the Communist party flag. Te majority of the children at Qitai Number One
Middle School in the Northwest province of Xinjiang came from some distance away and therefore boarded at the school. On my first day, I was introduced to my classes. Twenty-five in total, each ranging from around 70-100 children and aged between 14 and 17. I was there to teach conversational English. I had no translator, or a curriculum, only the strict instruction that I should not talk about sex, politics, or religion. Lessons began at 8.30am; each class lasted 45
minutes, with 11 classes per day. Each year group was arranged into a hierarchy, from best to worst, based on academic ability. Te “top set” of classes were allocated the best teachers, and the better facilities and textbooks and subjects such as Maths, Science, and English were valued more highly than art or music. Te teaching method was essentially rote learning, and each student could have up to 30 text books at a time piled up on their desks. Between lessons,
monitors would make sure the classrooms were tidied, swept and made ready for the next class. In summer, the students would sweep the yards, clean the windows, and mop the hallways. In winter, it would struggle to get above -30 degrees. Yet the students would be outside, shovelling snow and clearing ice. Classes finished at 8.30pm, and while I would go
working harder and harder to achieve. In the middle of winter, I was taken to view the
new sixth form college building. A half-hour drive into the countryside, we arrived at what looked like a very smart prison. Te school had built the college just far enough away, so that students couldn’t go into town to socialise on their breaks. Te canteen had no seats, and the tables were at standing height. Te headmaster explained that by making the students less comfortable, they took less time to eat, and would study instead. I met very few happy students at the college, and I knew my own were not looking forward to the day they would have to go there. My class was really a break from the intensity of the school day. If students wanted to sleep, I let them. It wasn’t laziness on my behalf, more a recognition that my classes weren’t a priority. Tose who wanted to learn sat at the front, while the rest moved to the back and got on with other things. Having no idea as to how to produce a curriculum, I based my teaching methods on those I had received as a student. During my lessons, I used flashcards, role-play and games. Te students had no idea that they were learning anything, yet I would get requests from my colleagues to teach them about idioms, or types of sports, or “that famous scene from Romeo and Juliet”, because they wouldn’t stop asking them questions. It’s hard to compare
“My students maintained an
up-beat attitude and an unerring dedication to their studies”
home, my students did not. Tere were homework sessions, study groups, and extra-credit lessons. Even as the midnight curfew call sounded, you could still see a determined few huddled over their desks. Education, it seemed, was paramount here, and for
most of the students I taught, school was their life. Te goal was to be the best, and succeed to the next level,
www.firstelevenmagazine.co.uk
the Western school system against the Chinese one. Playing competitive games in a concrete room, with a hundred raucous kids,
was somewhat of a health and safety no-no. In that respect, I understood why discipline was important, as well as the chosen methods of teaching. Te Chinese education system is relentless and my
opinion of how it affects the students is conflicted. It was easy to see how tired my kids were, but they maintained an up-beat attitude, as well as an unerring dedication to their studies. Tey will excel academically and on an international level, too. However, I wonder if, long term, the pressure might be just too much for many of them to handle.
Autumn 2011 FirstEleven 29
✎
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116