Last week I posted my list of weird and wonderful things in China, but schools didn't really feature at all. I guess this is because the differences between British and Chinese schools aren't so much confusing, just a contrast.
I don't know how typical my experience of Chinese school is but, whether it's typical or not, it is a big part of my experience, and so it is something worth mentioning.
Just to give a context, the school I spend 90% of my working week in is the New District Experimental Primary School. It has 9 grade 1 classes and 10 grade 2 classes, so 19 classes in total. Teachers typically have one form, and then teach about 3 classes their own subject. I teach all of them. Classes start at 8:45 and all have at least a 10 minute break between them. Lunch is from 11:30 until 12:50, with a 20 minute class in the middle, and the time school ends varies throughout the week.
Numbers, numbers, numbers...
The biggest and most immediately recognisable difference is the size of Chinese schools; a regular primary school, like NDE and Jin Se, can have over 1000 students and often more. This means class sizes are much bigger than we'd get back in England, 45+ instead of the maximum 30 in British state schools. Upwards of 45 students is a lot to be teaching in one class and can become hard to handle, especially when the students in question are raucous 7 and 8 year olds. Putting the size of Chinese schools in context, there are almost as many students in one class in China as there were in an entire year group at my secondary school, and double the number of students in one class in China as there were in one year in my Primary school. I know my schools weren't necessarily typical of class size in the UK, but it still demonstrates the contrast in school sizes. NDE school, where I spend most of my working week has nearly 900 students, and it's only for grade one and two. Having such huge schools was at first daunting, but it's amazing how quickly one can get used to the sight of a 45 strong class and now it really doesn't seem like that many of them. Keeping them all interested, engaged and under control is never going to be an easy task and often it's more a case of choosing 2 out of 3 rather than achieving the ideal trio.
Music to my ears...
Another strange thing for me is the constant music playing throughout the day. Music regiments the school. Music is played to signal the beginning and end of class, the beginning and end of school day, throughout break time and lunch time and during eye and morning exercises (more on these later!). It does mean that its easy to tell what's going on most of the time (once you've worked out what all the different music means), but I still regularly get baffled by the seemingly random music. Personally, my favourite thing about the music is the strange mix of songs they play. Over the 3 months that I've been here there have been a number of different playlists the school uses; Auld Lang Syne featured heavily at the start of term, as did Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer (3 months after Christmas). I'm not sure they realize that this is a Christmas song and, since they don't actually celebrate Christmas, I guess it doesn't matter but for me was very very odd. Other heavily featured songs have been an 80's song called 'Hands Up', the hokey cokey (kill me now), some Chinese techno music, Pharrel's 'Happy' and the 2010 world cup song 'Waving Flag'. An eclectic mix, I think you'll agree.
Peace and quiet, or not...
In class all students all sit in neat boy-girl rows and in classes taught by Chinese teachers rarely interact or move about. Students are silent unless specifically spoken to and have to ask permission to do absolutely anything. The focus in the Chinese education system is on memerisation and rote learning, with almost zero worth placed on creativity and imagination. I've even had a friend tell me about how his school is being investigated by the government for 'allegedly' stopping art, sport and music lessons to allow for more time to study examinable subjects. Studying is a truly serious persuit here in China.
But us TEFL teachers like to shake things up a bit more! For me teaching English is all about the students having fun, moving around and getting involved. This is what sets TEFL teaching apart from regular teaching. This energetic and involved teaching technique gives students a nice change from rote learning but does mean that they can get very overexcited very quickly! In a class of over 40 excited students control is key and, I've got to admit, still isn't something that I have entirely mastered. It seems that when one side of the room is quiet the other side will start chatting again, but increased control over the class is getting easier as I get to know each class. The main problem is respect. Because what I teach in my classes is non-examinable, the students view my class as an extention of break time. A time to relax, not really concentrate and maybe play a quick game. This is why making lessons fun is really so important, a lesson without vairety and an element of competitiveness is a recipe for disaster.
But for all their naughtiness they have their moments. Every so often a child will make you a little origami bird or do you a drawing as a gift and on those days the children have really enjoyed a lesson a crowd of them will sometimes form a guard to escort me back to my office, clearing the way and bowing me in through the door. So bizarre but so cute.
Hands on teachers...
Teachers in China are strict. They constantly shout and chastise students, and on occasion aren't obverse to hitting or grabbing the children. We'd been warned that teachers may hit the children so I was prepared for it but first time I saw a teacher whack a student on the head I was shocked, not by the action itself but by how unappalled I was by it. All I could think was 'he deserved it'. I know hitting students is a big no no in the UK and I would NEVER hit a student ever, but the teachers here only do it when a child is being particularly disruptive or annoying. If a naughty child is told to go stand at the back of the classroom to discpline him and he says no or gets arsey then a teacher will yank him up and make him stand where he's been told. It's not meant to hurt the students, just keep them in line. I feel like it sounds like I'm trying to justify the unjustifiable, and I 100% don't condone hitting anyone but all I'll say is that they can be very annoying.
Another thing, which probably shocked me more (what does that say about me?), is how blunt the students are about the students. When pointing to a child in class and miming glasses to indicate which student I wanted to stand up the teacher asked me, quite simply, "do you mean the fat one?". This was where British political correctness kicked in, "Ummm...I mean the one with glasses". I dont know why it surprised me so much, I mean he probably couldn't even understand, but still! He was right there! And it wasn't the only time either, when doing big and small the students had to line up in height order and when one of the taller kids also happened to be one of the rounder kids a teacher piped up "this one is big [as in tall] AND fat! Hahaha!". Fantastic. Nothing like calling a spade a spade.
Keeping fit and healthy...
Everyday in school there are two routines that are particularly alien to a Westerner.
First is the morning excersise. Everyday (except when its raining) the entirety of the school gather on the running track to performca synchronised excercise routine. It's not particularly strenuous but the important thing is that for 5 minutes the whole school is moving. I personally love it and have been joining in from the beginning, even if I am the only teacher to do so. It's fun and wakes me up on those mornings I'm daydreaming that I'm still in bed or anywhere else other than school. If I could bring one thing back from Chinese schools to British schools it would be these excersises, we don't move enough in school and some casual semi-dancing to a regimented counted beat could do us all good.
The second routine is the morning and afternoon eye excersises. Two periods a day start 5 minutes early so the students can massage their entire faces to music. Apparently this is meant to help with eye sight; although if all the people in China are anything to go by its not working, an extraordinary number of people wear glasses. You can definitely see the kids in class who reall care about eye excersises, they sit there diligently massaging their faces with dedicated expressions, but the vast majority of the class barely do more than close there eyes and slump. I'm not sure of their benefits for eyesight, but anything that gets a class to be calm and quiet after getting all excited over break time is okay by me!
There are many many more things I could say about life in school, like how its so cold in the classroom in winter that everyone permanently wears huge coats, but for now I'll leave the picture of Chinese primary school unfinished and open ended. Sometimes it's best not to ruin the mystery by revealing all the intricacies!
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