Teachers are angels

Whoever said teachers have it easy should be hit over the head with a dictionary.  Today has been the most exhausting day of my life and I truly don't know how teachers do this everyday for years on end.  No wonder they get summers off!!! hahaha   So I got my first taste of teaching today when I taught my first class in my entire life to 180 chinese college freshmen.  I lectured to 6 different classes on the SAME topic each time and by the last class I had it down to a T.  I was on my feet from 8 am to 6 pm running around the building and classrooms trying to interact with the students.  The class I taught was about how to succeed in the classroom and how to study.  Since chinese education heavily relies on exams that primarily focus on memorization, the students need to be prepared for how american professors are going to teach their classes, which is very different then what they are used to.  I was supposed to help them understand what to expect and how to prepare for these changes.  I think one of the hardest parts was trying to communicate to them in simple terms and trying to speak slowly.  I was surprised to learn that students here rarely takes notes in class.  This is because the chinese professors only lecture directly out of the book so notes are not necessary.  They also had no idea what a syllabus was so I also had to explain this in simple terms. 

 

It's crazy how different education is in other countries.  I guess I never reallly thought about it much until today when I encountered these differences first had.  This really helped me understand their culture more and perhaps why there is such a gap between how we interact and approach things.  One more thing before I head off to bed... they absolutely LOVE basketball here and are OBSESSED with Kobe Bryant and the NBA.  So most of my examples in the classroom had to do with basketball, this was honestly the only thing I could use to relate to them!  But as you all know, I didn't mind!!!