I'm teaching at Shanghai Normal university. The normal means it is a teaching school. I have 42 and 48 students in my two classes, one freshman and one junior. The students are mostly female students that will become mechanical engineers. However, most want to pursue jobs that ane not necessarily for an engineering company. My two mentors (co-teachers, that is the teachers that would normally teach the class) are male and female. Shown here, are Dr. Li (my right) and Dr. Shangguan. Btw, I did pass a young student that was taller than me the other day....where did Yao Ming come from??
I find that I try to engage the students in lecture. I need the feedback I guess. Well, Chinese students do not talk! Period. I am starting to get little murmurs out of them. My co-teacher, made the comment that she always just lectures straight without ever asking a question...how boring.
My teaching schedule is 8:00 am to 4:30, 3:30, 9:30, and 12:30, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. On MTW there is about 2 hour break for lunch.
I take a 40-50 minute bus from the downtown campus where the guest house is to the rural campus where I teach. There are about 6 big travel busses that leave each day with teachers and staff that ride it.
My home away from home is a motel room. I would describe it as a nice 1950's hotel that is clean, but no ammenities. The bed is very hard, but I've been so tired and still a little sick that it feels great. I look forward to Friday. I will be in search of the "Blue Cafe." I understand that it serves breakfast, coffee and even has silverware!
The internet here is sporatic at best. The connection speed is slow and I get tossed off many times. I have to use a log-in of one of my co-teachers. The "school" computers only allow you to visit web sites in China.
2 comments:
I bet you are looking forward to a good meal this weekend. I have yet to add much of a "solid" diet to my stomach but gradually reintroducing things.
Your class sounds like fun - I wonder how much of it is a cultural thing - like is it considered proper to ask questions of a teacher - would that be seen as rude?
It does sound like students are not used to engaging in conversation during class. That's probably why they are generally known for being better students! Have you shown them a video yet? Enjoy your weekend, hope you are able to do something fun!
Post a Comment