School Stuff

Quite a bit of crazy turmoil going on at the school. Story is quite long so I won't attempt to tell it all. I will tell you that it involves the Chinese local government, Chinese fire department, and the moving of all the interior walls in an entire school out 6 inches, 3 different schedules for teachers in one week, an brand new building meant for upper elementary but now used for a middle school, a brand new middle and high school now being used for an elementary school, and I'm sure several administrators who wishes things could be easier.

Nonetheless, Jamie and I are still teaching 12 year olds. We'll be in a brand new school building that was meant for elementary school students. The beam running down the middle of my classroom on the ceiling is about 6 inches above my head. I won't be doing jumping jacks. Still, brand new dell computers in a lab, brand new one for me, and excellent facilities.

I thought it was funny today when we went over the emergency plans. Regular stuff like what to do at school in case of a typhoon, civil unrest, earthquake. It did provide a whole new meaning to the term Chinese Fire Drill (ha, I crack myself up!).

Jamie and I are learning our new curriculum. We are a bit anxious to see how teaching reading and language arts will be. For those who do not know, Jamie has been a high school social studies teacher for 4 years. She will now teach 12 year old reading, language arts, earth science, and intensive English. We were told that we would need to be flexible when taking this job. She is definitely turned into a pretzel over this.

Stay classy America!

No Gradebook? What!

No crazy pictures for you today, but there is a site with many crazy pictures on it. I guess most of these are legit from what I have seen around here. Engrish.com provides mainly Japanese signs, but some China and other Asian countries. Not to promote the website in any way for purposes of making fun at these places, but it is interesting to see translation difficulties. I can't write the first Chinese character, and doubt I'll ever be able to. We've ordered the Rosetta Stone to help with the oral language. We've ordered Chinese Mandarin, but for many that do not know, there are dozens of variations of the Chinese oral language. Written Chinese keeps the country unified, but Mandarin would not be understood in many parts of China.

We learned today more about the scoring system for our school. Like I mentioned before, they use a "nothing below an A or a B. We have assessments at the end of each unit. 10 units total, 10 assessments, 10 grades. That is it, 10 grades only. For educators reading this, have you ever been able to predict what a student will make in your class after one month based on their performance and willingness to do the work? Have you ever wished you had additional time for that particular unit. Pacing in most U.S. schools becomes demanding because of the standardized tests which must be administered. With no standardized tests mandatory, our students will be able to pace themselves each unit and complete it with mastery before moving on. Sure, we can give those students who refuse a grade of a "D" which means "deficient," but those cases are few and far between from what we understand.

What does this translate into? No set gradebook and many hours of averaging grades, putting them into the computer and numbers crunching. Either the student mastered the unit with exceptional work and knowledge with an A, or mastered the unit with above average work and knowledge and receive a B. We establish the rubrics and elements of assessing that mastery.

I think it sounds pretty cool and allows the teacher flexibility. No worry on percentages or giving students nothing less than a 50 (hello Bartow County).

I was really excited today when they discussed traveling today. Jamie and I are going to discuss and probably book our first vacation (last week of September and first of October) very soon. We're undecided, but the possibilities are endless. Strongly considering Thailand first. I get downright giddy thinking about it.

Much more on our school, but too much to type for one post. We've spent a great deal of time discussing our health care plan, travel, salary stuff, etc. Our administration wants everyone to be relieved of all personal matters so we can solely focus on teaching before the year begins. I'm continually impressed with our Director. His experience in international teaching makes him perfect for this job, but his administrative skill would be an absolute incredible asset to any school system in the U.S.

Have a great Wednesday America. Most of you will waking up soon. Keep reading and let me know if you have any questions.

Class Schedule

Jamie and I received our classrooms and class schedules today. Just about everyone in the school teaches Reading 1st period, Language Arts 2nd period, and Math 3rd period. If you are not teaching, you are helping with the Intensive English students. The structure of the school is amazing; and despite turnaround in administration and teachers, everything seems to be coming together.

Both Jamie and I are teaching 12 year olds. They call them by age at QSI instead of grade level. In addition to Reading, L.A., and helping in a Math, I am teaching a couple of periods of cultural studies (social studies) and one period of study hall. Jamie's schedule is more diverse. She teaches Reading, L.A., helping in a Science, and a Science class on her own. She also teaches an Intensive English (I.E.) pullout class. Our largest class is only 13 students.

The main struggle will be teaching the I.E. students. Although few, we will have some students with very limited to no English language skills. We are also teaching mastery learning, so that means that the students receive only A's and B's for the work they earn. If they do not attain an A or B, we will reteach the unit, and they will retake another form of assessment. Other students in the classroom are working on what could be called enrichment assignments.

There is so much to add concerning our teaching. I'll try and add a little at a time. If you have any questions, just email me and I can get back with you. It is amazing to see the differences and similarities of what we are used to in Georgia and what they do here. Many things much much better, but some not.

The picture above was posted at the bottom of our elevator. Some English issues, but the funniest one is the last line that discusses "refueling."