My students are what make my China experience complete. When I’m away from them, I miss them. They may be headaches sometimes, but they’re also perfectly adorable and hysterical. For example, one time Ariel came up to me, doing “the dance” and said, “Teacher, pee pee.” I understood that she needed a bathroom break and let her go, but when she returned all the other kids laughed at her, saying, “Teacher, Ariel pee pee!” “Pee pee, Ariel. Pee pee Ariel!” I didn’t understand what was so funny about this, and why Ariel got so upset (the kids do tend to tease her) until one kid wrote down “pee pee” in Chinese characters and I showed it to my Chinese coordinator. Apparently, “pee pee” means “butt” in Chinese. Now, that class loves to call everyone pee pee, like it’s the funniest thing ever. Six year olds…gotta love them!
Another time, in English Corner, we were talking about our favorite colors when one student showed up late. Just as he entered the room, a girl answered with “Pink” and I then asked him his favorite color. Uncertain as to what exactly was going on, he chose to copy the girl before him and said, “Pink!” All the other kids burst out laughing and someone explained to him what had happened. His eyes grew large and he gasped, “No, no teacher! Not pink! I like black.”
I thought this was pretty funny.
Coming home from Shanghai last week, all of us ILP teachers were walking through DaGuangHua when we passed our students. Immediately, they all started screaming, "Teacher! Teacher!" and they ran up to us, glee in their eyes, like they had missed us terribly. It was incredibly cute and made coming home all the more sweeter.
Today, on our way to dinner, Maren, Kelli and I passed a couple of young boys (about 4 years old) in our apartment building who were playing in the hallway. They squealed when they saw us and pulled out their "hand" guns and pretended to shoot us, giggling. I acted as if they shot me and they giggled harder; then Maren, Kelli and I turned into monsters and attempted to tickle them, which made them giggle even more. Oh my goodness, it was the cutest thing ever and left all of us smiling and exclaiming how that occurrence made our day. I've been sick for over a week now, and sometimes it's been frustrating, but then these little things happen that make everything worth it and I remember how incredibly, unbelievable lucky I am to be here in China and how blessed I am to have this experience.
I’ve decided to email you about the silly things my students say and the interesting occurrences in class, just so you get a better feel of my teaching life.
I’ve compiled a list of all my ILP students, those 5-8 years old, in order to help familiarize you with their names in case I ever mention them in future emails.
Here goes!
John:
John is easily one of my best students: he always listens to me, responds to my attention, tries hard to speak English, usually obeys the rules, and encourages the others to do the same. If all my students were like John, teaching would be a breeze.
Belle:
(Yes, I named her). Belle is a great student as she doesn't usually act up and is rarely roudy. She is sometimes too quiet, however, and doesn't speak English very much.
Nancy:
Nancy is the female version of John: attentive, an active participant of class, and a great help to teacher. She must have had English classes before ILP, because she speaks better English than most of the kids.
Phillip:
Oh, Phillip... Yes, I named him after the Prince in Sleeping Beauty. This Phillip has only recently actually tried to learn English; he used to spend most of class time trying to seduce the teachers and feeling us up. Yup, this is Pervert Phillip. Gotta love him. He does his signature "Phillip eyebrows" where he winks at you and then raises his eyebrows seductively. He's a regular topic in group meetings.
Mark:
Mark is a relatively good kid. He has a lot of energy and awful punctuation, but he tries hard to learn English.
Rose:
Rose is one of my students that I call my "sirens": She's so flipping cute but such a troublemaker. I have to often remind her to stay in her seat, but she loves getting prizes and stickers so if those are included in the lesson, she'll listen.
Cinda:
She is new to our class, and therefore I haven't had a lot of time to learn about her. She's a sweet girl and seems excited to learn.
Mike:
He has a twin brother in the 3rd floor classes, and every day I wonder if they have switched places because sometimes he's super attentive and is a good student; other days he is all over the place. Some days, he speaks a lot of English.
Stephen:
He leads the other kids in their marching around school, and I'm almost positive that one day he'll be a soldier in the Chinese army. He likes to goof off with the other kids, but I know he knows better and he likes to speak English.
Sarah:
She is our youngest (and smallest) student, at five years old. She is very quiet, and silently devious, but absolutely adorable and I can't help but love her to pieces. She won't speak English unless directly spoken to, simply because she's quiet, but she retains a lot.
Kim:
This is Kim, one of my best students. She loves to speak English and actively participates in the lesson. It took her a while to understand what was going on and she would repeat every single word I said, oblivious to the meaning of the words, but she has finally caught on and can carry on simple conversations with me. She rarely misbehaves. If I could keep just one student, she'd be it.
Kylie:
Although Kylie gets easily distracted by the other bad kids in class and acts up, she will calm down with a quiet reminder from me, and she speaks a lot of modeled English (meaning she can respond to me on context).
Paris:
This is Paris, a name that is very appropriate since she is a diva. However, she has an irresistible sweet side to her and she doesn't like to be left out so she participates in class; her crave for attention causes her to respond to me in order to receive praise. In the end, she's a pretty good student.
Dennis:
He likes to bully the other students until I stop him, and I'm encouraging him to be nicer to other kids. Just like the lessons and my teaching ability, it's a work in progress.
Kyle:
has impeccable fashion sense for a seven year old (one day I'll get a picture of his awesome pants), and all of us teachers love mussing up his shaggy hair. He is a troublemaker, but when I get him settled down he's an attentive student. He's the type of kid that drives you crazy but you can't help but adore him.
William:
William is a quiet, well-behaved kid. He won't usually speak (Chinese or English) unless directly spoken to; he seems content to simply watch and listen. My only worry with him is that he's not learning as fast as the others, so I have to remember to give him special attention and ask him lots of questions--when I give him the opportunity, he responds promptly.
Collin:
We're fairly certain Collin has ADHD, because he's our most problematic student. He rarely sits in his seat, often gets up and runs out of the room, and easily loses concentration. Discipline only goes so far, because after a few seconds he acts like I never reprimanded him for breaking the rules. Now and then, he'll stick around long enough to speak a few phrases, and he can get excited to participate in the lesson, but mostly he's all over the place--mentally and in the class room.
Aurora:
Aurora is a big sweetheart, and she is always giving me hugs and waving at me whenever she sees me. Although she's quiet-spoken, she tries hard to learn English and loves to participate in the lessons. She loves to help out by responding to me, helping me with objects, and being a great student.
Tamera:
Tamera is relatively new to my class: she started about two weeks ago. She and Aurora are close friends and are very similar in behavior and attitude. She is attentive in class so she is learning fast, considering her late start.
Flynn:
This is Flynn---as his name (by me) suggests, he's a troublemaker. Flynn is very mischievous, but also very entertaining. He knows how to mess around and be funny at the same time, so it's hard to get upset with him. Mostly, he's a good, attentive student when I focus on him, but when I turn my back he's tickling someone or poking them under the table or something.
Eva:
This is Eva, another diva. She has to get her way or she throws a fit, and she likes to tease the other students; otherwise, she's a good student and learns very fast, sometimes surprising me with her English vocabulary.
Matt:
Matt is one of the cutest kids I've ever met. In two months I haven't heard him speak above a whisper, but he responds to me and tries hard to learn. Just like you can see in this picture, he has a way about him that just melts your heart.
Naomi:
Naomi always forgets the O in her name, so she spells it Nami--which is kind of adorable. She is also adorable, and a very good student. Sometimes, she will lose focus and mess around, but she's easy to "bring back" when I call her out for it. Mostly, she gets distracted by the boys in her class, which is probably why she and I get along so well.
McKay:
McKay is a good student unless he doesn't get what he wants, then he'll throw a fit and ignore me the rest of class. (I usually win these tiffs...because I have stickers.) He likes to tease the girls, usually until they get upset.
Hanna:
Hanna is very quiet and is content to be in her own little world (usually with a potato bug that she found outside) during class, but will respond to me when I give speak directly to her. She's not learning as fast as some of the others, but she rarely misbehaves and is, well, really cute.
Billy:
Billy was originally named Rob, until about a week ago when he finally told us he already had an English name, which is Billy. I still get confused and call him Rob sometimes, when he promptly reminds me, "No, teacher, no Rob. Billy!" Billy has a ton of energy but he's a good student and tries hard to learn and keep the rules.
Andy:
We're pretty sure Andy, like Collin, has ADHD. He's a great student one moment, spouting off answers and participating in the lesson, and then the next moment he's running around the room or grabbing teacher's things and throwing them every which way. It's a task to get him to settle down, and he's also very physical with the other students: hitting, kicking, biting...these are habits we're trying to help him break. It's slowly working, and lately he's been better than usual and participating in class more.
Jack:
Jack, when he's not riling up the other students or bouncing off the walls, has an extensive English vocabulary, at least compared to the other students. He must have had English lessons before ILP. The day he wore this shirt, he asked, "Teacher, what's this in English?" and pointed to the words on his shirt. He's a wild child, but I feel he is only this way because the lessons are too easy for him and so he gets bored, but his skills are far greater than anyone else in his class so I try to ask him more in depth questions than simply, "What color is the sock?" Jack often tells me I'm beautiful and that he loves me, so it's hard to not adore him even when he's a headache.
Tom:
From my experience working with an autistic child, I’m fairly certain Tom has autism. He usually has a distant look in his eyes and only focuses on the lesson for very short, rare periods of time; sometimes he bites himself; he often makes unusual noises and doesn’t respond to me or social cues. He freaks out if I, or anyone, touch him. However, during those rare moments where he participates in the lesson, his knowledge of the English language surprises me (he has a broader vocabulary than most of the students), proof that he has an extraordinary mind and can retain that which he hears, even if he doesn’t often show it.
Sarah:
Sarah was born in the United States, and speaks good, clear English. Her knowledge is basic, but far exceeds that of any of the other students, perhaps excluding Jack. As with Jack, I have to try to come up with more challenging questions and tasks for her than I do for the other kids, otherwise she gets bored and says nothing. It’s like, “Yes, that pencil is orange. Duh. I learned that when I was four.” She’s a super sweet girl and an angel student.
Candice:
Candice zones out very easily, and unless I direct my attention to her, she’d probably just fiddle with her clothes or sleep throughout class, or tease Tom, her classmate. She’s quiet, and doesn’t really try to learn, so her skills are lacking.
Carly:
Carly gets excited to learn, though I’ve never heard her speak louder than a whisper unless she’s speaking Chinese. She’s a sweet girl and can imitate anything I say to her.
Michael:
Michael is one of the oldest, or the oldest, of my students. He likes to herd the other kids and show off his rapidly improving English skills; he is very competitive; he likes to mess around and rile up his classmates, but he will settle down when I call him out on it. He likes to learn and sings the loudest during Opening. He often tries to communicate with me and he’s learning a lot of English.
For the next two weeks, the classes will be switched up. This means I'll be teaching all the 3rd floor kids instead of the 4th floor kids, and the 3rd floor teachers will teach my kids. It should be interesting trying to memorize the names of thirty more kids but I'm excited to meet them. The more the merrier!
Sincerely,
Rui Ting/Jillian
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