Week Two...Check!

I now have two full weeks of school under my belt, and I'm feeling much more comfortable with things.

The math curriculum arrived about a week after school began. I was excited to see that it's Everyday Math! This is the same math curriculum Lexington District One uses. How cool is that?!

I'm still entirely on my own for language arts, though. It's a blessing and a curse. I have complete freedom to tailor our language arts program to fit my teaching style and my kid's needs. Buuuuut, that's A LOT of work (particularly since I have no classroom library). I'm not sure what the plan is to put books in my classroom, but for now I'm borrowing from the international school's library. This serves the purpose, but it's not the ideal situation. Because it can be quite challenging and fairly expensive to obtain English books in Shenyang, the international school's library is modest in size and selection. I've quickly learned to accept what's available and make it work.


Our cozy little book nook




The empty baskets in our classroom library
anxiously awaiting a few good books

On a more positive note, I've already fallen in love with each of my students. They certainly make all the challenges worth it!

In the U.S. I found that while all children are unique and every class has a different overall dynamic, one can usually find a few typical personalities in each group. I quickly discovered those typical personalities in my crop of Chinese kiddos as well. There is Miss Everybody-look-at-me, Miss I-don't-wanna-do-it-and-you're-not-gonna-make-me (had to nip that attitude in the bud quickly), and Mr. I'm-so-smart-but-oh-soooo-active. This type of child steals my heart every time (perhaps because I have one in my own household that I can't help but love to pieces). ;-)

Now without further ado, I present Mrs. Scott's National School 1st Grade Class...





Jimmy

Athletic and All Boy

He's harder on himself than I will ever be on him. Affirming words are a must. I love his proud smile when he knows he accomplished a task well.





Scarlett

The Girly Girl

She wears frilly dresses and floral satin shoes. She says good morning without prompting each morning and blows me a kiss before going home every afternoon.

What teacher wouldn't want to take her home?! 





Charlie 

Super Smart, Super Independent

I can always count on Charlie to complete tasks thoroughly the first time...every teacher's dream. Boy, will he go far in his learning this year!

Ada

Teacher # 2

Her English is excellent and she doesn't mind using it. She's quite effective in keeping those classmates of hers in line. Once we fine tune her leadership skills, she'll be a force to be reckoned with!

Luis

Our Little Daydreamer

Luis is the only child who consistently calls me Mrs. Scott rather than teacher. I like that.

He's a hard-worker with impeccable behavior. Now, if I can just get him focus long enough to remember Mrs. Scott's instructions from 30 seconds ago, we'll be good to go. ;-)

John

The Class Clown

As with all class clowns, he wears that badge with honor. I must admit, he makes me smile daily. Not only that, he has a TON of energy! Once we get him to settle down and get serious, he accomplishes amazing things. I'm sure I won't be able to hold back the tears when it's time to say goodbye to John.

Christina

Our Blue-eyed Sweetheart

Christina's mom is Chinese;  her dad is Danish. She's a Chinese girl through and through, but with blonde hair and blue eyes, she looks anything but Chinese. She's truly a friend to all. Everyone loves her - the boys, the girls...and Mrs. Scott, too.

Sunny

Sunny with a Chance of Spunk

Well, the side-eyed look in her self-portrait says it all. Gotta keep our eyes on this spunky little cutie. She has super-human will, but with a teacher who knows the art of "passive resistance", there are no power struggles here. Now that we have that out of the way, this memorization queen is going to soar in all areas. She has incredible potential.

Two more cutie-pies, Helen and King...yes, King, were added to our class family this past week. When they complete their self-portraits, I'll introduce them to you as well.

By the way, in case you were wondering, the names above are not the children's birth names. Most Chinese people adopt an English name when they begin to learn English. These children's parents selected the names they would use in our class. I haven't learned their Chinese names, yet, but I will soon. I can't wait to shock them by calling them by their given names. Actually, they will probably find it quite comical. The sound of Mrs. Scott attempting to speak Chinese generally brings about lots of giggles. But, hey...giggles are good.

Jumping In the Deep End

For one reason or another, my kids have taken the long route to swimming proficiency. They're still beginning swimmers. So, this summer I decided they would take swimming lessons to strengthen their strokes and treading.

They've never been allowed to swim in water higher than their heads, so neither has ever jumped into a pool. That is...until day three of swim lessons. These were private lessons for just the two of them, and I'd given explicit goals to the instructor. One of which was that they be able to handle swimming in the deep waters. So, on this day he took them to the deep end (10 1/2 feet) and told them to jump.

My fearless son grinned from ear to ear. Just what he wanted to hear. 1, 2, 3, jump! He appeared back to the top in no time. (Okay, I see lots of cannon balls in the future). My beautiful daughter was not so confident. Her face said it all. She really wanted to jump in, to see what it's like, to say that she'd done it. But, fear of the unknown was strong. I could see her internal battle as though there were two tiny Morgans on each shoulder. One saying, "Be strong. It's scary, but you can do it." The other, "Are you crazy?! You have no idea what to do when you get down there. What if you can't swim back up?!" She counted to three. 1, 2, 3...nothing. "I want to, but my feet won't let me move," she said. I swallowed my own nervousness, walked to the edge of the pool, grabbed her by both hands and said a quick prayer for her courage and victory over fear. She stood back at the edge - still with that embattled look on her face - and jumped. We all peered over the edge waiting for her to resurface. For me, it seemed like an eternity. Finally, she broke through, beaming with pride.

Later, I asked her if she was afraid while she was beneath the surface. She said that she kept thinking, Don't panic; just get to the top, and her body started swimming up. She caught focus of the pool's edge, and she swam to it.

Not long ago, I stood at the edge of my own pool - the teaching-job-in-China pool. I had my own internal battle: "Be strong. You can do it." "Are you crazy?! You have no idea what you're getting into!" Like Morgan, I squeezed my eyes shut and jumped.

Now, I'm sinking towards the bottom with water swirling around me. I'm consumed by the unknown and the unfamiliar. I've been given a classroom and students. No curriculum, no books, no learning expectations. Gurgle. Ninety-five percent of the learning materials we have I brought from America in a 25" suitcase. Needless to say, lesson planning is an all night event. Gurgle, gurgle.

That being said, I'm having to rethink my plans by the minute. Simple tools such as manila files, sticky-back labels, and wire file racks do not exist here. Time to rethink organization. Gurgle. Of the items that were provided for us, most do not resemble anything like what I envisioned. Two-pocket folders became three-ring binders. Construction paper became poster board. "Can we find dominoes in China?" I asked. "No problem!" was the enthusiastic answer. Just before the math lesson the next day I was given a stack of 4 x 6 cards decorated with cartoon characters. "Oh, those aren't the kind of dominoes I had in mind", I said. The blank stare of confusion from my Chinese colleagues is becoming all too common. Gurgle, gurgle. Even further, this summer I created electronic files of dozens of documents that I hoped to use this year. Our home printer had been struck by lightening, so I would need to print them at school. This seemed quite simple until I sat at the printer. The school's printer is set for A4 sized paper and everything I created was in the good old American standard 8 1/2 x 11 format. It would all have to be reformatted. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

I don't quite see the water's surface at the moment, but I know it's there. I certainly have not started to push to the top yet, but I'm praying for the strength. Right now, I have little control over this situation. I can't fix it myself, because I don't know where to start. I mean, I can't quite pull together creative learning tools when I don't even know where to find the Chinese Dollar Tree! :-) For the first time in my adult life, I'm completely dependent on others to help me find my way. That's tough for my type A, control-driven personality. However, I think that's just where God wants me. So for now, I'm trying my best not to panic. At some point I'll find equilibrium and can start swimming to the top.

Wǒ shì Lǎoshī

Yes, I'm teaching in China!

Three months ago, the principal of the kid's school invited me to have lunch with him and the owner of their Chinese sister school. They wanted to discuss the possibility of my teaching at the school. I explained that I was not looking to work in China so soon, but I would be willing to hear about the opportunity. I was curious.

They took me to a Korean barbeque and the owner explained her mission to me over beef and vegetables sizzling on the grill between us. She and her husband opened this small school to give Chinese children the opportunity to education within a structure more similar to that of American schools. You see, in China a typical classroom will have 40 or more students. You'll find 70 in the average high school classroom. Children spend 15 hours each day in school or studying. The primary focus of everyone is achieving top scores on the national standardized exam. Scores earned on this exam literally determine the course of these students’ lives.

So, the owners began the school with a small kindergarten class and wanted to add a first grade classroom this year. I was their choice for the teacher. After pondering on the opportunity for a nearly a week, I decided that it would be too much for our family to take on so soon after moving to the country. Taking care of the household here requires quite a bit more time and effort than in the U.S. I planned to break the news to the owner on the following Monday. To that God said, “Oh reeallly?”

On Sunday during services at the international fellowship, the creator sent a distinct message to me through the guest speaker. In that moment I understood that this opportunity has far greater purpose than teaching reading, writing, and 'rithmatic to six-year-olds. I found myself at a place where saying "No" was no longer an option.

So now here I am. Wǒ shì lǎoshī. I am a teacher. What have I gotten myself into?!