Baujin Middle School -Time to Learn
As we entered the school yard, a strange sense of deja vu overwhelmed me, not knowing if last night was real or just a dream. It just seemed so long ago. A quick series of “HELLOS!!!” cleared the haze as students swarmed the court yard in front of the school. The headmaster’s stare from across the courtyard confirmed last night’s episode as real as he walk toward us, eyes fixed.
After a few words of greeting, we were brought to our first English classroom where 60 students sat, stood and starred as we entered the room. The classroom was well used. The concrete floors and walls, as well as the wooden desks, were worn to a shine from the constant collision of feet and hands. At the front and back of the classroom blackboards hung, declaring the current activity, as well as an extremely ornate collage of flowers and Chinese characters that one of the students had drawn…
The students were well dressed and extremely attentive. Due in part to the sheer number of the students, Chinese education is mainly likened to the pouring liquid into a vessel. The teacher pours the knowledge into the student, filling his/her vessel typically through some type of lecturing. The learning style is also mainly based on rote memorization, where student recall of facts and figures is most rewarded, via a series of tests extending well into graduate school. Although certainly not totally exempt from a classroom, discussions are relatively rare, due once again, to the overwhelming class sizes. Coming from a more Socratic teaching style, we introduced ourselves and opened up the floor for questions. At first the students were a bit hesitant. Remembering our daily attempts to speak Chinese, we completely understood their silence. But as we asked questions concerning their favorite food and hobbies, they began asking us a variety of questions. It was amazing how intricate their questions were. A few times we wanted to cry because of the elegance and beauty of their questions…
We think one of the most rewarding aspects of traveling is having the opportunity of meeting individuals totally free and untouched by society’s influences, whether conscious or unconscious. It is a type of naivety that many of us that have seen too much of life, either strive to hold on to or hope to guard for our children as long as possible. It is in this realm of unguarded, nonjudgmental safety where one student asked a surprising and incredible question. Nearly crying as he shaked he asked, “I am very stressed out from schooling and it is worse because my classmates make fun of me and make me feel very sad. I would like your advice to stop them and feel better.” In a culture where saving face is of utmost importance, I will never forget this student’s sincerity and courage. Needless to say, I ripped into the class trying to figure out who was causing this boy so much anguish. The majority of the questions asked were much less intense. “Where are you from?” “What is your favorite sport?” “Do you like Chinese food?” A few of the upper classes asked a series of questions regarding their stress to perform on tests and final exams. Once again we were amazed at both their language skills and depth of questioning. With only several minutes for the students to prepare, we know our questions would not have been nearly as impressive. As lunch time approached, we were asked if we would like to visit another school several villages away further up the valley. The name of the school was Huai Shu Pu Middle School…
Previous Entry
